Portland is the largest city in the state of Oregon and the second largest in the Pacific Northwest. It is in one of the most beautiful settings in the country, with mountains, forests, and the ocean all within a short drive. It has a thriving art community, numerous outdoor activities, the largest independent book store west of the Mississippi, and is one of the best coffee towns in the United States. To top it off, the summers in Portland are amazing with lot’s of sunshine and temperatures hovering between 70 and 80 degrees.
However, that only tells part of the story of Portland. The Pacific Northwest is one of the most unchurched regions of the country. In fact, a recent Gallup Poll ranked Oregon as the state with the highest percentage of residents identifying with “No religion, Atheist, or Agnostic,” at 24.6% and also ranked 41 out of 48 states for least church attendance. Additionally, Portland outpaces even San Francisco and LasVegas for the most strip clubs in a single city. On top of that, Oregon has the highest percentage of homeless per capita of any state in the United States, many of which are youth, and it is ranked 8th out of U.S. states for the largest number of sex offenders per capita.
As you can see the need for the Gospel of Christ in Portland is great. But the good news is that there are amazing full time ministries faithfully bringing the good news of Christ to the people of Portland and we are privileged to be able to partner with them in their mission.
Please come join us in loving and serving the hurting people in Portland who desperately need to know the hope that is found only in Christ. We invite you to bring your group to come and serve alongside of us on an urban Portland short term missions trip.
7:30 – 8:45 – Breakfast/Devotionals:
We provide breakfast for your team and give you the opportunity to either do devotionals as a group or for your students to do devotionals individually.
9:00 – 12:00 – Downtown Homeless Ministry:
Serve alongside one of our ministry partners that reaches the homeless all throughout the city of Portland. This might include serving a meal, sorting and preparing hygiene kits or visiting with the homeless in the day room.
12:15 – 12:45 – Lunch at Kaleo Housing Location
12:45 – 1:45 – Bible Club Preparation Time
2:00 – 5:00 – Bible Club with a Family Homeless Shelter.
Your group would have the opportunity to lead all aspects of the club including arts/crafts, Bible time, games, and a literacy/reading time.
6:00 – 6:30 – Dinner at Kaleo Housing Site
6:30 – 7:15 – Evening Debrief
*Please note this is a sample schedule and does not reflect specific times and ministry activities for your team.
Cost: $400 for a five night trip or $480 for a six night trip includes all of your housing, food (with the exception of one evening meal on your night off) and ministry expenses. The only additional cost to your group is the cost of transportation.
Housing: Our Kaleo teams stay at former Christian college in a location central to the ministries we partner with in Portland. Guys and girls will be on separate halls and there are bathrooms with showers on each hall. There are also showers and meeting areas onsite. Outside there is a large field for sports and games during down times. While bunk beds are provided, teams will need to provide their own bedding
Parking: Parking is free and is available in the school parking lot. You will have occasional needs to pay for parking at our downtown ministries, but the costs will be minimal.
Transportation: You will need to have vehicles to transport each individual team and a space available in your van for one Kaleo staff member for each team.
Food: Our goal is to provide good and healthy food options for your team. Additionally, as part of our food service, we will provide your group with some meals that are unique to the local culture of Portland (Food Trucks!). We provide fruit at all meals and have salad options during lunch and dinner. If members of your team have food allergies, please let our City Director know. We can make basic accommodations such as gluten free bread and lactose free milk and you are free to bring additional food if necessary.
Director’s Desk: Partnering with Church-Planters
September 23, 2019A Hopeful Generation
October 19, 2017
Hannah Dewing – Portland City Director
We are excited about the opportunity to partner with your group to serve our ministry partners and the people of Portland. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us, of if you are ready to register your team, click on the “register” button above.
