Buies Creek, N.C.—From a village in Honduras to a KOA campground for summer vacationers, Campbell University students learned about the multitude of opportunities to work and share their faith at the Summer Missions Expo held Thursday, Dec. 2.
Sponsored by the Campus Minister’s Office, the Expo featured representatives from mission organizations around the state. Some of them included Summershine Campground Ministries; the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; the Baptist Men of N.C.’s Deep Impact ministry; Camp Mundo Vista; Camp Oak Hill, a non-denominational Christian Camp in Oxford, N.C.; Camp Caraway; Camp Dixie; Camp Rock Fish; the Baptist Fellowship of Angier; Baptist Campus Ministries; Ft. Caswell and others.
One of the initiatives is the SummerShine Resort Ministry. It was begun by Chris Thore, father of Director of Operations Cathleen Jones. Thore was a seminary student in 1979 when he started working at a KOA campground in Myrtle Beach. His Christian-influenced leadership and way of relating to the guests spurred the campground to ask him back the next summer. He brought with him like-minded friends and from there, the ministry has grown into 11 properties that reach from Myrtle Beach, S.C. to Santa Cruz, Cal.
“God has just opened doors for us,” said Jones, whose staff coordinates Sunday morning church services and Wednesday night chapel services as well as other activities for guests. “We do a lot of family building and fun stuff too. Through that we share our faith and build relationships. It teaches our students to be a Christian in the real world and to take ministry opportunities when they get them.”
Wanda Kidd, program coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) said the organization offers both on site mission opportunities around the world and collegiate congregational internships for students to serve through Fellowship Partner churches. Funded by a Lilly Endowment grant, the Collegiate Congregational Internship provides 100 college students with 10-week, full-time internships that help them explore a call to congregational ministry.
Campbellfreshman Demares Van Liew, of Clinton, N.C., came to the Expo because she is looking for something to do over the summer and was interested in missions. “This is a good place to start,” she said.
Photo Copy: Allison Babyak, Demares Van Liew and Brian Hollingsworth discuss mission opportunities at Campbell University’s Summer Missions Expo. Babyak and Hollingsworth are associated with Camp Oak Hill and Retreat in Oxford, N.C. Van Liew is a freshman at Campbell University.