Traveling the Midwest each year, sophomore Jared Schoeneberg performs God’s work via mission trips.

“Basically we go around communities … and we do service projects,” Schoeneberg said, “We share the Gospel, tell people about Jesus. We just help out people in need, and we do lots of food serving.”

Since the end of sixth grade, Schoeneberg has gone on two mission trips every year. One in the summer and one in the spring. His trips usually take him to Ohio, Colorado, Indiana, Joplin, Mo. and Kansas City.

Spending time serving has also taken him down a path to deeper spirituality.

“It’s really fun to help serve,” Schoeneberg said, “And spiritually I’ve gotten closer to God, and I’ve built a relationship with Him that I probably couldn’t have without serving.”

Schoeneberg’s mission work typically combines teaching the Bible with manual labor.

“My very first mission trip [in Indianapolis, Indiana] we had to fix this person’s … basement,” Schoeneberg said, “…there was a leak, so all of their stuff was soaking wet and dirty, and we had to clean it all off.”

During his trip to Ohio, Schoeneberg helped clean a local church and do yard work. During a recent trip to Colorado, his church group spruced up an entire private school.

In Joplin, Schoeneberg helped clear the wreckage from the recent tornado.

“First of all it was raining the whole entire time,” Schoeneberg said, “And we were all wet. We had to clean up debris … like trees and parts of houses. That took up almost the whole time because there was just so much work to do there.”

Along with helping struggling communities, Schoeneberg also teaches kids about the Gospel.

“A lot of them don’t come from very good home lives,” he said, “so they don’t have parents who love them or any family that loves them, and just being able to tell them that somebody does love them, it’s really hard for them to believe, and when they finally do it’s eye-opening.”

Not all people agree with what Schoeneberg is doing, however.

“There’s always the occasion where somebody thinks that you’re doing the wrong thing,” Schoeneberg said. “We’ve canvassed before, which means passing out flyers, and then someone thought we were trying to convert them to Christianity, so they called the police on us. That was an interesting experience.”

Schoeneberg’s goal on these mission trips isn’t solely to be a good person. He firmly believes that by serving on mission trips, he is following God’s will.

“God calls us to serve and to go out and share his word,” Schoeneberg said, “so that’s why I go and help out. It’s just showing that I am who God wants me to be at the time.”