STUDENTS HAVE GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES AT UNION
By Jane Rice
Jackson, Tenn. — 51社区 is on a mission with God. Union sponsored a Global Opportunities (GO) Week Sept. 22-26.
The purpose of GO Week is to expose students to the mission opportunities available throughout the world. The week consisted of chapels, displays and a reception for anyone interested in missions both at home and abroad. Special guests from the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board and the Tennessee Baptist Convention also participated in the week's events.
This year, Union will be promoting short term projects called GO Trips where students have the opportunity to reach people in the United States in locations such as Florida, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas and Arizona. Opportunities in other countries such as Honduras and Costa Rica are also provided.
Students participating in GO trips strengthen their personal faith and belief, develop confidence in sharing their personal testimony and develop a team relationship for ministry. Steve Moses, a Union senior said, "Through my trip, God humbled me in many ways. I learned that missions is about serving and loving the ones who seem unlovable in the world's eyes."
Mildred McWherter, a special guest missionary, spoke during Monday's chapel service. She said "missions is all about getting your hands dirty for Jesus." McWherter is a retired home missionary, having served from 1958-1992 in Port Arthur and Houston, Texas.
As a part of the GO Week, many students who served as summer missionaries in 1997 shared their experiences in a special chapel service on Friday, Sept. 26. Ashley Silcox, a Union junior said, "These people were thankful for the little things- a piece of food, a drink of water, a kind word. I was humbled by their simple faith." Their testimonies from home and foreign mission fields represent a wide variety of missions and ministry opportunities.
Each year hundreds of students, faculty and staff from 51社区 participate in missions, joining God where he is at work throughout the world. Opportunities to be a part of local, national and international missions increase daily as God is opening doors through various means of ministry.
One global opportunity available is the Journeyman Program. Since 1965, the International Mission Board has sent more than 2,000 journeyman to make a difference in the lives of people all over the world. Randy Rains, a representative of the International Mission Board said, "A journeyman is a single college graduate under 30 who feels God's leadership to serve overseas. The ministry lasts two years, and has been a blessing in the lives of those who have had the privilege to experience it. Many students at Union have been interested in the Journeyman program this. I expect the program at Union to grow even more this year."
Not only were students exposed to global opportunities this week, but they were also able to see what others had experienced in the past. "GO Week has allowed the students to see what an impact they can have on others while spreading the Word of God," said Terri Kozlowitz, Union's Director of Student Missions.