What could be better than kicking off the New Year, spending 3 days discovering how you can fit into God’s plan to save the world? “Nothing,” answered the 6,153 college students that attended the 4th World Missions Summit (TWMS4) from January 4-6 in Houston, Texas’ George R. Brown Arena.
TWMS4 is a joint venture between the Assemblies of God college ministry, Chi Alpha, and Assemblies of God World Missions to engage the next generation in global service. During the event, the attendees are challenged to “give a year and pray about a lifetime.” When the event ended, over 1,800 students had responded affirmatively to that challenge.
As a family, we were invited to participate in the conference where we had the opportunity to connect with these students during four “Meals with a Missionary” and in the Latin America Caribbean exhibit and experience areas, sharing our calling and ministry and helping them to determine their next step in responding to God’s heart for the nations.
While the overall response was amazing, the highlight for us was the interactions that we had with the students on a one-on-one basis. Whether it was helping Liam* connect the dots from his past life of dealing drugs in the rural Midwest to serving God on a foreign field or praying for Hunter to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, with each conversation we were encouraged by this generation’s passion to be a part of something bigger than themselves and humbled by the opportunity to direct them in living out that passion. Of course, confusing old and new friends alike by having my twin brother Mike at the event was pretty fun too! All in all, we return to Mexico blessed and revitalized for having been a part of TWMS4.
How is God leading you in the New Year? How do you see yourself engaging in missions in 2017?
Photo Captions:
Over 1800 students respond to the call to give a year (large).
Dave: making coffee and missions connections (top).
Kelly: stopping to visit with Lanley from Cape Girardeau (middle).
Rebekah: braiding hair in the LAC exhibit (bottom).
The whole Godzwa Summit crew (bottom middle).
*Names have been changed.
Tags: Chi Alpha
