This past week, January 22-26, Andrews University’s Week of Prayer welcomed students with a sign lit with electric lights that read “ACTIVATE,” accompanied by a giant model light bulb and a light switch on opposite sides of the stage. Along with the new and elaborate decorations, the Center for Faith Engagement (CFE) had students speak about faith and mission trips. But are students truly being inspired to answer the call to ministry?
Meryen Gonzalez (junior, public relations) started the Week of Prayer off on Monday. Being a native Spanish speaker, Gonzalez admitted that she was “nervous to preach in English,” but despite this, she gave a wonderful message regarding faith. She defined faith as “the path that takes me to the truth that saves me.” She also explained how sharing testimonies with others domestically or while on mission trips can help inspire others dramatically.
Tuesday featured three student speakers briefly discussing their missionary trips and experiences. Lisiane Umuhire (graduate, social) worked as a caregiver for dozens of children of various ages, which helped give her perspective on serving those who are the youngest and weakest among us. Gabe Pontes (senior, physical therapy) became a teacher with many different titles and responsibilities at the school. Although it was hard work, he found it rewarding in the end to provide service. Scott Frain (freshman, agriculture) worked with nurses and on farms in Zambia despite his initial hesitancy to become a missionary. He learned through his experience that you can make a spiritual difference in your life and others without grand gestures. His simple acts of service and the discussions he and his group of missionaries had with people led to them baptizing almost 60 locals during the trip.
Wednesday’s service featured a lengthy sermon presentation from Zack Surovec (graduate, chaplaincy) who spoke on the week’s theme of activating our faith. Surovec spent time explaining how developing faith is not a simplistic process but a gradual growth in our relationship with God. He compared the experiences of the Old Testament prophets Jeremiah and Samuel to how patience is needed in our development when contemplating our life’s purpose and the missions set before us.
Chase Wilder began Thursday’s service by quoting Isaiah 6:8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (King James Version). He tied this scripture to his own experience as a domestic missionary at an Adventist academy. When he was offered the position to work as a chaplain and dean, Wilder was going through several academic and mental health struggles. Unsure of what to do or how to do it, feeling called by God, Wilder was able to better understand his potential and purpose through ministering to children who he said were struggling with similar mental health issues.
Friday featured two student presentations, one during midday and the other for evening vespers. Kayla Goodman (graduate, seminary) was the speaker for the midday service and spoke about her time as a missionary on the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia. She struggled with having a sense of purpose until she grew in courage and faith during her missionary experiences. She felt God speak to her and tell her to “give me one second of your time, which can snowball into more time. Do you trust Me?” Goodman’s willingness to trust God led to her learning from her experiences of teaching students.
Friday evening’s service featured a young lady being baptized before the start of student Josh Ramirez’s (graduate, seminary) presentation. He also testified about his experiences as a student missionary in Palau. Through this experience, he recognized that “when heaven meets Earth, it is a slow process of change.” Despite a minor mishap with Ramirez breaking the model light switch that was on stage, his sermon, appeal, and prayer of consecration provided a good conclusion to Week of Prayer.
Students Alyssa Caruthers (sophomore, political science and English), Hannah Sagini (sophomore, psychology), Jaquan Darrell (sophomore, finance), and Ayanda Dewa (sophomore, global studies) were surveyed about their feelings about the Week of Prayer. When asked what they hoped to learn from the services, only Caruthers mentioned wanting to “learn from other students here who have had different experiences,” while the rest mentioned wanting to improve their personal relationships with God first. Only Sagini and Dewa were interested in considering future missionary work, despite all four acknowledging the important lesson about God using anyone for ministry.
When asked about what they would change about the Week of Prayer, all four mentioned changing its scheduled time. Caruthers suggested “making our morning classes earlier [and] shorter,” making time for more content. The other three preferred to make the services “more interactive” and to have them in the evening. CFE has much to consider as students ponder their purpose regarding potential improvements to Week of Prayer and how to continue providing spiritual enrichment.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.