For five weeks of the summer, about 90 middle and high school students traveled to Woodruff Place Baptist Church on the eastside of Indianapolis for a mission trip.
YouthWorks is an organization that provides Christ-centered mission trips to teenagers and adult learners. In Indianapolis, they work to alleviate impacts of poverty by working in homeless shelters, food banks and community centers, according to its website.
One local church in Johnson County hosts a dinner for those students as a way to give back to the organization and the students who volunteer.
The First Presbyterian Church of Franklin has been hosting a dinner for the students of YouthWorks for four years.
Dee Vurbrink, director of Christian education at the church, said she recognized a need for better meals for students after their mission trips.
Every year the church raises funds to provide comfort food, such as chicken and noodles and homemade bread to the students. Six to 10 volunteers work to prepare it, Vurbrink said.
It gives them a feel for the small town of Franklin and a different perspective from Indianapolis, she said.
After dinner, students spend a couple of hours walking around the community, getting ice cream at the Hoosier Cupboard or exploring downtown.
“I think it really teaches teenagers to be bold in their faith, not to be afraid to talk about their faith,” Vurbrink said.
