GO Week 2025: Orlando, Florida

GO Week 2025: Orlando, Florida

By Samantha DePriest

With mission teams serving around the country each year, our students often return with stories of being changed and experiencing significant growth in their own Faith walks. TCS GO Week trips offer our students and staff opportunities to directly serve communities together and make an impact on those in need by sharing the gospel and building relationships. One of our mission teams spent time in central Florida this past school year and our leaders shared about their time serving together. .

Their days started early with a team breakfast and preparing their lunches for the day. Each day they spent time serving with different ministries in and around Orlando. Ministry work included handing out food, organizing food and supplies at food pantries, and more. They closed each day with dinner and devotion time. This time was set aside for our students to spend time in prayer, Bible study, and with God. It is our goal at TCS that our students grow in their relationships with God by continually seeking His guidance, acknowledging His love, and striving to live in a way that reflects His values.

TCS GO Week team serving at the WASH Foundation in Orlando.

Dr. Nicholas Yeakley serves as our AP US and World History Teacher as well as the Department Head for our High School Social Studies department. He and our High School Nurse Mrs. Kacey White helped lead our Orlando missions team this year. Dr. Yeakley shared, “The students worked hard and did a great job, but their resilience and flexibility is what really stood out to me.  Toward the end of the week, there was confusion over the travel home due to the inclement weather coming in.  The students were disappointed that they would not get home for the snow. Nevertheless, the students maintained a positive attitude throughout the delay.”

TCS student pictured serving with Mrs. Kacey White at The WASH Foundation.

Mrs. White shared, “Psalm 33:11 states ‘The plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations’. The 2025 Orlando GoWeek trip was a trip in which every detail was ordained by the Lord. Our service opportunities included working at "Clean the World", designed  to divert soap and plastics from the hospitality industry to be repurposed for underserved countries through "The WASH Foundation", sorting and organizing food through the "Orlando Food Bank", and serving through the "Christian Service Center" which. supports the homeless community in Orlando.”

Mrs. White went on to share about the tremendous impact made on our students, “Our time together was so special. The benefits of this trip were huge. Our students were the hands and feet of Jesus by blessing this community through their service which was not often fun, was cold and hard work. They came home with a sense of great appreciation for all the blessings they have at home and desire to continue in their service here."

Dr. Yeakley pictured far right serving with TCS students.

Dr. Yeakley went on to share about the blessings that came from their change in travel plans, “The travel delay kept us in Orlando a full day longer than expected.  This meant that God gave us one unplanned extra day of service during which we got to go back to the food service ministry that we had previously been to.  Most of the students ended up saying that that was the best day of the trip. It is great to see God work in unexpected ways.”      

“Outside of service, the students had a great time bonding on outings and evenings at our lodging.  We had some really good devotional times each evening, and many of the students opened up and sincerely shared with everyone.  The students also had fun playing games and exploring different sites in Orlando.”

In summary, our students were able to experience the unexpected blessings that came from plans changing outside of their control. We are eager to see how God uses this experience in our students’ lives and how they apply what they have learned to adversity they may face in the future.

GO Week 2025: Phoenix, Arizona

GO Week 2025: PhoeniX, ARIZONa

By Samantha DePriest

TCS GO Week is a time set aside each year for our high school students and staff to serve together as the hands and feet of Jesus. This past school year, we sent out groups around our state, our country, and the globe. Led by High School Skills Development Math Support Teacher and Student Council Faculty Advisor Mrs. Shannon Bragg, and Department Head, AP Language & Literature Teacher, and BETA Club Faculty Advisor Mr. Duane Theobald, a group of students headed west to experience God’s beautiful creation and explore ways to share His love with others in Arizona. Due to inclement weather expected in Atlanta, the mission trip was unfortunately cut short. Thankfully the team was still given the opportunity to serve the people of Phoenix before flying home ahead of the snow storm.

TCS GO WEEK 2025 Phoenix mIssion team

Upon arrival, the team connected with the Joshua Expeditions team leader, hiked Papago Park and explored the beautiful Sedona area.  After their adventures outside, the team shared a meal and Devotion time before turning in for the night.

Day two and three were scheduled to be days of service in partnership with Grand Canyon University, a private and affordable Christian college located in Phoenix. Our students interacted with GCU college students and helped to lead a VBS style outreach with children at a nearby apartment complex. They were able to make connections through games, crafts, and teaching bible lessons.

In partnership with a local ministry partner at a nearby warehouse, the mission team also assisted in sorting donations making it easier to get items into the hands of those who need it most.  Sadly, the team was unable to serve the second day and returned to the airport to get home safely before the storm closed everything down.

A very valuable lesson our mission team learned was that, “You can only control, what you can control.” Though bad weather may have shortened the duration of their trip, God made a way for our team to still make an impact during their time there.

GO WEEK 2025: Ecuador

GO Week 2025: Ecuador

By Samantha DePriest

TCS GO Week coverage continues as a group of eager high school students traveled to South America to the captial city of Quito, Ecuador to serve in a local community. The mission trip provided a unique opportunity to not only help others over the course of many days but to learn and grow through a cross cultural experience, learning how to communicate in a different language, fostering meaningful relationships, and deepening their Faith. Assistant Director of Student Development and Honor Spanish III teacher Mr. Reed Shackelford and ninth grade Bible teacher and head coach of Track & Field Mr. Sam Howard led our missions team in Ecuador. TCS sophomore Sophia Selleck was just one of the high school students greatly impacted and shares how God grew her Faith while serving in Ecuador.

