Students and leaders from the University of Arkansas in Fort Smith BCM pose in New York during Christmas break mission trip. Photo submitted
Ministry didn’t stop for Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) students over winter break as they continued missions both nationally and internationally.
Nationally
From Oregon to New York, Arkansas BCM students dispersed across the country for missions.
University of Arkansas in Fort Smith (UAFS) BCM took a group of 18 to New York City. They served with Queens Church in partnership with Austin West’s Commons NYC (a college ministry network).
The group completed outreach for an upcoming Christmas Eve service, evangelism, and prayer walking in the church’s neighborhood. They also got to experience and pray for several college campuses in NYC.
Fort Smith BCM Campus Minister Luke Dawson said of the 18 that went on the trip, only 14 had been to the city before. He said being able to experience the cultures, languages, and nationalities of the city was eye opening for those students.
“It was an honor to worship with and partner alongside a church that God is using to do faithful ministry among its community,” Dawson said. “The highlight of the trip for me was to experience how Austin engages college students with the gospel in a place like New York City. While my context here in Fort Smith doesn’t entirely translate to his, his strategies for evangelism, discipleship and church connection are so strategic – it was an encouragement for me as a fellow college minister.”
Another group of students from University of Arkansas (UA) BCM, traveled to Oregon. As part of their missions there, the group helped Engage, a ministry located on the campus of Southern Oregon University, surveying people on campus in hopes to start Gospel conversations. Additionally, they helped Engage put on events throughout the week, such as Winter Kickoff, Bob Ross night, swing dancing and ice skating.
Locally, a group of UA BCM students also served in the Marion and West Memphis area for Christmas in the Delta.
Internationally
Groups also made missions trips to Southeast Asia and the Dominican Republic.
This was the third year for a group of UA BCM students to take a missions trip to Southeast Asia. It was the second year that it was entirely student led, and the first year that it was completely planned by the students, Mason Plunk said.
In the past, Plunk said they have taken a team of 10 and a team of six on this trip. This year, 19 students joined the trip to Southeast Asia. Sixteen from UofA in Fayetteville and three from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.
“What a joy it has been to see this trip grow,” Plunk said.
The trip is split into two weeks. For the first week, they are hosting and attending various events to meet students and make friends. English clubs, culture exchanges, and Christmas parties are the most common mediums.
“Through these events, we make relationships with students so that we can follow up with them throughout our trip,” Plunk said.
The second week is filled with free time so they can schedule times to hang out with new friends and share the gospel with them. This is where the bulk of the ministry happens as they have a week to do life with these Southeast Asian students.
“Because we had more people than ever before, we made more relationships than ever before. Because of these relationships, we had more opportunities to share the gospel. And because we shared the gospel more, God was faithful to bring about more salvations than we’ve had in the past,” Plunk said.
“This year we saw three Southeast Asian students turn from their sins and place their trust in Jesus. These new believers have been connected with local ministers and church members to disciple them and help them to be a Christian in a culture where there are so few.”
Beyond those three, Plunk said they were able to connect with “many dozens of students, share the gospel with them, and pass on the contact information of the most spiritually interested to the missionaries who can follow up with them throughout the year.”
To summarize, Plunk said this was their biggest, most fruitful trip they have taken to Southeast Asia.
“Our hope is that more and more students would be burdened for this part of the world as we continue to have opportunities to take this trip in the coming years. With the support of families, local ministries, and the Convention at large, we look forward to what this trip could look like in the future,” Plunk said.