“I can honestly say that this one of the best, hardest, and most growing summers of my life. Praise God! I learned more about the love that comes with surrender. I got to share that love with those I met. Most importantly I saw God in everything we did.”

“It wasn’t until I was passing by the Hampton Beach shore for the last time that I realized I was leaving behind home. The biggest thing that God taught me is that, by His Spirit at work within me, He can do far more than I can ever ask or think, no matter where I am. All I have to do is take the step of faith and trust.”

““I have no words for how incredible and life-changing this experience has been for me...something that God really taught me was how to be bold in my faith. At the beginning, I was very hesitant to reach out to others, especially those that I didn’t know. As the mission went on, I noticed how confident I became. I was having great conversations with coworkers and community members. I’m forever grateful!”

“I’d always had a cheap definition of community. But at HBSM, I experienced the reality that *true* community is one of the most glorious gifts God gave us!”

“Hampton Beach gave me 2 big takeaways: 1) A Christ-centered community takes effort, but it is a blessing that we are given by the Lord. 2) Evangelism is hearing, understanding, and sharing. First, community. It is impossible to walk the Christian life by ourselves and it is so hard to cultivate relationships that are true and loving. The summer you are there will either give you soul deep friendships or a platform for soul deep friendships. Don’t take your time with your fellow Hamptonites for granted. Secondly, evangelism is sharing our faith. However, we must seek to understand how sin has cut the person deep. Once we understand the person’s point of view, we add the gospel. We don’t just make disciples, we grow disciples.”

“In Hampton Beach God showed me what real community looks like. I was able to really experience His love more powerfully than ever before by learning how to accept love from my roommates. It forever changed how I interact with Christians and non-Christians. As a side note, it also re-taught me how to cry and gave me a safe place to express my emotions that I was able to transfer to friends back at home.
As far as evangelism, it showed me it’s not that scary, rejection from people is not rejection from God, and success is not simply seeing people come to know Christ but sharing His love and experiencing His love through outreach.”

“It’s not a sin to have a problem ... it’s a sin to keep it, because the great problem solver lives within and empowers you. Nothing is impossible for Him. You are His child whom he loves and cherishes. Seize today and live for Jesus, and allow Him to live his supernatural life through you, then stand amazed at the ways He will use you!”

“When I decided to go to Hampton Beach for summer mission, I expected to grow in my faith a bit, but had no idea that God would completely wreck me from the inside out. He showed me what it meant to be a true, confident daughter of the King, going from someone who found her worth in what the world thought of her to resting in her identity as being chosen by Christ. The growth I experienced in Hampton Beach lead me to taking the Good News around the world, to those who don’t know Him. The Lord lead me to East Asia and through that lead me into full-time ministry working with Cru in California. If it wasn’t for what the Lord did in my life in Hampton Beach, I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am now.”

“It’s crazy how God can use 10 weeks to turn a super diverse group of college students into family. Jesus used this community to mold me, encourage me, and bring me freedom from shame through vulnerability and accountability. I have always struggled with insecurities and being firm in my identity in Christ, but God has used HBSM to transform my relationship with Him and show me who I am called to be. This has transformed the way I love fellow believers, and strangers I don’t even know! Sharing my faith still isn’t easy because it requires me to rely on the Holy Spirit completely, but I was so challenged to have an eternal perspective through praying for other nations and even getting to reach international students on the beach! I know the compassion I now have for the world is not of me, but from God, which is so exciting. These are just a few of my takeaways, but I am so thankful for my time at HBSM and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Say yes to Jesus - it’s both scary and amazing, which means you should definitely do it!”

“I was only a Christian for about 10 months at the time and really took a huge step of faith to do the summer mission. I had never done anything remotely like it before. I had a great discipler in a Cru staff named Andy Allan who was such a positive male role model in my life then and still is. I also was given the position of co-leader for the weekly meeting team for the summer mission. I learned a lot about being a leader and how to work with others with varying personalities, whether in easy or difficult situations.”