The team hit the ground running as soon as they arrived. After sharing a meal and evening devotion, the team got a good nights rest and headed out the next morning to serve with Joshua Expeditions partners for a full three days. On the fifth day, the team was able to visit the Middle of the World Monument and participate in cultural experiences while visiting the historic city of Quito. The team also visited Teleferico to enjoy the magnificent view from 12,000 feet above sea level of Quito and the surrounding mountains.

Mr. Sam Howard shares, “As a chaperone on a mission trip you can never truly know what to expect. You begin to question, do we have enough students? Do we have the right students? Are their hearts eager and in a posture to serve? I can confidently look back on the trip to Ecuador and say, these are things I should have never worried about. From day one our group was not just willing, but dedicated to making a difference during GO Week. At every opportunity, whether that be playing games and leading a VBS with children all afternoon or planting gardens at homes that were just trying to put food on the table our students sought to serve. Looking back, this wasn’t just an opportunity for them, but it was an opportunity for me to see how God is active in our student body to equip and encourage for Kingdom impact.”

Sophia Selleck pictured right.

Sophia Selleck shares, “My trip to Ecuador was really a life changing experience! Our trip was filled with the Word the entire time. I knew each of my leaders wanted to make Jesus’ mission the center of our trip. On our first day of work, we met with our missions team, Pan de Vida, and held a VBS for Ecuadorian kids in the area.

At first, I didn’t know how to communicate with them at all. I knew a few Spanish phrases, but I was far from fluent and couldn’t understand them very well. In my discouragement, I remembered that before we had gotten there, I read a verse on the plane that had spoken to me deeply. In Jeremiah 1:9-10, God calls Jeremiah to ministry for the first time. It says, “Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.” I knew from this verse that whatever it was I needed to do on this mission trip, God would give me the words to say and provide me with the tools I needed to fulfill his will, even if I didn’t speak the language these people did.

Later during the VBS, we sat down in the grass and did a craft. I was placed with a group of kids and decided to introduce myself with my name. They started asking me questions like “how old are you?” and I was able to answer. Of course there were phrases I didn’t know yet, but I started having real conversations with these kids. The little jokes they would make, the mentioning of their favorite crayon colors, and even when they tried to say their own names with an American accent, it all made sense to me and I could laugh and play with them. It was incredible what was happening and I was becoming so close with kids that spoke a different language than me. 

The next couple work days of our trip were gardening for Ecuadorian families who didn’t have the finances or the strength to build their own gardens. I truly fell in love with the culture and the heart that these people had. Seeing people who were not blessed with much but still so full of the spirit was encouraging to me. I enjoyed getting to know the students I went with on the trip as well as becoming closer with the school friends I already had. All of the judgement that we might’ve shown each other at school vanished as we bonded over holding cute puppies, picking beautiful flowers, and caring for kids. Ever since I left, I’ve wanted to go back and serve just like I did. It was the greatest blessing to go out into the world and spread the message of Jesus and what he has done for me. “

Oh The Places We Will Go: TCS GO Week 2025

Oh The Places We Will Go: TCS GO Week 2025

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nationals, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19

By Samantha DePriest

The heart of TCS High School is to see our students fulfill the Great Commission and share the love of Christ to others. GO Week is an annual week-long opportunity to serve with fellow students in places all over the world. TCS is strengthened through these shared student and faculty service experiences. While we have students traveling domestically and internationally each January to give the opportunity to serve in different cultures, we also have students serving right here in our local community.  

TCS Leadership shares, “TCS officially launched GO Week in 2018 and models the reign of the King of Kings through a week of concentrated servanthood the first week of school the first week of the second semester. The very first year, approximately 275 students dispersed into ministries dedicated to the forgotten, the homeless, and the hungry. Over the years the teams have grown and this past year, over 500 students participated in GO Week to minister to the least of these.”

TCS Student Lily Wozniak shares the gospel during a soccer camp in Ecuador.

Over the last 6 years, our TCS GO Week mission teams have served in various places all over the globe including Austria, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Haiti, Panama, and Puerto Rico. Mission teams have also served with a wide variety of ministries here in the United States including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Montana, New York, and Texas. Our Local GO Week teams have served a crucial role in partnership with outreach efforts in and around our community including Backpack Buddies, Bridging the Gap, Camp Southern Ground, City of Refuge, Georgia Baptist Children’s Home, God’s Eyes, Habitat for Humanity, Hope Global, Hope Revisited, One Roof, Operation Mobilization, Riverlife, Riverside Church Pure Hope Outreach, and Wesley Woods.

While Covid, snowstorms, and even an earthquake have impacted some of our trips over the six years, our mission teams never doubted the calling placed on their lives to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Over the course of the first semester of this school year, weekly high school chapel services specifically focused on the attributes of God with intentional focus on specific scriptures and passages shared by various pastors, our students have been equipped and are ready to serve.

Please join us in lifting up our high school students and staff members as they serve in GO Week 2025. This year we have mission teams heading as far away as Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, London, and even Dubai. Many of our teams are serving stateside in New Orleans, Louisiana, Orlando, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, and Dallas, Texas. We even have a mission team heading to assist in wildfire relief efforts in Maui, Hawaii. In partnership with local non-profits and ministries, some of our students will serve right here in our community as well as Fulton county. Over the coming weeks, we will share stories of our mission teams sharing love in action, spreading Faith, helping with community development, building connections and relationships, all while serving others and glorifying God. It truly is a great time to be a TCS Lion!