WILKES-BARRE, Pa., (BRN) – Over the course of two days, more than 500 volunteers from across Pennsylvania/South Jersey and beyond converged in the northeast corner of the Keystone state to serve alongside six churches in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area, June 27-28.
Deemed the 12th most post-Christian area in America, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton became the second location for the Baptist Resource Network’s (BRN) annual Serve PA/SJ Tour, following last year’s two-day missional effort in Erie, Pennsylvania.
First sparked by hosting a Send Relief Serve Tour in Philadelphia in 2023, this homegrown initiative made its inaugural debut last year in Erie with nearly 300 volunteers from 31 churches. These volunteers completed 19 projects in and around the poorest zip code in Pennsylvania.
The heart behind Serve PA/SJ is partnership and collaboration at the state level that can seep into the pews of the local church.
“My desire has always been to create a restorative based compassion ministry opportunity for churches to see and be a part of and then replicate in some form or fashion in their communities when they go back,” said BRN Director of Compassion Ministry and Partnership Development Buff McNickle.
He continued: “If we can mobilize churches around those opportunities, then the fruit we would like to see is a deeper compassion for the people we live with and can serve on a day-in-day-out opportunity.”
This year, Serve PA/SJ nearly doubled its number of volunteers, with 53% being native to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. In a matter of 48 hours, volunteers from 48 different churches, 41 being BRN affiliates, and four partner organizations put in nearly 10,000 service hours and completed 54 projects.
Out of their efforts came 32 known professions of faith, countless gospel conversations and the catalyzation of gospel fruit through connecting communities with the local church.
For the ones who fall between the cracks
Volunteers began the Serve weekend by being sent out from six main church hubs on Friday morning. These hubs included Cross Creek Community Church, Nebo Baptist Church, Plaid Community Church, The Grove Church, Iglesia Electric City and Restored Church.
Heading to the heart of Wilkes-Barre, a group of volunteers from Restored Church set up a dual project site in Public Square. In the center of the Square, the team organized a mobile grill station and handed out free food to community members walking through the park.
Across the street, volunteers partnered with the Northeast Pennsylvania (NEPA) Task Force Against Human Trafficking and the Victims Resource Center to raise awareness about human trafficking. Those passing by were invited by Serve volunteers to participate in an interactive art demonstration, where they filled the city sidewalk gaps with vibrant red sand to represent the ones who “fall between the cracks.”
“The year is 2025, and we still have people in our society who think it’s okay to buy and sell human beings, we have to stop people from thinking that’s okay,” said Co-Chair of the NEPA Task Force Against Human Trafficking Tom Mosca.
Human trafficking cases, along with domestic and sexual abuse, are often the most closeted conversations as most cases are familial, leaving victims unsure and unable to express their need for help.
“A lot of people are unaware of what human trafficking and sexual assault traumas can entail. Always talk about it…if you don’t even know if you know of anyone [who is a victim], I promise that you do,” shared Vanessa Duran, a member of Restored Church and a local trauma informed advocate.
Wyoming County District Attorney Joe Peters, who also serves on the NEPA Task Force, echoed Mosca and Duran’s sentiment on raising awareness. He remarked on the impact churches and religious organizations can have as they offer common ground.
“People won’t necessarily talk to a cop or a district attorney, but they might meet me at a church, which is a neutral trusted platform. There I can knock down the stigma and there can be the beginning of me helping them instead of prosecuting them,” said Peters.
Tim Morris, discipleship pastor at Restored Church, is currently the only area pastor who sits on the NEPA Task Force Against Human Trafficking with Mosca and Peters. His involvement with the task force has contributed to Restored establishing relationships with several local non-profit organizations, including the Victims Resource Center.
The Victims Resource Center is a private non-profit organization that seeks to advocate for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, homicide and human trafficking. This organization offers trauma informed support to residents in Luzerne, Wyoming and Carbon Counties.
Duran, who formerly worked for the Victims Resource Center, has seen first-hand the benefits of the local church working alongside non-profit organizations.
“It’s been mind-blowing to see the way that the community resources are reacting to working alongside a church. Because of a lot of non-profit agencies not being able to have any religious affiliation, [they] are willing to let people into their boxes, and that is what really engages the community and meets more needs than we can imagine,” said Duran.
Regarding Serve, Duran beamed over the hundreds of volunteers coming to work alongside her home church.
“It honestly brought tears to my eyes this morning being able to see so many people that are willing to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
For the ones who are to come
About 12 miles north from the heart of Wilkes-Barre, another team of Serve volunteers were hard at work in the hallways of Cross Creek Christian Academy in Lehman, Pennsylvania, which also serves as Cross Creek Community Church’s Lehman campus.
Formerly owned by River of Life Fellowship Chruch, the preschool through 12th grade institution was gifted to Cross Creek Community Church in 2024, following the retirement of the pastor at River of Life.
Under the direction of Principal Vanessa Edwards, Cross Creek continues to utilize the building as a private Christian academy. Edwards, who has previous experience teaching at the school, shared that enrollment has doubled since Cross Creek took over. At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, the academy had a total of 90 students.
“I never dreamed I would be in the role of principal. When I was here previously, I had a vision book of things, [and] I thought God had incredible plans for this facility. Now that I’m in that role, I can finally open up that book and see those plans come to light with God’s leading,” said Edwards.
Some of those eagerly anticipated plans came to life during the Serve weekend. Volunteers at the school helped remove old lockers, clean out classrooms, empty closets, install a dividing wall and paint interior spaces.
