Several Arkansas Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) students delayed their Christmas break to serve on mission in the Arkansas Delta.
Christmas in the Delta, which was Dec. 12-16, is an Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) initiative designed to mobilize college students to engage in missions, partner with local churches, and serve the communities in the Delta.
This year, there were 35 students from four universities – University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, University of Arkansas, Arkansas State University, and Willams Baptist University – serving through Christmas in the Delta. A total of eight Delta churches participated, including the areas of Forrest City, Wynne, Marion, and West Memphis. The students also spent one morning serving at the Send Relief Ministry Center in Memphis. Over the five days, they recorded one profession of faith.
Emma Moore, who serves on the BCM leadership team at University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, said when she learned about Christmas in the Delta, she prayed about it and felt the Lord was calling her there to serve.
“Most people think that going on a mission trip, you have to go out of the country or, you know, go far, but there’s always somebody in need and something to do around you and in local communities,” she said.
Moore said the 35 students were split into seven groups and sent into the communities. They did various ministry projects, including hosting a first responders’ banquet, visiting local nursing homes, passing out Christmas care packages, and praying over businesses, and building and yardwork. Leading up to Christmas in the Delta, Moore spent a week crocheting a blanket to donate, which went to a single mother with nine children.
In addition to various ministry projects, the students led in the services at local churches on Sunday morning, with three students preaching their first sermons. The others either led music or shared their testimony.
Moore said one of her key takeaways from the mission trip was the relationships that were made, not only with the people they were serving within the community but as students. “Just hearing each other’s testimonies, getting to kind of share similar experiences, and just making new friends that are of the college age, that was a blessing in itself,” she said.
Clint Ritchie, ABSC community missions strategist, said watching these students serve in the Delta adds to the excitement he has for the next generation of leaders God is raising up.
“These students were willing to do any task that was given to them, and then creatively worked to come up with some of their own ministry opportunities. The compassion with which they served demonstrated the very heart of our Lord,” Ritchie said.
