Jesus said to his disciples,
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
Many of you know about our summer missions trips, Project 222, and how we take over 100 college students overseas for a month every year. Everyone also knows that COVID has made overseas travel very difficult and in some places impossible. It still looks different than a normal year for travel but we still wanted to be missional with our lives. In Acts 1:8, Jesus didn’t start at the ends of the earth. Jesus started at Jerusalem. This year we are going on mission and we will start in Jerusalem.
We asked God for direction and how we could still be on mission, even if, what we might call “missions” isn’t an option. God gave us an idea and direction. From there, we put all our creativity together and with God’s help in five short days created an experience. Each set was designed and the script written but this was not a play or acting. Each speaker shared their own personal testimony about how the love of God compelled them to go to the ends of the earth, Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem. We took our students on a journey, starting with the ends of the earth and ending in Jerusalem.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.....to the Ends of the Earth.”
Our first stop was “the Ends of the Earth” and for Tiffany that was Tanzania, Africa. She spent more than five years as a missionary there. If God can change Tanzania, if God can change “the ends of the earth” He can change the World. What is your “ends of the earth”?
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.....in Judea.”
The second stop was “Judea” and for Quinn that is Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has 35 colleges and only one Chi Alpha. Quinn and a team will be moving to Boston this year to plant another Chi Alpha. His hope is that the next leaders of our country will not be discipled by their professors but by a missionary. If God can change this nation, through college students, He can change the World. Do you have hope for our nation?
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.....in Samaria.”
The next stop was “Samaria” and for Tatum that was Pine Bluff, Arkansas. We don’t have to look very far to find a community that is suffering. Pine Bluff is a poor community, a town that is run down, and the crime is high. It is not a tourist attraction and is known for their racial tension. If God can change Pine Bluff, AR He can change the World. Is there a community that you don’t have hope for? Is there a place that you would call “unreachable”? That is your Samaria.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses.....in Jerusalem.”
For our fourth stop, “Jerusalem”, we didn’t have to travel very far, for Kayleigh that was her college dorm. If God can change her roommate, give purpose to our lives, He can change the World.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you......”
There was one more stop that took us to the cross, Jesus said “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in”, all these places, Jesus’ first mission was you. If God can change my heart, He can change the World.
Normally, at this time of year, we have almost 100 students signed up to go overseas for a month. Each student has started praying and fasting as a team, they have begun to support raise, $4,600, they are being filled with dreams, faith and expectation for what God will do in them and through them overseas, and they are prepared to go. Instead of just 100 students going overseas, this year we have over 200 students going on mission to their Jerusalem.
Each one of us has a Jerusalem, Samaria, Judea and an ends of the earth, how will you choose to be on mission with the Lord? We are going on a five week journey as a body of believers and you are welcome to join us. We made little passports customized for our adventure. This week we are focusing on faith, dreaming and expectation. What do we want to see God do over these next few weeks and where should we find our expectation? Like any great move of God a foundation of prayer and fasting must be laid. We will be challenged to leave things behind and pick up a greater level of consecration. Then we will make plans on how we want to financially give sacrificially to missions. What can we sell, what can we give up, what can we raise, what can we do to sacrificially give to God? In the next step of our journey, we will be sent out, not to the ends of the earth but to our Jerusalem, to those around us looking for ways to serve. We will end our trip with a first fruits banquet and celebration of what God has done! I can’t wait to share more as our journey continues.
Our hope and prayer is that we not just live missionally in our Jerusalem for six weeks but for the rest of our lives. If you want to know more of the details and how we will be praying and fasting so you too can be a part of this journey please feel free to contact me. We are so excited for this journey with our students and it is one that God has invited all into. We are changing the world together! I would not want to do this without such a wonderful support team!
Thank you for your support and partnership!
- Alyssa
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