We know that Christ calls us to love our neighbors (Matthew 22:39). For the church in America, Indigenous people were our very first neighbors. Did you know that our “first neighbors” are living in conditions that rival many third world nations? Since the 1855 treaty, which established the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State, the culture, families, and dreams of the Yakama people have steadily disintegrated. Sacred Road Ministries was started in February 2005, with a burden to love our “first neighbors.” Since then, the Lord has equipped the ministry to love our “first neighbors” by redeeming broken lives, restoring hope to the oppressed, and rebuilding the communities on both the Yakama and Warm Springs reservations.
RUF + Sacred Road
We have many RUF campuses who serve at Sacred Road. Here is peek into the experience of an RUF student from the University of Washington.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what year you are at UW and your involvement with RUF?
My name is Tanya Naveen, I’m a junior at UW studying Computer Science and Math, and I’ve been involved with RUF since my freshman year at UW!
What led you to go on this spring break mission trip to Sacred Road Ministries?
I had heard a lot of wonderful things about Sacred Road from others in RUF who had previously been on the trip, and I was really drawn to their mission of reaching the Indigenous community. Evangelism is something that’s been on my mind a lot recently, and I was curious about how Sacred Road approaches sharing the gospel in a culturally sensitive way, especially given the history of tension between the Indigenous community and the church. I wanted to learn more and help serve in any way I could.
For those who may not be familiar, how would you describe Sacred Road Ministries and the community they serve?
Sacred Road is a church-planting ministry with a heart for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the indigenous community. They currently have churches in the Yakama reservation in Washington, and the Warm Springs reservation in Oregon. They have dedicated full-time staff teams at each of these sites who run the church and meet needs within their community. A large part of the ministry is reaching out to children, which they do through their Kids Club program for younger kids, Youth Groups and discipleship groups for teens, and an after school tutoring program for 5th and 6th graders.
What stood out to you most about the mission and values of Sacred Road?
Something that really stood out to me was how intentional Sacred Road is in building relationships – they truly care for each and every person they encounter, and are so integrated into the community, from sharing a meal together with their church family after service, to driving door to door to pick up kids for Kids Club. They treat their community like family, which is such a beautiful picture of how the gospel can overcome all barriers and can transform relationships.
What kind of work did you and your team do during the week?
The UW team was mostly splitting, stacking, and delivering firewood for most of the week! Many families on the reservation rely on firewood for cooking and warmth, but it’s expensive and work-intensive to acquire – it’s a very real need in the community that Sacred Road seeks to meet. A few of us also worked on painting a community member’s home for part of the week. Some of the other teams were working on roofing jobs, which is also something the UW team has done in past years.
We also got to spend a lot of time with the children at Kids Club, which is just a safe space that Sacred Road creates for kids to play with their friends and participate in various activities, and hear the gospel shared though Bible stories. Getting to spend time with the kids during Kids Club was definitely one of the highlights of each day.
Was there a particular moment or interaction during the trip that impacted you deeply?
One of the most impactful moments during the trip was probably getting to spend time with the kids. Each day, a Sacred Road van would go door-to-door to pick up kids for Kids Club – I think that speaks to the level of care and intention that the Sacred Road team has for each child, being willing to drive to each home and pick up each child one by one. It was so sweet to see the excitement on the kids’ faces when the van pulled in and the joy that Kids Club brought them – especially knowing that many of the children come from broken homes and experience so much pain and brokenness every day. Just getting to witness how Sacred Road comes alongside them in that – truly knowing and loving each and every child – was so beautiful and deeply impactful, and is such a powerful reflection of Christ’s love.
Getting to know the staff members at Sacred Road was also really impactful – getting to hear their stories and how they responded to God’s call was so powerful and encouraging. In particular, getting to hear the stories of staff members who actually grew up in the ministry – they were once kids who went to Kid’s Club and Youth Group, and hearing how the Gospel truly changed their lives and eventually led them to come back and work for Sacred Road as adults was such an amazing thing to hear and just such a powerful and tangible display of God’s faithfulness through this ministry.
What did a typical day look like for you during the trip?
In the mornings, we would head to our work sites – the UW team was splitting and chopping firewood, and also painting a home in the community. Then, for a couple hours each afternoon, we would head to Kids Club, where the church hosted activities and games for the kids at a local park, plus a Bible story time and snack time. The church also hosts Youth Group on Tuesday nights, so we got to go to that and get to know some of the youth as well. Then, after the events and activities during the day had ended, we had some time to decompress and debrief with our teams, chat with the staff, and just hang out with each other.
How did serving with Sacred Road affect your understanding of justice, poverty, or the role of the Church in marginalized communities?
One of the bible passages that drives Sacred Road’s mission is Isaiah 58, which calls those who truly love God to “to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke” (Isaiah 58:6). Serving at Sacred Road helped me understand that when the Church prayerfully steps out in obedience to God’s call to love our neighbors and care for the marginalized, God works powerfully and his faithfulness is so evident, even in the midst of pain and injustice and suffering. “He who calls is faithful, and he will do it” (1 Thess 5:24).
In what ways did you experience spiritual growth during the week?
There were lots of moments throughout the week where we saw God at work in so many beautiful and tangible ways, and that was so encouraging – whether that was through hearing the stories of the Sacred Road staff, hanging out with the kids, and just hearing about the history and impact that the ministry has had on the community was such a powerful testament to God’s goodness and faithfulness. Being around others who so sacrificially reach out and love the community that they’re in and serving with such passion and humility was so powerful, and definitely encouraged me in my own faith.
The RUF community at UW means a lot to me and this trip really deepened a lot of those relationships and connections – living together for a week is a bonding experience for sure! It was a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level – from working alongside each other every day, having meaningful conversations about what we’re seeing and experiencing, praying together, and playing board games together at the end of each night. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and community that definitely brought us closer as a team. It was also amazing to get to know some of the staff and students from the other schools who were also there throughout the week as well!
Has this trip inspired you to serve in new ways now that you’re back on campus?
I think this trip has really encouraged me to be more attentive to the ways God is working around me in my everyday life, and be more intentional in my relationships. I think one of my biggest takeaways from the Sacred Road staff team is that the gospel is best shared when we love our neighbors well – when we’re willing to enter into the brokenness and the need that’s all around us with compassion and love. I think that’s definitely inspired me to approach my relationships with that lens and intentionality, and just be more prayerful and attentive to the ways that God is at work every day.
What encouragement would you give to someone considering going on a future Sacred Road trip?
It’s truly such an eye-opening and impactful experience, and such a tangible display of God at work. Getting to serve as a part of that, even just for a short time, is a wonderful thing. In a lot of ways, you do come face-to-face with the brokenness and pain and suffering that exists in this world, but what a beautiful and encouraging thing it is to see how God is faithful and works all things according to his plan even in the midst of that.
I’m truly so thankful I had the opportunity to go, and I would definitely encourage anyone considering it to take that step in faith. God is certainly at work and his word does not return void.