Written by Emma Kate Philley, UAM student shown here in front of the Christmas tree at Jackson Square with the BCM team.
While a lively city, New Orleans is spiritually dying. Of the 1.2 million people (about half the population of Arkansas) who live there, nearly 1 million are not Christian. Despite having one of the most famous seminary schools in the nation and an army of churches sprinkled throughout the city, there are a lot of unreached people.
There is a devastatingly high homeless population, as well as many secular places of worship that do not serve God. Next to the beignets and smooth jazz, there are voodoo themed shops on every corner. New Orleans is famous for being the home of Marie Laveau, a renowned practitioner of Voodoo. On top of the availability of secular worship, the city has been traumatized by natural disasters and high crime rates since its birth in 1718. One of the most infamous being Hurricane Katrina, which destroyed the ninth ward with storm surge powerful enough to cause the levees to fail. Pair this with the government’s lack of aid to the ninth ward, and you have a whirlpool of trauma, distrust of the government, and hardened hearts. The spiritual warfare against these forces has the city in a chokehold.
This is why we need mission trips like the one Weevil BCM [University of Monticello Baptist Collegiate Ministry] took in December of 2023. Twelve college students, along with our director and two recent UAM graduates, entered the city with the purpose of aiding four important ministries.
On our first night, we were able to help a local church named Lakeshore Church run an event for its young families called “Parent’s Night Out.” We watched several young children while the parents went out for a much-needed break during the busy holiday season. The next day, we attended the morning service at Lakeshore Church. Afterward, we headed to the original Lakeshore Church building to help them clean and paint the interior walls so they can soon hold services for the Hispanic population there as well as an early education center. They treated us to a local Po-Boy spot, called Parkway Bakery. That night, we walked down Magazine Street, one of many lined with businesses. We ended the day by crossing the Pontchartrain Causeway.
On Monday, we traveled to Baptist Community Health Services (BCHS) to finish painting the exterior walls of their building that had been started by a different group. We crawled under staircases, got our taller guys to paint the awning, and made a team effort to get the entire outside of the BCHS building looking approachable so that they can keep providing low/no cost health care to the impoverished in the Ninth Ward. After finishing up there, we had lunch at New Orleans Theological Baptist Seminary and listened to a short message from Matt of Vintage Church and our Send Relief representative Josh Durnell. We received a tour of the campus and viewed the museum, then we went to one of the newer locations of Café Du Monde and downtown New Orleans.
We wrapped up the ministry side of our trip the next morning by aiding the Baptist Friendship House. We helped them run their normal Tuesday routine of distributing resources to the homeless population. We took orders for clothing, food, and some hygiene products. We then helped them sort clothing donations and pack backpacks full of snacks and supplies to distribute at a later date.
We accompanied Josh Durnell on a Catch the Vision Tour to some of the most broken sides of New Orleans, starting at the levee outside of the Ninth Ward, not far from the original spot where they failed during Hurricane Katrina. After an introduction to the tour, we headed to the Healing Center and the statue of the Boat of Death. The Healing Center is a place of open worship, but rarely (if ever) worship of our one true God. When we approached the Healing Center, I felt a sudden weight drop onto my shoulders. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, and at first attributed this feeling to a prior injury, but I don’t think an injury to my foot would affect my entire body and mind in that way. I felt so unbelievably weak and struggled to keep from crying. Every step felt like it took a monumental effort, and I had to mentally recite my comfort verses to hold myself together. I know now that this was spiritual warfare. If you could think of a religion other than Christianity, then chances are it was in the Healing Center. The entire surrounding area felt this way, and this weight clung to me for the rest of the night. (I actually felt an instant change the moment we exited the city limits the next morning.)
Josh finished up the tour at Jackson Square, where we parted ways and explored the square in groups before meeting at the original Café Du Monde. We ended our trip with a picture by a Christmas tree outside of Jackson Square.
If it weren’t for the BCM, I wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity. I wouldn’t have known that organizations like Send Relief existed for mission opportunities on my own in the future. We need groups like the BCM to introduce young adults to the mission field. Our BCM director, Jeremy Woodall, often reminds us that we only have three summers while in college. The BCM provides opportunities to explore what we can do with our summers with trips like these and events like Collegiate Week that connect us with mission organizations like NAMB/IMB and GenSend. It also gives us valuable training and a safe environment to practice sharing the gospel. Without them I never would have seen New Orleans, a city in my own backyard, from a ministry mindset.
Thank you, Mr. Josh Durnell, for showing us the beautiful city. Thank you, Jeremy Woodall, for giving us the opportunity to go. And most importantly, thank you, God, for getting us home safe and sound and for making sure the seeds that were sewn fall on good soil.
“Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20”
“At BCM’s all over the state of Arkansas, we have ministry leaders that seek to provide missions experiences and opportunities to expand the worldview of our students as we seek to lead them to live a life on mission. I am so proud of Emma Kate and other students at our wonderful ministry that seek out opportunities to share the Gospel on our campus and take advantage of the opportunities we provide outside of our community,” said Jeremy Woodall, UAM BCM director.