Navajo Missions

Since 1995, groups from Churchill Baptist have been going on an annual mission trip to the Navajo Reservation in Arizona.  For several years, we have conducted a Vacation Bible School for Waterfall Bible Church near Rock Point, Arizona.  This church is 16 miles off paved road and had no running water until 2002; prior to that, the closest water was a spring a mile away.  Willie Howe, the church’s Navajo pastor,  had never had a Bible School before we went there.  Our VBS teaches all age groups from toddlers through adults in this remote area.  The schools are well attended and we have seen many saved and some baptized.

The VBS trips are in June and last about ten days counting travel time out and back.  We take youth and adults on the trip, usually about 25 people total; some sleep in the church and some in tents.  They now have two bathrooms, but we also use Porta Potties.  It is often very windy, dusty, and hot.  We take a cook team and fix our own meals there.

Besides the VBS group, we also send work teams.  We helped rebuild a burned Navajo church near Chinle, and we were the prime movers in building Waterfall Church from the ground up.  These work trips continue at various times, as the two churches need maintenance and improvements.

Since less than 10% of Navajos are Christians, churches are truly lights in a darkened land; our going there is a great encouragement to the Navajo Christians.  These mission trips are a blessing to the Navajos and to those who go on them; Christians grow spiritually when they get personally involved in missions.