Global Outreach Teams Return Enriched and Encouraged
Global Outreach spring break teams leave a lasting impact through ministry work
Cedarville University’s Global Outreach program sent 14 teams of more than 120 students and faculty and staff members on mission trips around the globe during spring break. Five teams served stateside, while nine teams traveled internationally to the Caribbean, South America and Europe.
The teams offered medical care, constructed buildings, evangelized, tutored and conducted children’s programs for people in need. The short-term trips allowed students to explore their interest in long-term mission service, while serving and strengthening their host organizations.
“It’s a great opportunity for the students to be an encouragement to others and to see how the Christian faith is being lived out in a different cultural context,” explained Erin Weber, assistant professor of Spanish.
Weber co-led a team of nine Cedarville students who served as counselors in a youth camp in Puebla, Mexico. The team helped lead a spiritual emphasis week for nearly 300 Christian elementary and high school students.
The Mexico trip allows Cedarville teams to build long-term relationships with the students, said Weber, who has led teams to the camp for four years. Many Cedarville students maintain contact throughout the year and return to camp each year.
Another spring break team traveled to New York City, partnering with New York City Rescue Mission and Graffiti Ministries. The team of six Cedarville students participated in urban ministries focused on serving homeless and impoverished people.
“A lot of students might be intimidated by urban ministry and don’t know how to interact with the homeless community,” said Rachel Rowland, a senior intercultural studies major from Mahwah, New Jersey. “Sometimes it takes a trip to introduce them to that ministry and realize this is something they could be involved with long term.”
Rowland, who has led teams to New York City three times, hopes students will become more involved in urban ministry after gaining an increased understanding and familiarity with poverty through the trip.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.
The teams offered medical care, constructed buildings, evangelized, tutored and conducted children’s programs for people in need. The short-term trips allowed students to explore their interest in long-term mission service, while serving and strengthening their host organizations.
“It’s a great opportunity for the students to be an encouragement to others and to see how the Christian faith is being lived out in a different cultural context,” explained Erin Weber, assistant professor of Spanish.
Weber co-led a team of nine Cedarville students who served as counselors in a youth camp in Puebla, Mexico. The team helped lead a spiritual emphasis week for nearly 300 Christian elementary and high school students.
The Mexico trip allows Cedarville teams to build long-term relationships with the students, said Weber, who has led teams to the camp for four years. Many Cedarville students maintain contact throughout the year and return to camp each year.
Another spring break team traveled to New York City, partnering with New York City Rescue Mission and Graffiti Ministries. The team of six Cedarville students participated in urban ministries focused on serving homeless and impoverished people.
“A lot of students might be intimidated by urban ministry and don’t know how to interact with the homeless community,” said Rachel Rowland, a senior intercultural studies major from Mahwah, New Jersey. “Sometimes it takes a trip to introduce them to that ministry and realize this is something they could be involved with long term.”
Rowland, who has led teams to New York City three times, hopes students will become more involved in urban ministry after gaining an increased understanding and familiarity with poverty through the trip.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,760 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.