CONNECT Missions Weekend participants fellowship together at Friendship Baptist Church. (Keathley Arrendall)
CONWAY, Ark. – From repairing homes to praying with strangers, nearly 240 students across Arkansas stepped into real-world ministry during CONNECT Missions Weekend, April 10-12, discovering that even small acts of obedience can leave a lasting impact.
CONNECT, which takes place in the spring and fall each year, emphasizes hands-on ministry, with participants engaging in worship, prayer, Bible study, and service throughout the weekend.
This spring, they completed 32 ministry projects ranging from construction and yard work to prayer and community outreach.
One student described visited a hospital, where a simple act of prayer led to an unexpected opportunity.
“We prayed for one security guard, and someone overheard us and asked us to pray for his wife,” the student said. “She had just received difficult news and was really thankful.”
Other teams cleaned cemeteries, organized church storage spaces, and assisted elderly residents with yard work. Many students said the physical demands helped shift their perspective.
“It made me think about who we’re doing this for,” one student said. “We’re doing it for the Lord.”
For many participants, CONNECT serves as a first mission trip experience.
“The kids I brought are the least likely in my group to sign up for something like this,” Keri Bolding of First Baptist Church Sherwood said. “And every one of them had a phenomenal time.”
Bolding’s group partnered with Brumley Baptist Church to serve both the congregation and the surrounding community. Activities included preparing and delivering appreciation gifts to first responders and completing maintenance work on church facilities, such as sanding and painting doors and railings.
She hopes the enthusiasm carries back to her church and encourages broader participation.
Full circle
CONNECT provides exposure to both the challenges and rewards of living on mission, while offering opportunities to see faith lived out in real-world contexts.
One project connection from a previous year illustrated the long-term impact of those efforts.
During the Spring CONNECT last year, students from Believers’ Baptist Church in Emory, Texas, served at a ministry site in Walnut Ridge where First Baptist Church had been trying for years to build a relationship with a young man, Zach Doane, who had been resistant to conversations about faith.
While working on the project, a young adult leader and a student from Emory were given the opportunity to speak with him and share the gospel.
“He had not been receptive to a couple of our church members sharing the gospel with him over the past year, but when those students showed up to serve all the way from Texas, he chose to listen to them. He did not make a profession of faith last year, but the seed of the gospel was planted,” said Jake Guenrich, pastor at First Baptist Church in Walnut Ridge.
Two weeks ago, Guenrich said one of their deacons, Darren McVay, who is a veterinarian, was working on some cows and heard a farmhand from the other side of the shop say something along the lines of, “I know if something bad were to happen to me today and that I died, then I would go to hell.” McVay heard those words and did not know who said them. He shouted out across the shop, “You don’t have to go to hell!” He then introduced himself to the farmhand and shared the gospel with him. The farmhand was Doane.
Doane and his girlfriend attended the Sunday morning worship service at First Baptist Church in Walnut Ridge the following Sunday, which was Easter. Youth Minister Brody VanWinkle preached the gospel of Jesus Christ from 1 Corinthians 15, and also walked through the Romans Road passages of Scripture (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10, 13). One of the church members, Debby Rogers, who had attempted witnessing to Doane in the past was sitting next to him and pulled out a copy of the Romans Road Bible verses so that he could read them as VanWinkle reviewed them.
“Zach walked up to Brody during the invitation hymn and gave his life to the Lord Jesus Christ,” Guenrich said.
Guenrich relayed the good news to the Believers’ Baptist Church group this past weekend at CONNECT, offering a full-circle moment for those involved. “Those students planted the seed of the gospel at CONNECT in April of 2025. Darren, Brody, and Debby watered that seed that had been planted. The Lord gave the growth and produced the fruit of salvation,” he said.
Believers’ Baptist Church Student & Family Pastor Jerod Haygood said Doane’s story was super encouraging and a great learning moment for their group.
“It helped them realize we must share the gospel with everyone because it is the greatest news that we have,” Haygood said. “The person might reject it, but we don’t realize how or when God is using that message to turn the hardened heart to life.”
Haygood said the weekend gives the students encouragement and the realization that they can share the gospel and in return it gives them more boldness to share the gospel at home.
Mark your calendar
CONNECT is open to students in grades 7–12 and adult leaders, with some sixth-grade participation allowed. College students may attend as volunteers.
The next CONNECT Missions Weekend is Oct. 16-18. More information is available at absc.org/connect.
The work of Arkansas Baptists is made possible thanks to the generous giving of through the Cooperative Program and the Dixie Jackson Arkansas Missions Offering.