October 22, 2024
MCDONOUGH, Ga. - College students around the state of Georgia are finishing final exams, turning in their last assignment and packing up for the summer. Many are thinking about finding the perfect summer job or looking forward to their family vacation. Others are preparing to serve! Of the many who have decided to serve God this summer, there are 71 students from Baptist Collegiate Ministries across our state who have chosen to serve through SendMeNow Collegiate Missions, a ministry of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
Seventy-one students from 19 college campuses are preparing to serve in 21 different projects across 12 states and five countries. Students will be serving the Lord across Georgia, the United States and to the ends of the earth!
While 71 is a smaller number than usual, every student counts! Georgia Baptists’ first student summer missionary was sent out in 1947, 75 years ago. Since 2011, Georgia BCM has commissioned 1490 students as summer missionaries and raised $1,739,631.85. This year alone, students have raised $122,085.09 and still counting.
SendMeNow missions is funded by students in BCMs across the state. These 71, along with thousands of students active in BCM on their local campus, have spent the last two semesters raising money to pay for these projects. It is a snapshot of the Cooperative Program. Students raise money through local fundraisers and sacrificial giving. The money goes into one big pot so that no one student is responsible for raising the money to pay for their summer missions experience. They are all responsible for raising the money to make it happen for everyone.
Students who choose to serve with SendMeNow do not just sign up to go; it’s a process; often longer than they expect. Students begin the application process during the fall semester and are appointed to serve with specific project locations in January. Then they spend the spring semester preparing to serve.
Here are a few things students have said they learned through the process:
“One thing I learned is just how much you have to rely on God’s guidance through the process. So much can be up in the air until you go and you really have to trust in that He will put you in the right spot.” - Tara Carter, Georgia College & State University
“I learned how to prepare myself for the unknown and know that God will provide for me and my teammates on where we will serve.” - Alisha Philpot, Kennesaw State University
“I learned that there are so many people willing to support and provide for each of us to serve and fulfill God's call on our lives.” - Sarah-Elizabeth Cheek, Shorter University
On Saturday, April 9, students, campus ministers, friends and family gathered at Glen Haven Baptist Church in McDonough to celebrate and commission these students to serve this summer. Students spent time in prayer for each other, and friends and family gathered around the students to pray for them and send them out. Students also prayed for their families, because they know they could never do this on their own without the love and support of family and friends.
While many students would choose to skip the rest of the semester and go straight to summer missions, they did have to return to campus and hopefully finish well! But they left with expectations:
“I expect to serve God and let Him guide me in all my decisions.” - Adam Whitney, Georgia Institute of Technology
“My expectation is that I can and will be used by God, and that I will be pushed out of my comfort zone!” - Felicity Acosta, Columbus State University
“I expect this summer to be very life-changing. I expect to grow in my ability to evangelize, communicate, and adapt. I also expect to be extremely humbled; I expect long, hard days and breaking points. Above all, I expect to experience the joy of the Lord like I never have before and to hopefully have a better idea of His will for my life post-college.” - Rachel Skinner, University of North Georgia
“Some expectations I have for this summer are to mature more in the spiritual discipline of evangelism and to become more bold with my faith.” - Daniel Gay, Georgia Gwinnett College
Students left a full day of training and preparation to return to their campuses and apply what God is teaching them right where they are. These students are not only being sent out to serve this summer, but they are missionaries sent out every day to share the Gospel at their schools.
Please be in prayer for these students as they go out to serve. The first students will begin their service May 16 and the last students will return home on August 8.
Here’s how you can pray…
Pray for these 71, but also be in prayer for the thousands of college students across the state of Georgia who are choosing to serve God this summer in so many ways and for those students who still need to hear and receive the love of Christ.
