Over the 2026 spring break, Gordon hosted a number of mission trips that spanned across the world, including countries like Ecuador, Iceland, Honduras, and more. Teams were sent all over to share the love of God and minister to people in need. However, two trips that may not get the same spotlight are the West Virginia and Maryland trips. While the trips do not sound as grand as travelling international borders to serve others, the work being done in these two places is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Chestnut Mountain Ranch (CMR) in West Virginia and Refuge Mountain Ranch (RMR) in Maryland are partner ministries located not even an hour apart from one another in the U.S.’s South Atlantic.
Founded in 2005, Chestnut Mountain Ranch has operated as a Christ-centered home and school for young boys in crisis in the Morgantown, WV area. At the ranch, boys ranging from teens to adolescents are given housing in newly built homes along with six other students, under the care of full-time house parents employed by the ranch. These homes provide a safe, loving, and structured environment for the boys to form and strengthen relationships with each other and God, as faith is a core part of the education provided at the ranch. The goal is not just to restore relationships within the families, but also between the families and God. CMR also has a nationally accredited private school that provides individualized attention to students through small classroom sizes to help students reach their full potential in an environment that is dedicated to helping them succeed.
Refuge Mountain Ranch is planning to launch in 2026 and has a very similar mission, however they are dedicated to teenage and adolescent girls. In addition to a school and houses for the girls to stay in when the ranch opens, Refuge has several horses on property. Bringing in specialist staff, the ranch will use equine-assisted therapy to help the physical, mental, and emotional health of the students living there. While there is still much work to do at RMR, the foundation is strong, and the work that will be done there in healing families and restoring relationships with God will be something everyone should know about.
The two teams that spent their spring break serving these ranches did not minister in the same way as the other trips Gordon hosts. The first thing that comes to most people’s minds when they hear mission trip is the idea of spreading the Gospel through preaching or sharing testimonies. The teams in West Virginia and Maryland did not do this. In fact, because CMR was on spring break that same week and RMR has not opened yet, there were no students on either ranch at the same time as the teams. Instead, the Gordon students on these trips took part in a sort of indirect ministry where they helped both ranches with construction, refurbishment, and other forms of manual tasks to help the ranches accomplish their missions.
Annika Tophoven, a senior on the Maryland trip, described it as an incredible experience. The team worked closely with members of RMR’s staff to demolish walls and ceilings in the school’s cafeteria to make room for new floor plans, built pens for horse training as well as foundations and frames for additional horse stables, cleaned the soon-to-be thrift store operated by the ranch, and other tasks. Despite the team being on the smaller side, Annika said that it allowed them to grow close and get to know the staff there very personally. She described the staff workers as fully embodying the love of Christ and having eager hearts to serve families in need.
On the West Virginia Trip, Bella Boschetto, a sophomore, said it was a pleasure to work with other Gordon students at CMR and help take the weight and stress of many tasks off the shoulders of the staff at the ranch. The team was able to accomplish in one week what would have taken the limited staff a month to get done. Between clearing a path through ranch property for a charity 5k race to fundraise for the ranch, assisting with the refurbishing of student homes, and painting the interior of the new gymnasium currently under construction, the work done in West Virginia will stick with the members of that trip for years. Bella described the staff at CMR as kind, grateful, and sacrificial. Their hearts ache for both God and the families they serve.
Mission trips can take on many forms. While most may look like preaching the Word of God and sharing testimonies to those who have yet to hear, there are many other ways to serve God and people. While both CMR and RMR help their students grow spiritually, the biggest way they share the love of God is through the care they give and the dedication they have towards the people who need them most.
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