In partnership with IMB missionaries and Pastor Nelson of Soma Community Church, the Pine Bluff Baptist Collegiate Ministry equipped and mobilized three recent graduates to go to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the purpose of encouraging Christians in Sao Paulo to “not grow weary of doing good (Gal. 6:9),” and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching them to obey and see people move from enemies of God to children of God (Ephesians 2:1-10). 

Destiny Kilgore (Class of 2023), Aalazha Royal (Class of 2023), and Gregory King (Class of 2022) all joined me in this trip. It was a first for all of us in international travel, but we knew the Lord would make a way for us, as this was about God’s glory in seeing people saved. After six long days of ministry, with most days starting early in the morning and not ending until midnight, the team had over 200 Gospel conversations with just the community we were in. Other conversations were had in skate parks and in an inner city ministry we partnered with. We primarily did ministry in impoverished communities, but they were rich in the Lord where they lacked in the world. 

Because of the equipping and training ground that God has made BCM, these students demonstrated their ability to make much of Jesus by sharing their testimony, sharing the Gospel openly in public and privately and praying for people out loud and interceding for them on the streets of  Sao Paulo. Our team got to see over 40 people place their faith in Christ that week. It is encouraging to know that Jesus’s claim that “the gates of hell will not prevail against my church,” rings true, even in the poorest parts of a city like Sao Paulo.  

This is why BCM at Pine Bluff aims to reach students, because they become missionaries, and because God will use these students to push back the darkness as lights in the world.