2019 Summer Impact: Let's talk about the next step

Over the last month, I have been visiting groups as a way to thank them for their participation or keep them connected to the impact we’re making at Mountain T.O.P. I love sitting in on Sunday School classes or having coffee meetings with groups who are curious and committed to the work in our community. As I have been traveling, I am continuously thankful for the Mountain T.O.P. network that spans across many states and generations. My favorite conversations start with, “I heard about Mountain T.O.P. from...” and the story continues with an example about how that individual was personally introduced to Mountain T.O.P. Perhaps a coworker used to attend as a camper with their old church, or they met a former summer staffer who had an impactful ministry experience, or they interned with a church whose youth group has been coming for years.

I am grateful for the ways in which the story and legacy of Mountain T.O.P. make their way from one community to the next. I am encouraged that the vision of being fishers of people becomes a lifestyle once returning to the “valley below.”

If you have ever attended one of our camps, you have surely heard the phrase, “our next step will be…” with instructions of what is to follow. Every event transitions with these words, indicators that there is something more to come that we need to pay attention to. For our participants who spend a week of their summer on their annual mission trip, we bid them farewell with some next steps, too. However, these next steps are less schedule-oriented, but more like benedictions: don’t let the lessons you learned here stay atop the mountain. Take them with you and let them permeate your life.

After a family’s roof is replaced, there isn’t always a clear a “next step” either. Perhaps the peace of mind that comes with knowing the leaks have stopped gives a family the freedom to choose their next steps, instead of them being dictated by an unhealthy home. Enjoying a warmer and safer home is a successful next step by our accounts.

The summer impact report is brief: only a few pages tell the story of the hundreds of local families we worked with and the 1,000+ participants who visited our service area. Just a few numbers tell the story of the impact of engaging in the meaningful work of building relationships and strengthening communities. We don’t see every “next step” that someone took after interacting with Mountain T.O.P. but we trust that at the very least, the opportunity to take the next step was given.

For Mountain T.O.P., our next step is to look towards our 45th anniversary! With our newly-gained lessons of courage, we are looking forward to exploring what fishing for people will look like in our new season.