Students of Salt Company are forgoing a tropical Spring Break in order to do mission work in Minnesota this year.

The Salt Company is a student ministry based out of Cornerstone Church in Ames. They hold worship every Thursday night where approximately 1,200 students worship, welcoming anyone willing to attend.

“It really is everyone and anyone. There is everything from people who have gone to church their entire lives,” said Jordan Adams, a staff member of the Salt Company. “[to] atheists who really have never been in a church but were friends with someone who goes, and they come to check it out.”

This year some of the members of the Salt Company look forward to extending their help through an alternative Spring Break in Minneapolis. They will work with a company called STEM International. STEM stands for Short-Term Evangelical Missions.

“STEM international works with groups like us and matches us with different organizations and different churches in the cities who could use our help,” Adams said.

Members of Salt Company will divide up into different groups in order to work on various projects throughout the week. They will be doing everything from missionary work to manual labor.

“We will be working with inner-city kids who need some tutoring,” Adams said. “Something else we will be doing is a kids’ club with kids that are interested in learning about stories from the Bible. Almost like a Sunday school where we teach them stories.”

Adams said that they will also be helping a church in Minneapolis. This will include repainting and cleaning around the church.

The group will be staying in Minneapolis for six days in a shelter where they will be sleeping on the ground in sleeping bags. At the shelter they will help serve meals to the homeless.

“We just see a lot of value in taking the week … to serve other people. We’re not saying that going and spending your trip on the beach is a bad thing. I’ve done that and I think that’s fine,” Adams said. “We think there is a lot of value in providing our students with the opportunity to serve.”

The trip will also provide a good opportunity to interact and meet other cultures. Adams said that interacting and getting to know other cultures is something of value for the students and himself.

“There are plenty of opportunities here to get to know people, but I think they are kind of coming into our culture. I think it will be cool to go into theirs, eat their food see how they live,” said Chris Wermeskerch, a sophomore in religious studies.

Wermeskerch said that one of the activities during the week might be attending a mosque.

“I’m not in any Islam classes, but just to go to a Mosque is almost more valuable than some classes can be,” Wermeskerch said. “I could be out there living it, getting to know people and getting to know what they actually believe instead of what my study sheet says they believe.”

Adams said they would be going to different ethnic restaurants and learning about different cultures and countries.

The trip is open to anyone who wants to attend, but Adams said the group will be mostly freshmen because that is the ministry he leads.