Assemblies of God Raises Student Missions to Higher Standards
Over four thousand people attended the first-ever student missions conference by the Assemblies of God.
Over four thousand people attended the first-ever student missions conference by the Assemblies of God.
Joining together students and missionaries, the World Missions Summit held in Louisville, Ky., from Dec. 30, 2005 - Jan. 2, 2006, reinvented the method of connecting potential personnel with those in the field. The missions conference was the combined effort of the Assemblies of God (A/G) campus ministry, Chi Alpha, and the denomination's World Missions arm, which financed it.
"It exceeded all expectations," said E. Scott Martin, Chi Alpha Global Student Missions Director. "The expectation of student response, student attendance - they all went off without a hitch. It was really a miracle."
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More than 700 students responded by committing to a year of missions after graduating from college. The summit was a way to expose thousands of students to missions so that they would take the call to action.
Through Meal With a Missionary, interactive exhibits, breakout missions experience sessions, and five plenary sessions collectively called the Gathering, students were treated to a feast of missions information and one-on-one contact with real missionaries.
Meal with a Missionary put students face to face in intimate settings with a different missionary each of the four mealtimes. The setup allowed students to begin developing relationships that might eventually lead to a successful mission trip.
Students had their pick of breakout sessions on Africa, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Eurasia, Northern Asian, Media Commission, International Service Ministries, and the United States.
The Exhibit Hall, meanwhile, took participants on a tour of the world through creativity and media, showcasing many diverse cultures. Students filled out applications and talked to missionaries from different fields.
An Internet café, free coffee house, wireless capability, and flat screen TVs in the center of the convention buzzed with students, comfortable in the zone.
The large plenary sessions, called “the Gathering,” utilized media and video to take students to the mission field. Drama, skits, testimonies, two worship bands and an international student choir led worship, and speakers challenged students with a call to missions. Students also held a joint prayer for the nations.
"The conference effectively connected Chi Alpha students to a mission field like never before," said Martin.
Short-term missions has been under fire recently for not producing as much fruit as once expected, but A/G's Chi Alpha and World Missions' personnel don't doubt their mission success rate. They argue that the hundreds of students filling out applications will only bring much-needed manpower to A/G's successful overseas missions activities.
According to Chi Alpha Campus Ministries Director Dennis Gaylor, Chi Alpha students are generally successful at missions – meaning they make a lasting impact – because of the longevity of the projects, which are often connected to an A/G church.
Gaylor said that because missions activities are denominationally-based, the infrastructure for successful missions is already in place and students only need to plug into existing churches, bible schools, or mission fields, and reinforce missionaries.
"We plug into things that have more longevity. We are established on the fields. We are linked to a church," said Gaylor. "It's not just young people going on doing whatever they think they can do or want to do, but it's tied to something there, which lasting. What's being done is what's needed."
Chi Alpha students that go on missions trips are oftentimes mature college graduates, or campus ministry leaders.
"Our students generally come over because of their age and experience in Chi Alpha," said Gaylor. "And the missionaries really like our teams, who come more prepared and more flexible."
Each team of students that spends time overseas is part of a Chi Alpha campus' five-year commitment to a locale. Long-term relationship building, combined with the goal of raising up indigenous people to take their place, is what makes their model fruitful, said Martin.
"Too many of these churches use missions as a global tour. They go to Philippines one year, Argentina the next… No wonder it's not fruitful," said Martin. "If you make a commitment to one place for five years, that's when short-term missions becomes fruitful."
Part of Chi Alpha's longer-term missions model is challenging students to go for one whole year. In the past, each of the 15,000 students were challenged to serve on a cross-cultural mission at least once during their collegiate career.
"And now we're asking them to give a year and pray about a lifetime post-graduation," said Martin. "We've raised the bar."
Chi Alpha's short-term mission setup is fruitful, according to Martin. The campus ministry is an extremely large "feeder" for the denomination's worldwide missions movement.
Currently, there are 2,584 A/G world missionaries.
