As a sub-committee of the Mission Committee, we were formed to coordinate and host groups of volunteers who stay at our church while performing local mission work.  Our church facilities can accommodate up to 20 people sleeping in classrooms on deluxe air mattresses.  We provide our volunteers with sheets, pillows, blankets, and towels.  The newly renovated kitchen in the Great Room provides our volunteers with every kind of small electric appliance needed to prepare meals for their group.

Our Hosting Task Force also has a team of 75 PCOC volunteers who assist with washing linens, tearing down classrooms and setting up the sleeping rooms.  We even have folks who prepare a dish to serve at a potluck dinner for the volunteers.

PDA Hosting Journey from 2019-2021

In April 2019 – just three weeks after the historic flooding and disaster needs assistance arose in our area – the Mission Committee appointed a task force to explore the idea of becoming a PDA Long Term Recovery Host Site.

• In June, PDA selected PCOC as the single host site for the Omaha area (there were six other churches interested in this opportunity).
• In July, we confirmed Omaha Rapid Response as our work partner and hosted a Q&A meeting with members of our Congregation and two PDA Hosting Coordinators from the national headquarters in Louisville.
• At the end of August, the Session unanimously approved PCOC to become a PDA Long Term Recovery Host site.
• We applied and received a $5,000 PDA grant and additional grant money from our Presbytery. We also received a generous donation from two anonymous donors.
• We expanded and updated the kitchen in the Great Room for PDA volunteers to use.
• By the end of the fall, we had welcomed 8 groups of volunteers, from six different states, a total of 60 youth and adults, who worked over 1,800 hours at the Kings Lake site.
• 2020 proved to be a slow year with cancellations of 9 of 11 groups as PDA issued a travel ban due to COVID. We welcomed the first group from northern Kansas early in March and the second group arrived the following week.  They were here four days and had to leave early because of COVID.  We had 26 volunteers between the two groups.
• 2021 came with a new set of COVID related challenges. PDA was now mandating “all volunteers be fully vaccinated, regardless of age.”  Eventually, the other disaster response organizations mandated vaccines for adults, too. We welcomed a total of 9 groups from 8 different states and a total of 113 volunteers who worked almost 4,000 hours.

King’s Lake success story since March of 2019.

• Volunteers have rebuilt 22 flood-damaged homes
• 7 more homes have been condemned and need to be rebuilt from the ground up. This will require primarily skilled workers; work for the average volunteer is about finished.

Feedback from the volunteer teams who stayed at PCOC:

• “We were overwhelmed by your grace and hospitality. The meal on Sunday night was great. And thanks for checking in on us during the week.”
• “Wow! What a great place to come home to. We were treated to beautiful, comfortable surroundings that are filled with love! Thank you, brothers and sisters, for being a family to us Kansans.”
• “Your Church is beautiful! Enjoyed Wednesday evening dinner and meeting some church members. Thanks for your wonderful hospitality.”
• “I have been on more than 30 mission trips and have been hosted by all types of churches. You all have been the best hosts we’ve ever had.  The rooms, the beds, the linens, the towels all were great and so much appreciated.  Please extend our thanks to your committee and congregation and if any of you ever find yourselves in SW Missouri, give us a call.”   Greg Carter, Joplin, Missouri
• “Your church is like the “Hilton for Volunteers.”