Global Impact Week brings the nations to Tigerville
Laci Jarrell, Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Greg Rosenke on Unsplash
Students filled up Turner Chapel this week with eager hearts to learn more about missions. Sept. 14-16 was Global Impact Week at North Greenville University. Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to hear from a medical missionary who served overseas, learn about mission opportunities and engage with different organizations focused on global outreach
Dallas Vandiver, program coordinator for the College of Christian Studies and chapel coordinator and at NGU, invested significant time and effort into planning this week. He said that the Campus Ministry and Student Engagement (CMSE) works alongside the intercultural studies professors months in advance to brainstorm what Global Impact Week should look like.
During those planning sessions, the name Rebekah Naylor was brought up. Naylor is a retired international missionary who served with the International Mission Board (IMB) and spent most of her career overseas.
One of the goals for this week that Vandiver wanted to focus on was to encourage all majors to consider missions. He said that bringing in Naylor for this week helped with that variety. She even got a chance to talk to the health science department and the physician assistant program in Greer about what life as a medical missionary looks like.
After every chapel, Vandiver said that between 10 and 20 students stayed behind to speak to Naylor. When asked what she wanted to do following chapel, Naylor said that she simply wanted to sit in the Stud and talk with students.
She said that she got to speak to a lot of students. Naylor was amazed that the young people were so curious and wanted to talk to her.
Another indication of student interest was attendance at the mission interest meeting, which drew about 85 students.
Their main goal while planning the topics for this week was how can a large population of students stay engaged during this time and how can the speaker encourage the students.
Vandiver also highlighted the several actives held throughout the week. One of these included the Treat Yourself Thursday. They served tacos in front of Craft. Vandiver said that no matter what cultural background someone grew up with, they wanted students to have the opportunity to taste other cultures.
Vandiver believes Global Impact Week is important because missions are central to the Christian faith. “God is a missional God,” Vandiver explained.
“He wants the nations to be blessed through His people. God sent Jesus so that all nations would have the opportunity to have a saving relationship with Him.”
Even after this week concludes, Vandiver and the other teams involved with the week want students to put their “yes” on the table and consider going on a mission trip. He also hopes for increased prayer about the nations. Students might not choose to go on mission trips, but Vandiver still wants them to be involved through prayer and helping their friends raise the money needed for their trips.
The purpose for the mission trips is to proclaim the glory of God among the nations. They want more students to have opportunities to go on trips and experience this for themselves. This year, organizers focused on making trips more affordable while offering a wider variety of dates and locations. The first trip to Florida is scheduled for fall break.
AnnMarie Cauble, a health science major, said Global Impact Week is one of her favorite events because of her passion for missions. Her favorite thing this week was when they sang in different languages at chapel. She has been international before and loves hearing other cultures represented during chapel.
She says that Global Impact Week helps her understand other cultures because it opens her eyes to the fact that not everyone lives the way she does. Other people are longing for the Gospel but do not know what to look for, so they are putting their soul into other things.
She said, “God wasn’t choosy about when I was able to hear the Gospel, so we shouldn’t be choosy on when and where we should share the Gospel.”
Both Cauble and Vandiver also emphasized the value of the organizations that participle in Global Impact Week. One of those organizations was GenSend, a program designed for college students ages 19 to 25.
GenSend participants learn how to live on mission within a specific context while developing practical ministry skills. This program provides college students with opportunities to gain experience sharing Christ’s love and His message with people all around the world.
