"Why are you here?"

Not a question usually posted from the pulpit of a church, but nevertheless those were the words asked from Georgia Baptist Convention Collegiate Ministries Consultant Warren Skinner to student missionaries, parents and well-wishers gathered at Vineville Baptist Church in Macon for summer missions commissioning service April 9.

The event, held to send out the 153 Georgia Baptist Student Union summer missionaries, centered on the themes of purpose and serving others. It was during the service that testimonies were given by parents, students, campus ministers and WMU leaders on that theme and answering the question posed by Skinner.

Jenni Williams, a senior at Valdosta State University, answers with one word.

 

Priceless experiences

"Obedience," says Williams, a communications/public relations major. "Matthew 7:7 says to ask, seek and knock. God has called me to go. I have absolute faith that He is in control."

Previously, Williams had gone on mission trips to Belize, Central America and Moldova. Over a period of 65 days this summer, she will bicycle with a team through Eastern Europe and Hungary, conducting prayer walks, evangelism and surveys in the cities and towns.

"I have a peace about this that is indescribable," says Williams. "God does not called the equipped to missions, He equips the called.

"The experiences I've gained through missions are priceless," she continues. "New appreciations for the smallest things in life are gained. My family and personal relationships have been strengthened as well."

 

Answering the call

"For me, it's about giving back," adds Heather Brewton, a UGA sophomore who will be working at the Techwood Center in Atlanta. "I know I'm going to see things I've never experienced in my life and it's just heeding God's call. This is how He wants to use me.

"I started thinking about going on missions more last fall," recollects Brewton, who will be helping to organize services offered at Techwood such as a clothes closet and classes offered to those seeking to earn their high school equivalency degree. "In December I felt the call and decided I really wanted to go."

In 2004, college students answered and went. Through 172 summer missionaries and one semester missionary, 45,147 people were contacted or served through ministries involving Georgia Baptist college students.

Out of that number, 875 prayed to receive Christ along with 178 rededications. Eighty-seven individuals elicited a response to a call to ministry.

"Missions is perhaps the first time when a student discovers that his or her faith in Christ was never intended to be kept to oneself," says Joe Graham, specialist with GBC Collegiate Ministries. "It was intended to be given away and shared with others."

It's not uncommon for students to pursue an extended involvement in missions after graduation. Eileen Pascual, who minors in Spanish at Mercer University in Macon, has taken mission trips in the past to Jamaica and New York. In June and July she'll be spending her time helping with a new church start in Eagle, Colo. by conducting day camps for children in a primarily Hispanic area.

Upon her return from Colorado Aug. 3, she will be leaving 20 days later for a two-year stint overseas through the International Mission Board's Journeyman program. The assignment has Pascual following in the footsteps of her older brother, Jonathan, who is currently a Journeyman in Peru and Bolivia.

 

Getting out of comfort zones

"Missions has definitely given me a heart for lost people," testifies Pascual.

"God has been teaching me to give Him all of me, and not just bits of me at a time," she says regarding what compels her to go on missions. "I simply want to do my part in furthering His kingdom, even if that means getting out of my comfort zone and going to a new place."

Ben Long, a junior at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah who previously worked at a Georgia RA camp and spent last summer ministering in Yellowstone National Park, testifies to the impact missions has on one's worldview.

"God has used missions to change my life," says Long, an economics major headed to Mozambique. "There has been a change in my heart from self-serving to serving others, from my will to His will.

"I really thought about Warren's question and realized I was here because I have a burden for the lost world to come to know and love Christ."

Prior to the service, a question and answer session facilitated by Skinner provided parents with the opportunity to prepare for the sense of separation and dispel some fears regarding their child's safety during the summer.

That topic was revisited during the service. Williams' father, Doug, addressed the crowd, saying, "As a parent there is nothing more difficult than to turn [our children] loose. But do that, and they will be a better person and you will be better parent."

 

A spirit that gives life

Babs Williams, Doug's wife and Jenni's mother, also spoke on the apprehension many parents of summer missionaries go through. "I know many of you are asking 'How can [my child leaving for missions] be God's will?'

"Your children are in good hands. It's a test of faith not only for your child but you."

Skinner recounted the reinstatement of Peter by Jesus in John 21 to illustrate the way believers are to live.

"Something this day changed Peter. This was the day Peter saw the reality of Jesus' life.

"When we follow Christ, we follow Him completely.

"Why are we here? Because Christ has called us and commissioned us. His Spirit lives in our hearts. It is that Spirit that gives others life."