by Karina Brady, Student Public Relations Writer
From May to August, nearly 300 Cedarville University students and faculty members spent their summers traveling the world. But rather than packing bags for sightseeing, they put on their gloves to serve.
Cedarville’s Global Outreach department sent 19 teams on international mission trips this summer. Many of the teams partnered with missionaries and indigenous churches to serve local communities and share the gospel.
The Cedarville teams traveled to the Philippines, Poland, Italy, China, Haiti, Kosovo, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, South Asia, South Africa, Peru, Costa Rica, Eswatini, France, India, Germany, Romania, Hungary, London, Togo, Mali, Thailand and Bolivia.
The 24 Cedarville faculty members and 267 students served in a wide variety of capacities on the respective mission trips. Depending upon the trip, the Cedarville team members shared the Gospel, conducted softball and English camps, distributed Bibles, performed music, provided medical care and served children in orphanages.
— Brian Nester
They served in hard-to-reach communities in China, India, Kosovo and South Asia.
During the Germany outreach trip, the Cedarville team cared for students at Crossway International Baptist Church in Berlin. In the last week of camp, several teenagers made decisions to put their faith in Christ.
“It’s great to see how the students are having this much fun, especially since Christian youth events like this are much less common here than in the U.S.,” the Germany team wrote in a Global Outreach blog post. “Many of them have never experienced anything like this before.”
Because of the ministry of these teams, 20 individuals from across the world responded to the Gospel message.
“We praise the Lord for the harvest and the work of students, faculty and staff who served alongside missionaries this past summer,” said Brian Nester, director for Global Outreach. “The gospel was proclaimed and lives changed — both the people we served and those that participated!”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,380 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 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.