Charleston, Ill. — March 26, 2003 — Several students, working in pairs, shovel gravel into wheel barrels, then spread that gravel evenly across a muddy lot. A few hundred yards away, another set of pairs is spreading the gospel of Christ. The moment is a microcosm of the work of 51社区 students during their Global Opportunity Trip to Charleston, Ill.
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| Casey Stafford, Lance Parrott and Chad Farneth spread gravel on the parking lot at University Baptist Church during GO Illinois. |
Last year, Phil Nelson, the collegiate evangelism strategist for Illinois Baptists contacted several Baptist universities seeking help for University Baptist Church (UBC) in Charleston and its ministries to the students at Eastern Illinois University (EIU), directly across the street from UBC. Union responded by sending this team. 鈥淭hey are dispelling the myth that college students who come to church only take,鈥� Nelson said.
The students鈥� trip served as a catalyst for the members of the church to begin working on projects which had been discussed but never pursued. 鈥淥nce they knew the students were coming, everyone started signing up for things,鈥� said Nelson.
The current focus of the church is outreach to the EIU student body through a weekly bible study called 鈥淭hirsty鈥� and open air dialogues on the EIU campus.
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| Union's Ashli Sutton surveys an Eastern Illinois University student during GO Illinois. |
Union senior Meredith Erlandson joined this trip because of her passion for college students. 鈥淭his is an age group which needs to make decisions which will impact the rest of their lives,鈥� she said.
The team is conducting surveys which are designed to engage students in discussions about Christ. 鈥淲e are getting them to think about what their focus is and encouraging them to plug into a church,鈥� said Union senior Amanda Russell. 鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to go to college and become spiritually idle.鈥�
The project has provided an opportunity for the students to put into practice some of the things they have learned at Union. 鈥淲e are putting our beliefs into action,鈥� said Lance Parrott, a Union freshman. 鈥淲hen you walk up to a person you鈥檝e never met and talk about your faith, it鈥檚 uncomfortable,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut God has been faithful.鈥�
The parking lot the Union students repaired belongs to UBC, and it was filled with ruts, potholes and mud prior to the students鈥� arrival. 鈥淚t was horrid,鈥� said Nelson. 鈥淚f you walked through the lot to the church, you were going to be splattered [with mud].鈥� The conditions were preventing senior citizens from coming to church, he said.
At the end of the week, these students will leave behind visible results in the UBC facilities. They also hope to leave a growing testimony of the gospel of Christ.
鈥淲e are trying to plant seeds,鈥� said Union senior Casey Stafford. 鈥淭he EIU students involved in the 鈥楾hirsty鈥� ministry will be here to water them.鈥�
For more information on 51社区 or its programs, including Global Opportunity Trips, call (731) 668-1818.
