Students and staff commissioned to domestic mission trips
For the first time since 2019, Wesleyan joyfully and gratefully commissioned 120 students and staff to serve on five different mission trips. For the first time ever, all mission teams will be serving in the United States, and we look forward to cultivating relationships with ministry partners in our own country. During the commissioning service, students, staff, and parents heard a reflection from Corrie Nash, high school math teacher and assistant director of Christian life for service, prayed for our mission teams, and worshipped our faithful and good Father.
Since 2000, what started as two mission teams made up of 22 students and 6 faculty has grown into an integral part of the Wesleyan experience and community. Since 2000, 900 students and 190 faculty have served on mission teams, and we have served in 35 locations around the world. Due to COVID, mission trips were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. During the 2022 commissioning service, Alex O’Donnell ’06, high school Spanish teacher and assistant director of Christian life for missions and retreats, shared that “the opportunity to go on missions again is a testament to God’s goodness and faithfulness. This is what we prayed for.”
Corrie Nash encouraged not just our mission teams but everyone at the commissioning service to consider how we can serve those around us during spring break. Nash referenced the command given to Paul in Acts 26:17-18. God says “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light.” Referencing Mark 5:18-20, Nash also shared the command given to a man Jesus heals from demon-possession. Jesus instructs the man to “go home to our own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Everyone seated in Austin Chapel can serve, explained Nash. Whether serving people experiencing homelessness, children in vacation Bible school, or your parents, siblings, and neighbors, Nash challenged us to follow Jesus’ example of sacrificial service.
As we reflected on service, Lacy Gilbert, director of athletics, also shared briefly about her experiences on Wesleyan mission trips to Ukraine. For many, consecutive years, Wesleyan missions joined Orphan’s Hope to fulfill their mission to “see the power of God’s love meet orphans’ most vital needs.” While Wesleyan students have not served in Ukraine since 2011, we have maintained a strong relationship with Orphan’s Hope. As our friends in Ukraine endure gut-wrenching turmoil and destruction, Gilbert led us in a prayer that begged God to be our friends’ rock and refuge, to overwhelm them with his love, and to give them peace that passes all understanding.
Before our mission teams silently recessed from the commissioning service, members of the high school band performed “The Commission” by CAIN.
Please join us in praying for our mission teams as they come alongside ministry partners in Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas.
To learn more about our missions program, please visit the mission program page of our website.
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Corrie Nash encouraged not just our mission teams but everyone at the commissioning service to consider how we can serve those around us during spring break. Nash referenced the command given to Paul in Acts 26:17-18. God says “I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light.” Referencing Mark 5:18-20, Nash also shared the command given to a man Jesus heals from demon-possession. Jesus instructs the man to “go home to our own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Everyone seated in Austin Chapel can serve, explained Nash. Whether serving people experiencing homelessness, children in vacation Bible school, or your parents, siblings, and neighbors, Nash challenged us to follow Jesus’ example of sacrificial service.
As we reflected on service, Lacy Gilbert, director of athletics, also shared briefly about her experiences on Wesleyan mission trips to Ukraine. For many, consecutive years, Wesleyan missions joined Orphan’s Hope to fulfill their mission to “see the power of God’s love meet orphans’ most vital needs.” While Wesleyan students have not served in Ukraine since 2011, we have maintained a strong relationship with Orphan’s Hope. As our friends in Ukraine endure gut-wrenching turmoil and destruction, Gilbert led us in a prayer that begged God to be our friends’ rock and refuge, to overwhelm them with his love, and to give them peace that passes all understanding.
Before our mission teams silently recessed from the commissioning service, members of the high school band performed “The Commission” by CAIN.
Please join us in praying for our mission teams as they come alongside ministry partners in Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas.
To learn more about our missions program, please visit the mission program page of our website.
