From June 16-23, Oklahoma Baptists’ GoStudents Network sent 9-12 grade students to Omaha, Neb. to serve the Heartland Church Network (HCN). McAlester, First adopted the project, sending students to help move scrap out of the HCN building, power wash a local church, canvass 1,200 homes to build connections with three different churches, conduct service projects with four different churches and host a block party.
This was one of the many great trips sponsored by the GoStudents Network which is all about raising up a generation to complete the task of sharing Christ with a lost world. In total, there will be 18 projects making up about 430 participants this year. Other locations where teams will be sent to include Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Seattle, Utah, New York City, Calgary, Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras, Brazil, London, Portugal and Germany.
Since 2002, Oklahoma Baptists have sent thousands of students on mission trips through GoStudents. Over those years, about 4,000 participants on 141 individual trips to 43 different locations were mobilized by Oklahoma Baptists. In recent years, God has blessed the program with exponential growth. Oklahoma Baptists have a long history of assisting churches getting their students to the mission field, which is accomplished through GoStudents.
This is the first year GoStudents has operated in its new “network” structure to ensure that even more students and churches can be reached. Now, it is a network of Certified Sending Partners, with boundless potential to advance the Gospel even further. Churches, like McAlester, First, can adopt the various projects offered and send teams of students to work on them.
Certified Sending Partners are “capital K” Kingdom leaders from Oklahoma Baptist churches within the GoStudents Network. They are coached, resourced and released onto the mission field with, not only their own group, but other individuals or small groups that need a pathway to go.
Students 6 grade and up have numerous opportunities to participate in the advancement of the Gospel. Out-of-state projects are for students that have completed 8–12 grade and range from North America to around the world. In-state Oklahoma Projects are for students who have completed 6-12 grade who want to see God’s Kingdom advance in our state.
Omaha is the 58th-largest metropolitan area in the United States, equal in size to Tulsa. In past three years, the area has grown by 4%, which is about 30,000 more people who need to hear the Gospel. Twenty percent of people in Nebraska report being unaffiliated with religion, including atheists and agnostics.
Churches in the area are ethnically diverse and vary in sizes. Some are vibrant and healthy, while others are not and are dying. The teams sent to Nebraska partnered with Heartland Church Network to bring aid to these struggling churches and to advance the Gospel through various outreach activities.
The Nebraska team also got opportunities to worship with the various churches. One church, Christ Foundation Fellowship, had a three-hour worship service that was essentially a “party for Jesus”, said team leader Bret Lalli. Students were challenged to step out of their comfort zones, engaging in conversations with several people and showing how much the church cared for the community.
Many more projects are scheduled throughout the summer through the GoStudents Network. For more information about the projects, visit www.oklahomabaptists.org/gostudents/projects. GoStudents is supported through the Cooperative Program.
Feature image courtesy of MacStudents on Facebook.
