I was blessed with the opportunity to attend Beach Reach this year with the BC M. Through out the week God worked in my life in many different ways. The best part of the week was being able to allow Him to humble my heart. God has given me the gift of singing and I am always struggling to stay humble and to know that He gave me this gift to glorify Him- not me. I had slowly become more arrogant and selfish with this gift and God pointed that out to me the first day at Beach Reach. He showed me how self righteous I had become and how I was using His gift to bring attention to myself and not to Him. So what does your parent do when your in trouble? They ground you from playing with your favorite toy. Thats exactly what happened- God grounded me from singing. I felt Him calling me to back off, to stop singing if it was going to be all about me and not about Him. For the rest of the week I experienced some of the greatest Worship I have ever encountered. Instead of singing loudly (hoping others would hear me), seeking to find the harmony to every song (hoping others would hear me), and making it all about me and my voice- I made it all about Him. I listened to the words of the songs and sang so only my Father could hear me.
Eventually the week began to come to a close. As we prepared to walk the streets of Panama City for the last time I prayed for great things. I was ready for God to use me. I wanted to talk to tons of people, perform miracles in Gods name, etc. “The Works” is what I wanted. But God had different plans for me, plans He had been setting in motion since the beginning of the week. As I walked mile after mile I could feel God telling me not to talk to anyone. Anyone?! I couldn’t believe it. This was my last night in Panama and I wasn’t going to get to tell anyone about my wonderful Savior. I continued walking while intensely praying for God to show me His plan. And then it came. I heard His still, calm voice instruct me to do one thing. Sing. I closed my eyes as I began to understand and prayed for courage and strength. I then shared with my group what God had shared with me and we began to worship on the streets of Panama. It was so awesome to praise God in the midst of such a dark and sin-consumed town. People stared. Some threw stuff at us. Some yelled. But God was glorified.
Our mission was accomplished and my life was changed.
Georgetown College @ Mission Arlington 2009!
“I left my heart in Arlington!” This was the common phrase among the 19 students and two staff members who traveled 16 hours back to Georgetown College after a week of playing, praying, and most importantly, ministering to the ”less-fortunate” children and families in Arlington, Texas. For 5 days, we worked with Mission Arlington, an organization of missionaries whose life mission is “taking church to people.” As one of the volunteer groups for the week, that’s what we did too! We, along with 1,300 students and adults, served the physical and spiritual needs of the people living in Arlington, Texas. Our group led “Rainbow Express”-Mission Arlington’s version of a backyard Bible club, with games, crafts, bible stories, snacks, and lots of love and affection. From day one, the children loved us, and were so happy that we were there to play with them. It was especially touching to return each day to find them anxiously waiting for us. One of the girls told us when we arrived, “It’s about time you got here; I’ve been waiting two whole hours for you all!” I love how God speaks through the vulnerability and honesty of a child! God is calling us to His people and they are anxiously waiting for us!
This conviction was expressed during our nightly de-briefing meetings when the students discussed how they could take what they learned in Arlington, and apply it to the Georgetown campus community. They challenged one another to continue the mission by reaching out and loving those who are in their own Georgetown College backyard. It was such a blessing to see how God moved in the lives of those we ministered to, and the team itself. The students not only connected with the kids on site, but also with each other. By the end of the week, the group bonded and connected into a family unit. They truly respected and cared for each other!
Through everything we experienced and learned that week, the idea that the mission doesn’t have to end in Arlington, but that it is an everyday act of love, compassion, commitment, and responsibility to those with whom we are surrounded by, was the most important lesson and blessing that our students took away from their spring break!
Posted in Georgetown College, Missions Comments closed
Singing for God’s Glory
-Jessi Bullock
NKU Student
Posted in Missions Testimonies, Northern Kentucky University Comments closed
Murray State University: Beach Reach 2009, Panama City Beach
This spring break, 32 folks from Murray State University turned south for the beaches of “Spring Break Capital, USA.” For most college students, spring break in Panama City Beach, or “PCB,” means a week of throwing cautions to the wind and indulging in every activity your momma told you not to do. The streets are packed with low riders, loud thumpers, slick racers, and trucks packed with partiers. You can always count on the beaches being littered with beer cans and sun-burnt co-eds(no time for sunscreen, too much party for just one week). For some participating in Lifeway’s “Beach Reach,” this is completely new territory. It takes nearly the first 24 hours to get the bottom jaw back up to the proper position, and for good reason… For others, like myself, it’s a reminder of our former life in the flesh that has now been marked and forever changed by God’s grace and love.
