Teens make an MPACT in the Highland Lakes
Teen volunteers from Hill Country Fellowship in Burnet were treated to a day at Volente Beach Waterpark and Resort in Leander after a week of hard work with MPACT Missions. Over 200 MPACT Mission volunteers from across Texas spent a week in mid-June painting, mowing, trimming, and hauling trash for homes in the Highland Lakes. Photos courtesy of Tony Suchomel
More than 200 young men and women, ranging in age from sixth grade through college, made a big impact on the Highland Lakes. Over four days in mid-June, MPACT Missions volunteers from across the state rolled out their sleeping bags and rolled up their sleeves to paint, mow, trim, and clean homes for the elderly, disabled, and those still recovering from last year’s Fourth of July weekend flood.
“MPACT is one of the best things I do all summer,” said volunteer Luke Suchomel, 19, of Bertram. “We are helping people out who really need it.”
MPACT stands for Making People Aware of Christ’s Truth. It was founded 30 years ago by Pastor Mark McBride of First Baptist Church in Saint Jo, where the organization is headquartered.
“We started out driving all over the South for missions,” McBride said. “We were driving back from somewhere in the Deep South when the Lord impressed on me that we don’t have to drive this far to missions.”
The first MPACT was in Georgetown. Anywhere from 200-400 teens and adults sign on each year to lend a hand in a different community. This is the first year they have come to the Highland Lakes. They may be back next year because of the need and because it has been a dream and a goal for Luke’s father, Tony Suchomel, owner of Rockin TK Transport in Bertram.
“My son (Charlie), who passed away in 2024, had been wanting to do MPACT Missions here for years,” Tony said. “He was big into mission work. He was only 15 when he died. This trip is dedicated to Charlie. He loved serving God; he loved helping people. We did this for Charlie.”
The Suchomels — Tony and Dr. Kristi Burkhart Suchomel and their children, Luke, 13-year-old Graceann, and Charlie — have been involved with MPACT for 13 years. Mark McBride was their pastor. Wife Debbie McBride babysat for Charlie when he was a baby.
“That’s how we got to know them,” Tony said. “We’ve all been real close for a long time.”
The Suchomel family donates the use of two semitrucks and their personal lawn equipment for the annual summer work camp. They are members of Hill Country Fellowship in Burnet, home church for 19 of the 207 volunteers who signed up for the 2026 mission trip.
Volunteers were fed by partner churches Hill Country Fellowship, First Baptist Church of Burnet, First Baptist Church of Marble Falls, Hoover Valley Baptist, and Smoking for Jesus. The churches brought food, more volunteers, and other essentials. Burnet Middle School provided overnight space.
“We sleep on the floor, cook our own food, hold worship services every night, and devotionals every morning,” Pastor McBride said. “Our theme is: ‘It’s not about me.’ We preach that. We are trying to teach kids to serve and love people the way God loves them.”
The mission is funded by the volunteers.
“Our kids pay money to come,” McBride continued. “They are coming to work and serve, and they keep coming back.”
The job list came from the partner churches and Ark of Highland Lakes. Ark’s list included homes affected by the July 2025 flood as well as construction and painting at Valley View Village. Currently under development, Valley View is a 211-acre community designed to help families break cycles of generational poverty and instability.
Other work was focused on homes in Burnet and Bertram.
“The flood was really devastating to our community, and these kids did an awesome job,” Tony Suchomel said. “These kids came together from all over, all these different churches and denominations; they came together and painted houses, mowed grass, hauled trash. These kids are amazing. They all love serving God.”
He stressed the nondenominational part of church participation.
“It doesn’t matter what church you go to or where in the state of Texas,” he said. “MPACT provides a place for the kids to worship together and to get together and serve God.”
Although Luke Suchomel will be in pilot school in Georgetown next year, he hopes to be back on the riding lawnmower for mission 2027. This year, he weeded, welded, trimmed trees, replaced rotted boards, and painted a deck.
“I want to be one of the leaders next year,” he said. “I am training to be a commercial pilot but hope to work MPACT into my schedule.”
Now that this year’s mission has packed up, McBride has started planning next year’s.
“For me, it’s year-round,” he said. “We have to come up with food for 600 meals a day and organize the 25 to 30 people who work behind the scenes at local churches. Our goal is to share the love of Christ in practical ways.We hope we are raising up a whole new generation of God’s servants.”
For more information about MPACT Missions, visit mpactmissions.com.