Lipscomb Students, Faculty to Leave for Spring Break Missions
|
Twenty-four teams totaling a record 500 Lipscomb University students and employees will participate in spring break mission and service efforts March 21-25.
Nineteen of the teams will travel to international locations and five will work in the United States, said Mark Jent, coordinator of missions development at Lipscomb.
The total number participating continues the trend of increasing spring break mission participation at Lipscomb. Some 300 students and employees participated in 15 efforts in 2003, while 400 participated last year in 18 trips, Jent said.
Nine of the 24 efforts are new this year, including Monterrey, Mexico; San Salvador, El Salvador; St. Martin, West Indies; Los Angeles; Miami; and Newport, Wales; and two additional teams to England and Scotland, Jent said.
In addition to the U.S., other countries and the number of teams working during the break include Honduras, three; Mexico, three; England, three; Scotland, three; El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, West Indies and Wales one each, Jent said.
"The increase in numbers the past few years are not due to anything we have done or can take credit for whatsoever. It is a reflection of today's student and how their parents and their churches have prepared them for the journey ahead while they are students at Lipscomb. Whether it is serving as a mentor to an inner city kid here in Nashville, volunteering at the local Rescue Mission, visiting an orphanage in Mexico or being a missionary for a week on a medical mission campaign, what the students are doing in preparation for and on these trips seems to be transforming the spirit on campus like nothing else ever before. So praise God how He is using them to be his hands and feet to the world," said Jent.
"Our aim is to help every Lipscomb student discover and develop his or her own personal ministry. With that in mind, Lipscomb offers students a unique opportunity to help advance the kingdom of God in mission efforts of many types on campus, in Nashville, and throughout the world."
Twelve trips are already in planning for summer break, he said, to Australia, Romania, Great Britain, Honduras, Peru, Kenya, New Zealand, Hawaii, Brazil and Africa.