“It is such an incredible blessing and joy to see this crew of people…I mean we have people from different states here today that know absolutely nothing about us, and it is just incredible to see their excitement and their willingness to serve,” said Edwards.
Dewey Aiken, onsite coordinator for North Carolina Baptists on Mission, was one of the out-of-state volunteers serving at the Lehman campus. Dewey and his wife Kathie stopped by Pennsylvania to participate in Serve on their way home from New England.
“Great opportunity to come up and work with our Pennsylvania/South Jersey friends. We’re so thankful for them and our partnership,” said Aiken.
Aiken and a few other volunteers worked to construct a dividing wall in one of the classrooms. The hope is that this task, along with the many others completed, will benefit the school as they seek to serve more families.
“We have been praying that God would use this project to bring more families here and just grow this school. I look forward to seeing the families’ faces and, especially, the kids’ faces as they walk through that building,” said Edwards.
Along with the work taking place at Cross Creek Christian Academy, there were several other Serve projects that focused on reaching the next generation.
Back in Wilkes-Barre, a group of volunteers prayer walked Wilkes University Campus and blessed faculty and staff with handwritten cards.
In Pittston, Plaid Community Church hosted a block party with games and free food for the kids and families in their community.
Senior Pastor at Plaid Stan Oschman expressed his gratitude to the Serve volunteers who came from near and far to make the outreach event possible.
“Thank God we have all of the missionaries who came in from different churches…we even had a group from North Carolina who have just been a real blessing to us.”
Down the road in Nanticoke, Serve volunteers partnered with Nebo Baptist Church to host a carnival at one of the public schools.
“This is the product of five years of building relationships with our community. The fact that we’re here on a public school property being able to share the love of Jesus practically in word, but also in deed, is pretty awesome,” said Nebo Baptist Senior Pastor Jacob Claypoole.
For the ones who are family
Some projects planned for the Serve weekend were designed to nurture already established relationships, while others were intended to aid local churches in strengthening community relations.
In Scranton, Serve volunteers worked alongside The Grove Church and Iglesia Electric City to host block parties and mobile grill events.
“One of the things that I’ve noticed with Scranton is that it takes a long time for people to develop trust,” said Scott Hall, Senior Pastor at The Grove.
Pastor Joe Dea, another pastor at The Grove, echoed Hall’s sentiment, stating that people coming to love on the city of Scranton is something their residents really “struggle” to comprehend.
One area where The Grove has been longing to build trust is a subsidized housing neighborhood located near their church building.
After working alongside a social worker to gain access into the neighborhood, Serve presented just the right opportunity, and number of volunteers, to host a picnic in this community. Volunteers from Clarion, Pennsylvania, many of which were students, worked alongside The Grove to pass out 150 hot dogs and connect with residents.
“Today we’re cooking hot dogs and giving this community a free picnic, just to spend some time with them and to bless them the best we can. Jesus told us to love our neighbors and that’s all we’re doing,” said Jason Hunter, Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church in Clarion and BRN Executive Board President.
Deemed a “positive experience” by Pastor Hall, the picnic proved to generate a similar response from the community as the social worker invited The Grove to continue outreach in the neighborhood.
“The connections and the opportunities to continue building trust in a new neighborhood, and to have people that come from hours and hours away to spend time investing and caring about people here in North Scranton, that means a lot,” said Hall.
Less than a mile down the road from The Grove is Iglesia Electric City, a Hispanic church plant led by Pastor Pablo Gutierrez. Four years ago, Iglesia Electric City began as a group of families meeting in Montrose, Pennsylvania.
Noticing a more concentrated Hispanic population in the city of Scranton, Gutierrez and his wife decided to move the church south, where they acquired a church building and saw their ministry grow.
“When you move from another country far away and [then] you live in another country that’s not your culture, you feel alone. So, we prayed, and we decided to start this church…we want to be like a family for this community,” said Pastor Gutierrez.
During the Serve weekend, volunteers helped Iglesia Electric City host a block party in one of the local parks. This outreach was a continuation of a series of block parties Iglesia has been hosting for the community.
“Two years ago, we did kind of this activity and we got a new family at the church…it’s a big opportunity to invite new people,” said Gutierrez.
Anna Pichardo, director of Sunday school kid ministry at Iglesia Electric City, shared that the additional help from Serve volunteers and various churches was a “huge encouragement.”
“We are definitely seeing the fruits of our labor, thanks to, obviously, the Lord who is doing a work in the city, but also the people who have supported us.”
For the ones who served
The Serve weekend concluded with a Celebration dinner and rally at Cross Creek Community Church.
The aroma of freshly smoked chicken and pulled pork from Bulldog BBQ, a Wilkes-Barre based business, welcomed volunteers as they entered the church and shared a well-earned meal.
Following the meal, Cross Creek’s worship band led guests in song, and hub leaders shared testimonies from the two-day experience. One pastor gleamed, expressing that there were “too many stories to tell,” while another described volunteers as “tangible representations of the hands and feet of God.”
Tim Walker, Senior Pastor at Restored Church, reminded volunteers of the importance of their present work for the harvest that is yet to come.
“Our biggest prayer is that this is catalytic for gospel fruit. Don’t discount the significance of what God might have done through you in someone…we look forward to seeing many more people come to Christ because you showed up.”
BRN Executive Director Barry Whitworth closed the celebration by inviting churches and volunteers to participate in next year’s Serve PA/SJ Tour, June 26-27, in the Lehigh Valley.
View a full photo gallery from the Serve weekend here or watch video testimonies here.
