Summer 2026
Registrations are coming soon!!
Caring
Our mission centers & staff are permanently based in the communities we serve. We know and love our neighbors and seek to show and share the gospel of Jesus with humility, mercy, & grace.
We Care!
Established
Our teams have been serving the people of Leslie County, Kentucky for 22 years and have hosted over 40,000 volunteers! We are beginning our seventh year of ministry in Floyd County in 2025
We're Committed to our community!
Welcoming
We welcome all groups!
Individuals & Families
Adult teams
Youth Ministries
College Ministries
Christian Schools
We are welcoming!
Affordable
We know that money can be tight. We try to keep our trips affordable. Your total cost of $275pp includes food, lodging, staffing, worship services & supplies! You provide transportation.
We keep it affordable!
Where we are:
Big Creek Missions has two permanent mission centers in Leslie County and Floyd County Kentucky
What we do:
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Gospel Focus: Our mission centers are dedicated to sharing and demonstrating the Gospel to our neighbors year-round.
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Community Engagement: Our mission staff work continuously to serve and build partnerships within the community.
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Local Connections: Our partnerships help connect your team with impactful service and ministry opportunities.
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Resident Support: We offer home repairs, food pantries, community outreach, and children's enrichment programs.
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Life-Changing Experiences: We provide transformative mission experiences that center on serving Jesus & others.
What we avoid:
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Gimmicks: We strive to stay genuine and straightforward.
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Fluff: We offer real, substantive opportunities for serving Jesus and others, not superficial experiences.
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Competition: We aren't trying to compete with bigger mission orgs or camps. We are serving Jesus the way it works here.
What type groups can serve at Big Creek?
All of them! Families, youth groups, adult groups, church groups, college groups, business groups, and more!
No group is too small to serve with us. (Families would register and be considered a "group" for planning purposes)
For Student Groups, here are our adult / student ratios:
Middle School groups: 1 adult per 3 students (required)
High School groups: 1 adult per 5 students (highly suggested)
Mixed / Middle & High: 1 adult per 4 students (highly suggested)
Adult groups: try to be on your best behavior!
What type of mission work would your team do?
Your team members will individually choose to serve in one of three primary areas of service:
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Construction Ministry: Your team will provide major home repairs, working hard to fix homes that may seem unfixable. This includes: ramps, roofs, floor replacements, plumbing, electrical, hvac repairs, windows, doors, and everything else.
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Community Ministry: Your team will provide meals, visit, clothe, and support those experiencing hardship. Expect to package and deliver hundreds of meals, offer companionship, and provide lots of hugs.
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Children's Ministry: Your team will lead enriching day camps for children, offering high-energy, loving, and outdoor experiences. We ask teams to contribute to planning and executing our summer children's day camps
What does Big Creek provide for my team?
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Authentic Missions: Your team will engage in meaningful service, addressing various needs within the community.
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Spiritual Growth: Participants will grow in their faith through worship, scripture based teaching, and practical action.
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Practical Skills: Gain experience in leadership, life skills, and construction.
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Community Insight: Work alongside our staff who deeply understand the needs of our community.
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Team Building: Experience challenges that strengthen team dynamics and reliance on Christ.
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Ongoing Ministry: Be part of something bigger than yourself! We’ll continue our work even after you leave!
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Southern Hospitality: Enjoy warm hospitality from our staff and community.
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Comfortable Accommodations: Stay in air-conditioned bunk rooms with mattresses/bunks and hot showers.
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Delicious Meals: Enjoy well-reviewed meals—our Summer 2025 adults rated Big Creek Campus Meals 9.9/10!
What does a typical day look like for my team?
This is the general schedule for both campus locations - actual schedule may vary slightly.
See the group planning guide for each campus for more specific details.
6:45 am - Wake Up Call!
7:00 am - Breakfast! We offer a full cafeteria style hot breakfast.
7:00 am - Lunch packing time! Team members build their own lunch at our lunch stations and pack it in their team cooler.
