Articles

Cooperative Missions: Stories from the Frontlines

April 18, 2019
Cooperative Missions: Stories from the Frontlines

Editor’s Note: CP Share is a story platform developed by the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC) that is dedicated to sharing how Arkansas Baptists are making a world of difference in missions through the Cooperative Program (CP).

 

The Cooperative Program enables Arkansas Baptists to extend their reach and directly support missions all over the world, with the simplicity of giving through the local church. With that in mind, it’s important to stay connected to what’s going on in Cooperative Missions. One big way Arkansas Baptists are being used to reach the world is through Baptist Collegiate Ministries.

 

From Hope to Ft. Smith, San Diego to Gulf Shores, Tijuana to Winnipeg, the College & Young Leader BCM Campus Ministers took more than 250 collegians on mission experiences during spring break. When many others rest or go to the beach to party, BCM students sacrificed a time of relaxation to follow God’s calling to be on mission. These students shared the gospel more than 1750 times during the week of Spring Break. It would take hours to hear all the stories of how God used these students, but we’ve collected a few below to give a picture of the work being done. Here are the stories of “soldiers” from the frontline, in their own words:

 

 

 

From Beach Reach Panama City

 

 

On the third night of beach reach, one of my students was approached by a guy in the line for a club. Hayden was then able to engage him with a gospel conversation for about 2 hours. They spoke about everything from what sin is, to why living certain ways are not good, to how we can know that the Bible is true. At the end of the conversation, our student presented him with the gospel quite clearly one more time. During this time he said that the young man started to basically sober up before his eyes. He responded to the gospel and our student asked to pray for him. As he went to pray for him, the crowd around them seemed to just drift away from them, leaving the area silent while they were praying. As our student finished praying, the young just picked up and started praying clearly and articulately to the point where our student was convinced that the Holy Spirit was present. All this took place outside of Harpoon Harry’s when there were likely 80-100 people within 10 yards of them. Others from our Street Teams saw it all happen and they said it was clear that God was moving in this young man’s life.

 

By Lee Woodmansee

BCM Campus Minister

University of Arkansas Fort Smith

 

 

 

From Compass Church San Diego

 

 

Students from the University of Arkansas had the opportunity to spend Spring Break at San Diego State University meeting students, sharing the Gospel, and connecting them to local believers. Each day they went on campus to initiate Gospel conversations. They started each trip by praying that God would give them a burden for the lost, opportunities to share, and boldness when given the chance. On Thursday, Anna and Cameron met a young woman and asked if she would be willing to answer a few questions for a spiritual survey they were conducting on campus. They asked her questions about her interest in spiritual things, her background with religion, and what she would tell God if He asked why she should be let into Heaven. When Anna said, “We are Christians, and we believe there is a 100% way to get into heaven when you die. Can we share that with you real quick?” The student immediately said “Yes!” Anna and Cameron showed her the Three Circles, a Gospel conversation tool they had learned. She was very interested. They invited her to a Nacho Party that night hosted by a campus ministry and there she connected with local believers who are now helping to continue the conversation that Anna and Cameron started.

 

By Cole Penick

BCM Campus Minister

University of Arkansas Fayetteville (UAF)

 

 

 

From Winnipeg

 

 

I met a young man the first night of Life Explored and it was clear that he was interested in learning more about what we believe. The second night I got to give a very clear Gospel presentation, and he was blown away. “Wait, so Jesus never did anything wrong, but he suffered for me?” He came back the next day ready for more. He wanted a Bible so he could read it himself, and he wanted to start going to Church. He didn’t make a decision, but he clearly started to think about who Christ was and what that meant for him.

 

By Ryan Scantling

Conway Campus Minister

Arkansas Baptist State Convention

 

 

I had a long conversation with an agnostic who left a Catholic background. He agreed with the moral teachings of Jesus but not the spiritual side of things and was more into the “reasoning and logic” of things. After talk of Old Testament things, “religious” things, science, and the Bible, I kept pointing it back to Jesus. Apologetics is fun to read about and I love these kinds of conversations but it all just comes back to who we say Jesus is and what He’s done for us. When it comes down to it, I hope that these students at least received some clarity of who Christians really are and not what they had perceived us to be so that they will consider what was told to them as truth.

 

By Ryan Scantling

Conway Campus Minister

Arkansas Baptist State Convention

 

 

 

From the Maritime Ministry Louisiana in New Orleans

 

 

I have some freshmen who have displayed great potential in leadership since they arrived in the Fall. My prayer for many of them has been for them to step out of their comfort zones so they can witness what God can do in & through them. I saw some of those steps and know that God was opening their eyes this week to both potentially long-term mission opportunities and to the need in the Hot Springs & Malvern areas. A perfect example of this is a young lady who is normally quiet and hesitant to make the first move. In New Orleans, I watched her walk up to a young lady from India and begin listening to her story. The woman from India had worked as a casino dealer on a cruise. She shared about her life on the cruise ship and of her life back home. She spoke a little of her Hindu religion and what they believe. In the midst of the conversation, the Gospel was shared. While there wasn’t a decision for Christ made at that moment, not only was God’s Word share with the Indian woman, our student took a big step forward in sharing her faith and seeing how great the need is for it to be shared.

 

By Michael Clayton

Campus Minister

National Park College (NPCC) &

College of the Ouachitas (COTO)

 

The Halifax team attended a Memorial service that was being held on the Saint Mary’s campus to honor the Muslim victims in the shooting in New Zealand. There was an indigenous tribal leader who stood to speak and then played and chanted a tribal song. After the service, the students were walking down a hall and one of the team members saw the tribal leader in his office and felt compelled to stop in and chat with him. After a few introductory comments, the team member asked him if he had ever heard the story of Jesus and was able to share the full Gospel with him. The tribal leader did not accept Christ at that point but was very moved. He said that the story that he just heard was incredible and that everyone needed to hear that. We are praying that this tribal leader will soon come to know Jesus as His Lord.

 

By Michael Sandusky

BCM Campus Minister

Southern Arkansas University (SAU)

 

 

From Winnipeg & Mission Arlington

 

 

In Arlington, the team participated in Mission Arlington. They did service projects during the day and then in the afternoons they went to a local apartment complex and ran a backyard Bible club. At the end of the week, they had 14 students/kids that made decisions to follow Jesus!

 

By Jared Farley

Campus Minister

Henderson State University

 

In Canada, the team spent most of the time on the University of Manitoba campus that has about 30,000 students. We partnered with City Light church to reach the campus. We set up tables and did lots of spiritual surveys. We also passed out over 3,000 flyers for students to join us at a Life explored group that night. These groups are designed to help students answer the big questions in life. Through these groups, we had many opportunities to share the Gospel.

 

By Jared Farley

Campus Minister

Henderson State University

 

 

From Hope, AR & Gulf Shores, AL

 

 

After KJ preached his session for West Baptist, 2 students were impacted by his story of God rescuing him from brokenness (suicide, drugs, atheism, sexual immorality, gang banging). He took these two students with him to share the gospel on the beach and they watched him share the gospel with 10 different people. A total of 8 people were saved during our trip and many seeds were planted.

 

By Tarvoris “Tee” Uzoigwe

Campus Minister

University of Arkansas - Pine Bluff (UAPB)

 

 

Baptist Collegiate Ministries and is the Cooperative Program (CP) are ministries of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention (ABSC).

 

Find more CP Share cooperative missions stories, videos, and resources online.