October 29, 2026
WARRENTON, Ga. — Brandon Furr, pastor of First Baptist Church in Warrenton, became convinced that one of the best ways to cultivate a Christian family is for parents and children to serve together on mission locally, nationally, and internationally.
The idea began taking shape while Furr was associate pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Milledgeville. He saw adults participating in Bible study on Wednesday nights while children were immersed in Royal Ambassadors and Girls in Action, organizations designed to teach children about global missions, character development, and hands-on ministry.
“I saw adults who had never been on a mission trip and children who were learning about missions, but without any mission experience, and I began asking, ‘Why can’t families experience planned mission ventures together?’” Furr said.
He concluded that serving together would give parents an opportunity to demonstrate their faith before their children. Children watch what their parents value, how they spend their money and time, and where they place their priorities. Serving Christ together, Furr reasoned, demonstrates that faith extends beyond Sunday morning.
To put the idea into practice, Furr began looking for organizations that could provide opportunities for families to serve together and churches that could house mission teams in gymnasiums and family life centers.
He found help from David Kirkland, Baptist campus minister at Georgia College, and Keith Ivey, who was then director of Georgia Mountain Resort Ministries and later became a missions consultant for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board. Kirkland helped prepare families to share their faith and turn everyday encounters into ministry opportunities, while Ivey helped connect volunteers with places to serve.
“One of the most receptive groups we encountered were hikers on the Appalachian Trail,” Furr said. “Hostels were located along the trail, providing bunk beds, fires to warm the chill of an autumn night, and meals to satisfy those who had burned hundreds of calories on the mountainous trail. The missionaries found ample opportunities to serve the hikers at the hostels and tell them about God’s saving grace.”
Experiences like those along the Appalachian Trail helped Furr’s idea of families serving on mission together take shape.
Most of the mission ventures have been in the United States, but families have also served in Zambia and the Dominican Republic.
“The mission trip in the Dominican Republic was amazing,” Furr said. “The kids from our church worked in a medical clinic where hundreds of people from the area came for medical care. We had children ranging from the fourth grade to high school, and the children faithfully shared their faith with consistency and passion.”
Furr said he has seen at least six benefits from families serving together.
One is a greater investment in the local church.
“Those who have gone on these family mission trips and faithfully ministered to the people they encountered became even more invested in our church,” he said.
Furr’s daughter, Bethany, who will soon graduate from the University of Georgia, said, “Family mission trips provide the opportunity for different ages across the church to come together and see how the Lord is using other age groups in our fellowship.
“It humbled me as a teenager and showed me the heart and wisdom of many of our older church members. Conversely, the senior adults in our church were able to see how the Lord is preparing the next generation of believers to be His ambassadors. These experiences have blessed and enriched our church.”
Furr has also seen deeper fellowship develop among those who serve together.
“Those who have participated in these mission ventures have developed a deep fellowship with one another,” he said. “They have developed a camaraderie that has become an example for the whole church.”
Lynda Brooks, a member of First Baptist Warrenton, agreed.
“The best part is being together every night, sharing what you did that day and seeing God work through the lives of each family,” Brooks said. “When families serve together, they build relationships that are deeper and more meaningful with those families that you typically only see on Sundays.”
Another benefit, Furr said, is seeing children develop a love for serving others.
Blakely Ogletree took her first mission trip to Texas after completing third grade. She helped with Vacation Bible School and watched her father teach the Bible in a woman’s home where a church met.
“One of my favorite things was going door to door and inviting children to come to VBS to learn about the Lord,” she said.
The trip also gave Blakely an opportunity to share Bibles that had belonged to her grandfather.
“My Papa died the year before our mission trip, but I was able to share some of his Bibles with children who could learn about God from them,” she said. “It made me feel like a little part of my Papa was with me on the mission trip. It was a very special trip that I will always remember.”
Her sister, Brandyn Lynne, now in the eighth grade, went on the same trip after completing sixth grade. While going door to door to invite families to Sunday school and church, she encountered families who spoke Spanish.
“I used the translator app on my phone to talk with them and invite them,” she said. “At first, I was a little nervous about knocking on doors, but I soon realized that it was worth it because I was able to meet so many different families.”
Brandyn Lynne also helped distribute school supplies, clothes, and other items to families in apartment complexes and gave away some of her grandfather’s Bibles.
“This trip reminded me that you don’t have to do something big to make a difference,” she said. “Sometimes a simple invitation, a bag of supplies, or a Bible can show someone that they are loved. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to serve others, share my faith, and carry on something that was important to my Papa.”
Britlyn-Eve Washington of New Hope Baptist Church in Thomson also joined the Texas team.
“We just gave them book bags, school supplies, and clothes and taught them about Jesus,” she said.
Brooks said serving alongside younger generations has also been rewarding for senior adults.
“Each generation brings something different to the missionary experience,” she said. “The youth and children are so willing to help in whatever capacity is needed.”
Furr said mission trips have also exposed children to needs they may not otherwise see.
“The children on these mission trips have seen what poverty is like, and it has made them more thankful for what they have,” he said. “It has also given them a greater concern for those who are less fortunate.”
His son, Caleb Furr, a recent high school graduate who is currently touring with Life Action Ministries, said the trips changed his perspective.
“Going with my family on these mission trips really opened my eyes to the needs of people outside of my community and gave me a new perspective on how blessed I am and helped me realize that my problems are relatively insignificant compared to the problems of others,” he said.
Furr has also watched young people respond spontaneously when they encounter a need.
“On our first mission trip, the young people saw a boy whose shoes were obviously tattered and torn — hardly worth wearing,” he said. “Without any prompting, our kids went to a Walmart and bought the boy shoes and brought them to him. Their compassion for others was enlarged.”
The trips have also given families opportunities to see spiritual needs firsthand.
“Our families on mission to the Dominican Republic saw a hunger for Christ they had never seen before,” Furr said. “Many of the people there hunger for something that is real, something that provides genuine salvation and hope. Jesus is our Savior and our hope. Our people saw that hunger, and it impacted their lives.”
For Bethany, seeing that spiritual need at a young age changed the way she views missions and the gospel.
“Family mission trips reveal that sin and Satan have a very real hold on this world,” she said. “Mission trips, especially at a young age, showed me that our world is broken and desperately in need of a Savior.
“I will never forget talking with a man in the Dominican Republic and hearing him blatantly tell me that if he died, he would not go to heaven. It rocked my world that someone could acknowledge their brokenness in that way. It caused me to recognize that no one is too far gone for the Lord to save them.
“Mission trips have shown me the urgency of the gospel and have more profoundly helped me understand the heart of the One we serve. In summary, family mission trips shaped how I view my church family, the brokenness of the world, and my deep need for and reliance on the Lord.”
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