Students cleaning up downtown Belton after the 2015 Fall Festival.
As part of Calvary’s commitment to being a vital part of our own community and being engaged in sharing the love of Christ there is a group of students on campus known as the Student Missions Committee. Rather than tell you about them myself I thought I would let their President for the 2016-2017 school year Celeste Williams (far left with the broom) talk about her experience with this great group of students.
“I was only planning on going to Calvary for one year. I thought it was a good plan: I would get to deepen my relationship with Christ and figure out what I should do with my life then move on. God had something else planned for me, though—something exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ask or imagine. Yes, I was able to draw closer to Christ and receive direction on what to do with my life, but I’m now starting my third year at Calvary because I found my “together” there—and I’m not talking about a ring by spring. Let me try to explain.
Acts 3 tells the story of John and Peter going to the Temple “together” at the hour of prayer. They end up healing a man who had been lame from birth and preaching the gospel. I was challenged in a sermon based on this passage to find my “together”: people with whom I could go out and share Christ, individuals who would help me stay focused on what is truly important, brothers and sisters who would encourage me and strengthen me in my walk with Christ. I found my “together” in the Student Missions Committee at Calvary. We did really basic things together: organize and attend weekly meetings called “Haystack,” where we learned and prayed about missions; organize and participate in monthly outreaches; and brainstorm ways to better engage the student body at Calvary and the community around Calvary. As we did these things together, though, I grew to love this group of like minded people I had found. I loved getting to go out as a team with the same goal in mind: share Jesus. And when we gathered for Haystack, we also had the same thing on our minds: further the kingdom through prayer.
Perhaps the most exciting part was how I was changed by our time together. Being around people who were so passionate about sharing Christ made me more passionate about it. Regularly and intentionally going out to engage people with the gospel made me more aware that I should always be doing that. Praying about missions made the spread of the gospel the desire of my own heart. I am so thankful that I became a part of the Student Missions Committee my first year at Calvary, even if it did mess up my plans to leave after one year. I am really looking forward to how God uses the Calvary Student Missions Committee this year—to grow me, to grow others, to grow me closer to others, and to make us all more aware of what God is doing and wants to do in the world. We are going to be challenged beyond our abilities and stretched out of our comfort zones, but I can’t think of a better way to spend my year. I know it will make us depend more on God, and that’s the best thing we can be doing. – Celeste Williams
The Student Missions Committee is an eclectic group of students at Calvary who are studying a different variety of topics. Celeste herself is an Elementary Education major. There have also been Intercultural Studies, Pastoral Studies, Biblical Counseling and Music majors as part of this group. It doesn’t matter what your major is, you can be a part of missions at Calvary. Our first activity of the year will be coming up soon September 9 -10 as we volunteer at Belton’s Fall Festival. Be on the lookout for more updates about other outreach activities.
