Stand Up Missions

Serving the Navajo Nation with Truth, Love and Respect

The Navajo Nation (Navajo: Naabeehó Bináhásdzo) is an American Indian territory covering about 17,544,500 acres (27,413 sq mi), occupying portions of northeastern Arizona, southeastern Utah, and northwestern New Mexico in the United States. This is the largest land area retained by a Native American tribe in the United States. The elevation at Chinle is 6,000 feet above sea level. Consider that Denver's Mile HIgh Stadium is about 1,000 feet lower.

In 2010, the total population of Navajo tribal members was 332,129 with 173,667 living within the boundaries of the reservation and 158,462 tribal members outside of the reservation. Metropolitan areas accounted for 26 percent of the population, border towns accounted for ten percent, and the remaining 17 percent were living elsewhere in the U.S.

By area, the Navajo Nation is larger than ten U.S. states – West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island – and the territory of Puerto Rico. It is less than one percent shy of being equal to the combined area of the last five states (New Hampshire through Rhode Island).

The United States took over this territory in 1848 after acquiring it in the Mexican-American War. The reservation was within New Mexico Territory and straddled what became the Arizona-New Mexico border in 1912, when the states were admitted to the union. Unlike many reservations, it has expanded several times since its establishment in 1868 to include most of northeastern Arizona, a sizable portion of northwestern New Mexico, and most of the area south of the San Juan River in southeastern Utah. It is one of a few indigenous nations whose reservation lands overlap its traditional homelands.

Who we are

Stand Up Missions is the corporate name for the ministry work done with the Navajo people by Greg and Sapphira Scott.

In 2010, Greg and Sapphira moved from Chicago, IL back to Chinle, AZ on the Navajo Reservation. Sapphira is a full blooded Navajo and Chinle is home to her and her family. Sapphira is the youngest of 18 children, nine of whom are still living.

Greg and Sapphira had been developing house churches in the Chigoland area and traveling to Native American Art Shows across the country where Sapphira headlined her handmade jewelery. Tiring of the grind of one show after another and feeling a pull back home to Chinle, they sold their condo and drove their motorhome west 1500 miles to the reservation. Sapphira began women's bible studies and Greg started a couple of house churches. After a few years, Greg found himself being asked to pastor a small mission church in Chinle.

Today, they continue their ministry to the Navajo people living in Chinle. Your mission trip is incredibly valuable to them as a means of meeting and helping Navajo families that they have not yet built relationships with.

What happens on a Mission Trip to the Navajo Reservation?

You'll arrive on a Sunday, flying into Albuquerque, NM. We'll pick you up in an air-conditioned van, drive you into Chinle and get you settled.
You'll stay in a local hotel. It's a safe environment and you'll appreciate the air conditioned room after a day out in the Arizona sun!

On Monday, you'll meet the people you'll be helping, get a quick primer on culture, safety and "the Do's and Don'ts" of interacting with the Navajo people you will meet and spend time with.

We'll dig into the project that is planned for your trip and get right to work. Between the work project and the local kids and their parents who will be around, there will be plenty to do. We'll cook lunch in Greg and Sapphira's food truck and we'll eat evening meals with locals who have been screened, who are great cooks and who we personally know and trust with your, and our own, safety.

On Friday, we'll meet up with local guides and take you into the depths of Canyon DeChelley. It's a fantastic tour in open air jeeps filled with our local guides explanations of the culture, history, ancient ruins and pictographs of the Navajo story in Canyon DeChelley.

What kind of Projects will we be working on?

Mostly, needed home improvements. We work to focus on helping families by installing laminate flooring in their house, building a bedroom or small storage shed or fixing the roof on their hogan (A small octagonal traditional Navajo home).

Along with the work project, time with the children is a great way to get to know a Navajo family and the kids love playing with and learning from the teams that come to visit.

You can put a smile on the face of a Navajo family, build relationships with your sons and daughters and get a new perspective as you make a difference in the lives of a Navajo family!

Contact information:

Contact person: Greg Scott
Phone: 928.313.0057
Email: RezpastorGreg@gmail.com
Text: 928.313.0057
Feel free to shoot me a text or Chat using the Website Chat button to the right