Benchwarmers 2025

Dear Parents,

We’re excited to announce Benchwarmers 2025, a fun and meaningful end-of-summer trip to Asheville, NC for all rising 6th–12th graders, happening August 4–6!

This trip includes:

• Lodging at Lake Junaluska (4-person bunk rooms with private bathrooms)

• Serving with ABCCM (Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry)

• Attending an Asheville Tourists baseball game

• Breakfast provided Tuesday and Wednesday by Lake Junaluska

We’ll load the bus on Monday, August 4th at 2:00 PM from John Wesley UMC and return on Wednesday, August 6th around 1:00 PM (leaving Junaluska at 8:00 AM).

The cost will be $150 or less, and this is your final call to register. Whether or not you've previously expressed interest, we’d love for your student to join us — but we need an exact headcount to finalize everything.

Here’s what you need to do to secure your spot:

1. Pay the $150 trip fee (or less if we finalize costs lower) at this link:
   Payment Link

   If you need to delay payment or request financial assistance, please reach out — we never want cost to be the reason a student can’t attend.

2. Submit a 2025–2026 John Wesley Health Form

   • Drop it off at the church

   • Or email a scan or clear photo (front and back) to jwyouth@gmail.com

✅ Please email me if you can not pay (online or at this time) to save you a spot at jwyouth@gmail.com

We can’t wait to close out summer with this awesome opportunity for connection, service, and fun before the new school year begins!

Each year, JDub wraps up the summer with our Benchwarmers trip, which traditionally includes serving others and catching a Major League Baseball game. This year, we’re doing things a little differently. Instead of heading to an MLB stadium, we’ll be going to see the Asheville Tourists, a Minor League team, as part of our trip to western North Carolina. Why the change? Our Youth Leadership Team felt strongly that we needed to focus our time and resources on helping our neighbors recover from the devastating hurricane that hit the region last year. So while we’ll still enjoy the ballpark experience, our main mission will be serving with ABCCM to support ongoing recovery efforts in the Asheville area.