Short-Term Outreach

There are people in this world who are living broken lives because they have no hope. They have no hope for a better meal, education, or life for their children and they certainly do not have the real hope that only comes with life in Jesus.

Short-term outreach is reaching out to people and offering hope through Jesus. Our short-term outreach are generally 1-2 weeks long. If you are interested in joining us on one of the outreaches listed below, please contact our office at 763-434-6013.

Grand Portage, MN

Oak Haven’s mission to the Grand Portage Indian Reservation is a relationship-based ministry where teenagers from Oak Haven form friendships with the children and teens of the reservation, thus enabling them to share the message of Jesus Christ.

An annual week-long trip in June sends a team of high school and college aged students from Oak Haven to Grand Portage. During the week, the team works with Jake McCormick and Mount Rose Community Church to reinforce the year-round work that they do on the reservation. Activities for the children of the reservation include sports and crafts sessions in the morning, followed by a Bible camp in the afternoon. In the evenings, the team holds activities for Grand Portage’s teenagers.

The relationships formed between the Oak Haven teens and the Grand Portage kids are often very strong bonds; team members from Oak Haven return year after year to visit the friends they have made in Grand Portage and help them grow in their walk with God.

Local Kazakhstan and Moldova Missions

We have a community of local Moldova believers that are a part of our fellowship and hold services monthly in Russian at our church. We also have some short term missions opportunities to Moldova and Kazakhstan.

Mexico Outreach

Building Houses for the Homeless of Mexico

Since 1987, our church has sponsored mission teams to Mexico. The teams are made up of 9th graders to adults. The teams travel to El Florido, Mexico near Tiajuana to construct simple shelters for the homeless.

As part of this outreach program, the participants stay in dormitories. They minister to the children on the site, with bible teaching, crafts, and games.

In preparation for the mission, the groups participate in fund-raising events, such as garage sales, Mexican Fiesta, and taste tests. The funds that are collected are used for materials that are purchased in Mexico. The mission is typically scheduled for early July. The trip lasts for 1 week. The group flies to Los Angeles, California and rents vans to travel to the Mexico site. Some years, the church has driven used ambulances to Mexico to donate to the community.

Past participants have described the experience as life-changing. This cross-cultural encounter puts a real face on poverty and has a way of helping one realign their priorities. The mission is also fun and quite rewarding, which explains why so many repeat the trip year-after-year.

Ukraine

Oak Haven Church is one of many churches in the Minnesota Iowa Baptist Conference that has a sister church relationship with a church in Ukraine. Since 1995, Oak Haven has been able to exchange letters and gifts with members of the church and community in the rural village of Buzhanka, Ukraine.

Through the sister church relationship, Oak Haven is able to encourage the members of the Buzhanka church to reach out to the non-believers in their community and strengthen their own relationship with Christ. A main part of the sister church relationship is the annual team that is sent from Oak Haven to Buzhanka.

During this two week trip, team members from Oak Haven assist the local Buzhanka church with a Bible camp for the children and teens in the community. They also hold special women’s and men’s events in the evenings. Through these activities, members of the Oak Haven team are able to establish strong relationships with those in Buzhanka and tell hundreds of people about the love of Jesus Christ.

"...that [His] name may be proclaimed in all the earth."

Romans 9:17