Eight Years of Community: Illiana Christian High School’s Partnership in McDowell County

 This April, I had the privilege of serving as a chaperone for Illiana Christian High School’s annual service trip to McDowell County, West Virginia. For eight years now, our school from small-town Indiana has made the 550‑mile minibus journey to Welch to join a community that continually teaches us what resilience, generosity, and Christ‑centered love look like in action.

This year, our group of 23 students and 5 chaperones partnered with Reclamation Church and Young Life to serve across the region. Our projects were varied, like repainting and repairing the Little League dugouts in Welch and Iaeger, painting murals inside Reclamation, landscaping at the Young Life camp in Summersville, and supporting the Lion of Judah Rehabilitation House in whatever ways were needed before they open. But the real work was always about the people.

One of the most powerful parts of this trip is watching community form on multiple levels. Within our own group, students who barely knew each other on day one became a family by the end of the week—laughing, praying, sweating, and serving side by side. And beyond our group, we witnessed something even more beautiful: returning students reconnecting with people they met in previous years, picking up conversations and friendships as if no time had passed.

There’s something special about seeing the work of past years still standing. For me, it was the protection fence at the Iaeger Little League fields (the one I learned to build last year) still there, still serving its purpose, still protecting spectators as they cheer on the teams. It reminded me that service doesn’t end when we drive home. It lives on in the places we touched and the relationships we formed.

What moved me most, though, was seeing the heart for the Lord alive in both our students and the people of McDowell County. Faith is vibrant here. It’s gritty, honest, and deeply rooted in the community. You can feel it in the way people welcome us, pray with us, and work alongside us. You can see it in the joy of the kids at the ballfields, the gratitude of those at Lion of Judah, and the passion of the leaders at Reclamation and Young Life.

On our final day, tears flowed freely, especially from students who felt genuinely changed by what they had experienced. They talked about how the people of Welch and the surrounding towns welcomed them like family, how service suddenly felt less like a task and more like a calling, and how relationships formed in just a few days felt incredibly meaningful. Those tears weren’t just about leaving Reclamation; they were about leaving people who had opened their hearts, shared their stories, and revealed a different way of living: one rooted in faith, gratitude, and connection. It was clear that God had been at work in them, reshaping their understanding of what community truly means. 

This partnership has become more than a yearly trip. It’s a relationship built on respect, faith, and a desire to see God’s love made visible in practical, everyday ways. We hope and pray that this connection continues for many years to come. McDowell County has shaped us, challenged us, and blessed us. And every year, we return home reminded that community is not defined by geography but by the people God places in our path and the love we choose to share.

- Taylor, ICHS