At 6 years old, “I was AIM’s first employee; my job was licking stamps,” said Talia Barnes.
On September 1989, Adventures in Missions (AIM) was first formed as Seth Barnes (Talia’s father), his family and a few friends got together in a garage in Florida to mail invitations to join them on a short-term missions trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica. This spring, AIM has reached a milestone: 90,000 people have been mobilized onto the missions field.
Rosie Watson was the first person AIM sent out; originally from Jamaica, she suggested the location. “It’s pretty exciting to be at the beginning of something that God had such a vision for. [Short term missions] changes you because it forces you to leave your own comfort and your heart is opened to the needs of others,” she said, never dreaming that the organization would grow into what it is now.
Through the course of 22 years, AIM has sent youth and adults all over the world, to almost 60 countries (including the U.S), in every continent except Antarctica, through various programs, notably through:
- short term missions: 3-day to 2-week trips for youth groups, adults (groups & individuals) and families;
- high school and college missions: 2-5 weeks trips for individual youth (ages 14-18) and 1-9 month trips for college students (ages 18-22);
- The World Race: 11 months in 11 countries for young adults (ages 21-35).
Through AIM, God has made lasting impact on both the people sent out on the field through our trips and the people who are served on the field. By working with local churches, missionaries, organizations and pastors to advance God’s kingdom, AIM has been contributing to long-term kingdom building efforts all over the world.
Last summer, on a short-term missions trip to Mount Vernon, New York (located just outside of New York City), a teen from North Dakota befriended a man named Roberto. He met Roberto while prayer walking. Since then, Roberto has been an active member of the church with whom AIM partners and thanks to email and social media, he and Roberto continue to keep in touch.
- Four twenty-somethings spent four months in Kenya last year as part of our college missions program, Real Life. They ministered to internally displaced people (IDP) living in refugee camps. The Kenya Initiative was born out of these young adults’ dissatisfaction with the conditions the IDP have been living in. The initiative is currently raising funds and building up a team to serve in Kenya long-term.
- Several World Race alumni continue to serve on the mission field, joining with other organizations, like Sharon Price (October 2008 alumna) who teaches English in Budapest, Hungary or beginning new ministries like Jodi Greenlee is doing in the Philippines.
These stories make up a small sample of the impact we’ve made through 90,000 people in the last 22 years. Joshua 23:10 says,
One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised.
Together, with you, according to the math, we’ve put tens of millions to flight; we’re grateful for you. To celebrate this victorious milestone, we’re offering a special discount for selected short-term trips during April. Let’s continue to advance his kingdom, and build the legacy.
