By SARAH GRAHAM/ For the Advertiser

West End Baptist Church is taking a group of seven to New York City on July 21-27.

This is the second year they will help Cornerstone Church of Bay Ridge located in Brooklyn, New York.

“We are hoping this is going to be an every-year thing for us,” West End Baptist youth pastor Kenny Martin said.

According to Martin, the pastor of Cornerstone Church in New York, Nathan Tubbs, actually grew up in First Baptist Church of Clanton and attended Chilton County High School.

Tubbs then went on to Auburn, receiving a degree in marine biology.

Shortly after, Tubbs felt that God was calling him into ministry, he was sent to New York, where he lives with his wife and three kids, to plant a church and became a science teacher.

Tubbs wears many hats and is serving as a chaplain of the United States Air Force.

One of the differences this year in the VBS is there were only two groups last year, West End and a Kentucky group. This year there will be three groups to help run the vacation Bible school.

“We will have more workers there, so it will be easier for us to reach the kids,” Martin said.

According to Martin, the main mission is to reach the community for Christ.

The VBS is run differently there as the language and cultural barriers come into play because of the wide range of ethnicities.

The entire VBS is also hosted outside with pop-up tents as they do not have an actual church building yet and host their services in a hotel lobby.

This is the same hotel that the West End group will be staying at.

“It’s the same God that reaches them, the same one that reaches us can reach them too,” Martin said. “That’s what our goal is we just want to see lives touched.”

The LifeWay theme Game On has been going on throughout this summer in Chilton County and is the same theme that will be used in New York.

“Those that have participated through our Bible school have an idea of what we’re getting into,” Martin said.

Hannah Oaks, was one of the students who was able to go on the trip last year, so she knows some of what to expect.

“I am excited about seeing my little babies that I met last year,” Oaks said.

According to Oaks, she is hoping to grow closer with the people she is going with along with the VBS kids.

“Being able to spread the word of God in a city that doesn’t get it very often,” Oaks said is what has driven her to go.

She is hoping to be a good role model and show the children God’s love during VBS.

Isaac Graham is going to New York for his first time.

According to Graham, he heard how amazing the trip was from his sister who went last year and wanted to follow in her footsteps.

“I’m really looking forward to spending time with the people up there, along with sight-seeing, but above all just being there to do something for God’s glory,” Graham said. “I just want to show them that whoever they are and wherever they come from, God loves them too.”

According to Martin, the West End Baptist Church Mission team does a tremendous job of contributing to these opportunities.