8:00 am - Morning Worship & Sendoff. We'll worship and briefly dig into God's word to help focus for the day!
8:20 am - Adult meeting / Student team meetings. The directors meet with adults daily to go over the day's plans
8:50 am - Go serve! Your drivers and their teams will load your vehicles and head out to the work site for the day!
(lunch is eaten at the work site - lunchtime is different for each team)
4:30 pm (ish) - Return to campus ... shower, nap, relax, go outside and play, enjoy! (flex free time lasts till 7:30)
5:30 pm - Dinner! We offer a full cafeteria style dinner and salad bar every evening, except Wednesday (night out)
After dinner, your team can enjoy some "flex" time. Play outside, relax, and fellowship.
8:00 pm - Worship (BC Campus) We'll gather again for worship in the evening to end our day right!
- At the Wheelwright campus, you'll have the evening free for strategic community ministry & small groups!
9:00 pm - Church Group meeting times! This is where you and your team can gather and share about your day.
10:45 pm - SLEEP!
The Cost:
We ask for a donation of $275 per person for a full week mission trip! (Sunday - Saturday)
There are no additional fees or surprise charges.
What your donation of $275 covers:
Your gift helps us fund and operate our two year-round mission centers. It also helps cover your team's:
*Lodging (gender based bunk rooms with bunks, mattresses and indoor hot showers)
*2 hot meals and 1 "sack lunch" daily (some of our teams have three hot meals daily!)
*Construction and other various ministry supplies
*Ministry staffing, worship team (BC campus), worship leader (Wheelwright Campus) pre-project planning, and more!
*BONUS: Teams that pay & provide info 30 days before their trip receive a free T-shirt for each participant!
*BONUS: Save an additional 10% by signing up for our first week of ministry!!
Your team DOES cover the cost of:
*Transportation / fuel / vehicles during the mission & of course, to and from the mission.
*Some children's ministry supplies: we ask all teams to help us plan and prepare elements for our kids daycamps
*1 meal out in the community on Wednesday night - to support our local economy
*Optional "mission store" with gear that supports our mission. Prices are very reasonable.
Are there any additional "surprise" costs?
No additional fees or costs!
*Don't be afraid of the lower price*
A lower cost doesn’t mean lower quality—just ask our past groups! Many who’ve attended the “big name” mission trips say the heart, focus, and enthusiasm at Big Creek set us apart. Our mission is to provide an exceptional experience at a price churches and groups of all sizes can afford.
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Focused Funding: Your support goes straight to ministry. We don’t fund executive offices or fancy headquarters—every dollar strengthens our two mission centers. We stretch every gift to maximize impact.
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Hands-On Leadership: You’ll be working directly with our Executive Director at Big Creek or our Directors at the WW campus. All of our leaders are serving on mission alongside you each day.
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Word-of-Mouth Growth: Instead of spending big on ads, we rely on our reputation and your stories. The best testimony of our mission is what you share when you return home.
Why do we need mission teams in Southeast Kentucky?
Nestled in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky—a region of rich heritage, warm people, and breathtaking scenery—Big Creek Missions serves in a community facing real challenges. Poverty, drug addiction, hunger, and hopelessness weigh heavily here. In fact, this region is often ranked among the hardest places to live in the U.S. That’s why we need mission teams: to bring help, hope, and the love of Christ to families in need through housing, hunger relief, and discipleship.
Unfortunately, Eastern Kentucky is often painted with unfair stereotypes—“toothless hillbillies” and “shoeless kids.” The truth is much brighter. Yes, there are challenges, but there are also passionate leaders, resilient families, and incredible potential.
When your group comes to Big Creek, you’ll be part of more than a service project—you’ll be part of a story. You’ll:
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Build lasting relationships with local families.
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Meet urgent needs in practical ways.
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Share the Gospel with those who are lost.
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Disciple young believers hungry to grow in their faith.
For over 22 years, Big Creek has built trust in this community. Your team can strengthen that legacy and help bring lasting hope to Southeast Kentucky.
What follow-up happens after your team leaves?