This was my second trip to Beach Reach. On the long and seemingly never ending southbound road through Alabaman boiled peanut country, I hashed through the memories from last year. I was really nervous. I had never shared my faith quite like that before, e.g. walking up to someone and striking up a spiritual conversation, or taking the van-ride small talk to a deeper level. I was afraid of rejection, afraid of being stuck by someone’s questions, afraid of being the evangelistic weirdo and so many other things. On that first trip, the Lord gave me Romans 1:16 to stand on, the simple truth that “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” That week allowed the Lord to break through barriers that I had to sharing the gospel. It led me to realize that I did not have to be ashamed because the Gospel really is good news, and people are actually hungry to hear it. It also helped further articulate the vastness of God’s love for the lost to me.
First night out on the streets last week was a little bit different. I could feel his love burning in my heart more than my fear. I walked out the door equipped with the heart-knowledge that God is desperately pursing every single one of the spring breakers. I didn’t have to break through the initial discomfort, or have anxiety about if and how it was going to work. God has taught me to [begin to] walk in the joy, freedom, and power of His love. This year, I had the awesome experience of getting to lead a fellow college student in prayer to receive Christ. To see a new life begin in an instant made the whole trip worth it. I was continually amazed at how open people are to talking about the Lord, especially when you offer them a pancake or a van ride rather than a megaphone. Everyone that goes to PCB is looking for something: joy, fulfillment, pleasure, relationship, etc. All of those things are nicknames for Jesus, and there is nothing more exciting than getting to be a witness to that fact.
After the first night of ministry this trip, the Lord revealed to me that, “Boldness is not confidence in yourself. Boldness is confidence in God.” The Lord has been challenging me to become so confident in His love for people on my campus that every day is like mission trip, and that’s the way it should be. I don’t have any excuses left. I realize that the people at PCB for spring break are the same people I sit next to in class every day (literally, you see them down there). I realize that the conversations I have in front of club La Vela, I can have in front of the student center. I realize that the protective little ‘mission trip bubble’ has been burst, and I have no choice but to live each moment of my day on purpose, in the confidence of God’s relentless pursuit of the lost, even those at Murray State University.
Posted in Missions Testimonies, Murray State University Tagged bcm, beach reach, mission trip, murray state university, PCB, spring break Comments closed
Spring Break Testimony: Tyler Elam, Morehead State
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This morning in my devotional time I read Jeremiah 6:16 which reads:
“This is what the Lord says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”
I know God was speaking to me through His Word through this verse to give a more clearly defined purpose to this week for me. As a senior pre-med major, my classes are very demanding and it’s very tempting to see spring break as a “workless/rest” week. Rest is vital for the demands of my major. I was at a crossroads in making my decision to go to Charleston or rest for the week, but I felt God’s hand pointing toward Charleston, “the good way.” In my mind I was thinking, we’re going to Charleston, we’re going to participate in urban ministry with those who haven’t encountered a relationship with the Divine. God had a different plan. My team was involved in a very rural ministry setting, helping a man named George, his sister Ezzie, and her son Ken (who were dedicated Christians) renovate an older home (painting, removing 40 year old linoleum, etc.) The demands of our current economic situation have lead Ezzie, who is in her 70’s, to continue working at a local factory to support her disabled son and brother. With disabilities and the demands of a job, little of the needed household upkeep tasks had been completed in some time. We completed painting a living room, hallway, and bedroom and made way for new linoleum to be laid next week, and all in all, completing these tasks was trivial compared to the work the Lord did on us as a team through George and his family. The work that was visible stands in no comparison to the invisible transforming power of the Holy Spirit. George was a great encouragement to our team, a great example of humility, and it was evident to us that George enjoyed glorifying God with us. Jesus bridges generational, social, economic, and any other divide you could imagine, and that connection was made very evident in our interactions with George. There is an ancient Indian word, Namaste , which literally translates “I see the Holy One in you.” I can wholeheartedly proclaim that I saw the Holy One in George. I came to Charleston thinking I was following Jesus, and I suppose if you’re following someone, occasionally you’ll catch up with them, and I can assuredly say I caught up with Jesus in George. Although this week has been filled with work (spiritual and physical labor), and hard work at that, I’ve truly found rest for my soul in finding Jesus in George.
