Alaska Vision Trip

We arrived for the 2026 PPM Alaska Vision trip this afternoon and had a meeting with Pastor James from Radiant Church! It was great to hear about James’s call into ministry, how the Lord has provided for Radiant, and the ways future mission teams can serve effectively and support the church. We also learned a lot about trapping and fishing!

After a dinner of salmon burgers at Arctic Roadrunner, we went to see where our dinner came from at Ship Creek, a popular urban fishing spot in downtown Anchorage. It was meaningful to walk around town and see a bit of the lifestyle we heard about talking with Pastor James this afternoon.

We had to burn some calories after trying some signature Alaskan ice cream flavors, so we took a walk along Ship Creek. Afterwards, we had a brief Q&A to talk about PPM’s history and vision!

After lunch today, we met with Pastor Ben at C3. He and his intern Blaze talked about C3’s history and their mission to serve the local neighborhood/community, especially through kids ministry. C3 has been such a blessing to PPM (and its community), and has been a faithful partner for almost a decade. Numerous projects were completed this summer together, and lots of kids were reached through C3’s park ministry and their Safe Harbor outreach as well.

Before our meeting with Pastor Jeremy at G2, we had time to drive up to the trailhead of Mt Baldy, which overlooks all of Eagle River and Anchorage. It was a beautiful view, but also meaningful to see the communities we’ll hopefully be serving next year!

We received an enthusiastic tour from Matthew about Frontline Missions that included a shopping cart to simulate the food distribution. We learned about the many programs they have to support the Mat-Su borough, from hot meals to donated clothes, to showers and washers, to their garden, to their yearly events like their Thanksgiving outreach. It was incredible to hear all about their relationship with the community and how we can support them and serve alongside them in the future.

After our ministry visits today, we took a drive up to Hatcher Pass! While it was very foggy up at the top, we still got to see some of the old mining town at Independence Mine and the beautiful blue water of Little Susitna River.

We had the privilege of touring the Fresh International Garden with Sabrina from Catholic Social Services. The garden has a wide variety of vegetables and flowers that are grown by refugees. An impactful part was hearing that the team meets to all wash the produce at the same time to meet in fellowship together.

As part of our visit with Sabrina from Catholic Social Services, we saw their Grow North Farm location, which provides garden space for small business owners, predominately refugees. Grow North Farm also has a weekly market to sell their produce and cooked food, with music and traditions from many cultures present!

We met with Pastor Jason, the director of New Hope Compassionate Ministries. It was a blessing to hear about his heart for serving the community of Anchorage and his trust in the Lord.

Next, we headed to C3 to hear from Pastor Ben and his intern, Blaise. C3 is doing so much in the neighborhood and larger Muldoon area. We were blown away by how personal and intentional C3 is, and it was a humbling reminder of how a church should be serving in its community.

After our drive to Mt Baldy, we visited Pastor Jeremy at G2, who told us that last summer, he hiked Mt Baldy every week to pray over Eagle River. He gave us a tour of G2 and a brief history of the changes the church has undergone as of late, as well as a testimony of how God led him to Alaska.

We visited Chris at Kids Kupboard and learned of the amazing programs and events in place to serve the Mat-Su borough. Thousands of children are being fed meals through the hard work of Chris, his team, and volunteers!

We ended the trip with a stop at Beluga Point and some surrounding water falls! No whales were spotted, but that didn’t keep the trip from being memorable (and meaningful).