We are a year round permanent ministry. You can be confident we will continue to nurture the relationships that are built during your week of service. We know our people - and our people know us! We will strive to connect with our community and meet needs through the year.
Construction
Your crew leaders will guide your team (with our staff) to provide these types of home repairs:
Roofs
Ramps / Porches
Floor replacements
Doors, Windows, Siding
Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC
Community
Community teams are serving in different ways every day - this ministry area has the most variety!
Elderly care & Lawn work
Home visits & Wellness checks
Food & Clothing pantries
Feeding Programs / food boxes
Children & Teens
Your team will work with others to provide an outdoor interactive and exciting "VBS style" experience for our local children each day. These daily events are located at local pools, parks, churches, and community centers. Come prepared to serve Elementary, Middle, and High school students!
Your participants choose 1 of 3 ministries
Your whole team doesn't have to do the same thing!
As your participants register, they'll select their preferred ministry
Our staff will work with you to sub-divide your team into service groups
A little bit of Big Creek History...
Big Creek began in 2003 as a simple one-week youth trip with Kevin's youth group. Our heart was to expose students to the realities of poverty in rural Appalachia—and from that desire, Big Creek was born.
What started small quickly grew. Partnering with many local churches, by 2007, we welcomed nearly 800 participants over the course of a month. Today the Lord has blessed us with two year-round mission centers serving several thousand volunteers each year. Through it all, our purpose has remained the same: to meet needs and share Jesus in two struggling areas of Eastern Kentucky.
Our directors are former church leaders who saw firsthand how Big Creek transformed their own ministries. We believe this same experience can transform your team, just as it transformed ours. With 23 summers and 18 years of full-time ministry behind us, we are still as passionate as ever. The Lord continues to work through His people here—blessing our communities and shaping the lives of those who serve. We invite you to come be part of the story in Southeast Kentucky!
Kevin (Founder & Big Creek Campus Director)
Bubba & Tammy (Wheelwright Campus Directors)
2026 Weeks of Service
May 24-30 (Save $25 pp)
May 31 - June 6
June 7-13
June 14-20
June 21-27
June 28 - July 4
July 5-11
July 12-18
July 19-25
July 26 - Aug 21
Arrival time: Sunday between 3-4 pm
Departure time: Saturday before 9 am
(some groups leave as early as Friday following the work day)
Campus Choices
Big Creek Mission Center
Location: 90 bullskin Road, Bear Branch KY
Capacity: 170 guests
Setting: More rural setting - travelling to adjacent towns
Worship: Typically a full band & staff teacher
Ministry differences: This location has more space for team members, provides the excitement of serving alongside several groups in a "camp like" setting (note: not a camp!)
Accessibility: This facility is fully accessible with private wheelchair friendly bathroom, and is all one level
View pictures of this campus HERE
Download the Big Creek Campus planning guide here
Wheelwright Mission Center
Location: 1369 KY-306, Wheelwright, KY 41669
Capacity: 60 guests
Setting: More "in town" type setting, located in small town
Worship: worship leader+staff teacher
Ministry differences: Your team will have enjoy a smaller more intimate setting at Wheelwright. Your team will have more opportunities for local interaction in the evenings.
Accessibility: Contact us regarding accessibility. We will work with you to accommodate those with special needs
View Pictures of this campus HERE
Download the Wheelwright Campus planning guide here
Here's How to Register:
No piles of paperwork—all registration, permission, and release forms are online!
1. Estimate Your Group Size: Decide your approximate group size (please don’t overestimate).
2. Register Your Team: Click the red box below to register & pay the $50 per-person deposit online (ACH or credit).
3. Participants complete their permission / release forms online at www.bigcreekmissions.com/go.
➡️ Important: All payments are made by the group leader. Participants do not pay online.
▼ Read Before you Register ▼
BIG CREEK CAMPUS planning guide
WHEELWRIGHT CAMPUS planning guide
Locations on Google Maps
Past news stories & testimonials!
Printable Brochure about Big Creek