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– Tyler Elam, Student, Morehead State
Posted in Missions Testimonies, Uncategorized Comments closed
Spring Break Testimony: Breanna Stone
During our spring break trip, I feel I have seen God move in special ways during the children's ministry. We have had so many kids come out to play and listen to our Bible stories, and it has been amazing. At first I was hesitant to volunteer myself for this ministry, but now I am so thankful that God placed it on my heart to participate in a it. How amazing it is to be able to share Christ's love by turning into a 5 year old! I have connected with a couple children in particular, and they bless my heart everytime I talk to them. But while my heart is blessed by their company, it also becomes broken because then I get insight into what their lives are really like and I realize that our team's visits will probably be the highlight of the next several months for them. These children are far from living in the "American Dream" of their families, while many of them are children of single mothers with several other children. I wish so much that I could do something to help them out, but as a college student we all know that the only thing I can really do is pray that their lives will be wonderful and that they will come to know the Lord. This is such a humbling thing to do, to realize that there's nothing I can do for these children or their families who have captured my heart, but I must rely on and trust in God to bless their lives. This ministry has been the highlight of my week. I look forward everyday to going and playing with them. They have been such a blessing to my life, and I hope and pray that I have had a similar impact on their lives and that, as a result, they will one day live their lives to glorify Christ.
-- Breanna Stone, Student, Morehead State University
Posted in Missions Testimonies Comments closed
Leadership Training Conference
LTC will be April 3-5, 2009 at Cedarmore Conference Center in Baghdad, KY. The theme is “Leading Transformational Community” and will be a time of leadership development and idea sharing.
Fri., April 3, 2009
6-7:15 pm Check-In/Registration
7:30 pm Session 1 (Byrdwell)
Leadership: Anatomy of a Leader (Cindy Pelphrey)
8:45 pm Special Session: Everyone’s Battle (Guys: Cafeteria; Girls: Byrdwell)
9:45 pm Free Time/Hang Out Time
Sat., April 4, 2009
8:30 am Breakfast
9:30 am Session 2 (Byrdwell)
Transformation: Transformational Connections of Leadership. (Curtis Woods)
10:45 am Campus Process
12:30 pm Lunch
1:45 pm Seminars
2:30 pm Free Time
5:30 pm Dinner
6:30 pm Interest Groups
7:45 pm Session 3 (Byrdwell)
Community: The Nitty Gritty of Community (Tommy Johnson)
9:00 pm Fellowship/Hang Out –
1:8 Leadership Team Gathering
10:00 pm Hot Dog Fellowship (Gene Parr)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
8:30 am Breakfast (Check out of rooms before Session 4)
9:30 am Session 4, The Purpose of Community (Keith Inman)
10:45 am CampusProcess
11:45 am Depart
Planned Interest Groups:
· Discipleship/small groups
· Freshmen
· Intramurals
· Internationals
· Praise Bands/Praise Band Leaders
· Worship Coordinators (logistics of finding speakers, thematic planning, etc.)
· Greeks
· Missions Fundraising
· Community Missions
· Presidents
· Evangelism/Outreach
· Connecting with Campus
· Event Planning/Inreach (Special Events, Socials)
· Hodgepodge
Planned Seminars: 1:45 pm on Saturday, April 4, 2009
1. Time Management (Cindy Pelphrey)
2. How to form, develop and lead a team (Sabrina Pate)
3. Going Green Spiritually (Daniel Berry)
4. Connecting your story to God’s story (Tommy Johnson)
5. RAP (Race and Politics) (Curtis Woods)
6. Grassroots Social Justice Ministry (Bryan Langlands)
7. How to draw people into an atmosphere for Spiritual Growth (Gene Parr)
8. How to plan a mission trip and raise funds for it (Cynthia Mathis)
9. LIFE Groups: Transforming Lives in Christ (Dean Whitaker)
10. When God calls you to Rest/Ministering out of the Overflow (Magan Atwood)
Posted in Events, Fun, Upcoming Events Comments closed
Meredith Dement’s Story
Have you ever been really amazed? Last year, I was amazed as a
freshman swimmer… I won 3rd place at nationals!
This year, I am a sophomore and I am going for 1st even though
the stakes are higher! I hope I will be even more amazed!
Meredith Dement, UC
NAIA All-American Swimmer
Posted in On Campus, University of the Cumberlands Comments closed
Marcus Bradbury’s Story
What’s “my” story?… I am Marcus Bradbury, a senior wrestler currently serving on the injured reserve. “My” story used to be that the best I could accomplish was heartache, emptiness, and longing. However, on August 17, 2008 in a fit of despair, God spoke to me in an audible voice. From this point forward my story is no longer my story but “His-story!” Only six months in, He has already authored several chapters. Currently, he is writing a chapter on forgiveness and trust. WOW! What a tough lesson. In the midst of all my mess He is providing me an opportunity to lead a mission trip to New Orleans! …what’s your story?…
Posted in On Campus, University of the Cumberlands Comments closed
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