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.

– Tyler Elam, Student, Morehead State

-- Breanna Stone, Student, Morehead State University