Upcoming mission trips provide opportunities to serve

Each year, Southwestern Seminary sends student and faculty mission teams throughout the world to engage the lost with the Gospel. As Southwestern trains future missionaries, leaders and pastors, these trips enable students to apply practically on the mission field what they learn in theory in the classroom. Upcoming spring and summer 2018 trips will continue this tradition as students travel around the globe and partner with missionaries, church plants and local believers to “preach the Word, reach the world.” 

Students Lauren Rodriguez and Stephen Gravois both participated in the 2017 mission trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Rodriguez says mission trips give students experience spreading the Good News with people whom they would not normally be able to reach in their normal routines. She says each conversation was unique, but she recalls how God worked in each circumstance.

“I enjoyed most seeing the Holy Spirit move people and watching the gears turn in someone’s head as they heard the message and came to a point where they accepted God’s Word and Jesus as their Lord,” Rodriguez says. She continues, “We cannot change hearts; the Holy Spirit does as we share His Good News. To be a witness to that change is a gift God gives; it’s part of His grace.”

Gravois says he particularly enjoyed learning more about the Thai culture. He explains that doing so better equipped him to effectively minister and evangelize the lost within that culture.

“It gave me the opportunity to learn new ministry and evangelism strategies from my peers, all while having the chance to learn and appreciate a foreign culture,” he says. As an additional perk, he adds, “your teammates will become some of your new closest friends.”

This spring and summer, students have the opportunity to participate in the following mission trips:

s
• Spain, March 23 – April 1: Students will spend the week in partnership with two Southwestern alumni and church planters near Seville. Students will support the ongoing effort of local ministries as they share the Gospel in the community.

s

• Japan, May 11 – May 31: This student mission team will serve alongside missionaries currently ministering in Tokyo and Tokyo Baptist Church as they do street evangelism and university campus evangelism.

s

• South Asia, May 23 – June 11: Students on this trip will participate in a study of Hinduism and Islam, as well as best practices reaching the adherents of these religions. Teams will engage in urban outreach and evangelism of the lost in this south Asian country.

s

• Thailand, July 4 – July 23: This year’s Chiang Mai trip will provide students an opportunity share the Gospel with university students at multiple campuses.

For more information regarding participation in upcoming mission trips, contact the World Missions Center at wmc@swbts.edu.