Living Missions Virtually
By Melanie Lynch in Chi Alpha Connection, Cross-Cultural Missions, Expeditions, and Student
Chicago Chi Alpha students from Northwestern University, Loyola University, and Columbia College went on a mission trip to Eurasia but never once stepped foot overseas. Rather than boarding a plane with passport in hand, the team participated in a three-day virtual trip through the Virtual We Live Missions Experience, which
was put in place last year after COVID-19 shut down travel. The experience is designed with three components—abiding, experiences, and missionary engagement—so Chi Alpha team leaders and Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) hosts can collaborate to create something that works for their capacity, context, and calendar.
The Chicago Chi Alpha team didn’t know what to expect from the virtual trip, but they came out the other side with a desire to do this again and the DNA to both abide in Jesus and share the gospel cross-culturally.
The team spent time daily with Jesus as a group and individually using the abiding guide specifically created for these virtual missions teams to grow in calling, grit, bonds, humility, and abiding. The guide presented questions to students to ask themselves and also had the students write down questions for the missionary hosts related to the devotional for that day.
“Learning and hearing from workers on the field was so beautiful,” says Chicago Chi Alpha Campus Pastor Todd Lucas. AGWM missionaries to Eurasia shared with the students about the culture, Islam, how God led them there, and how God is leading them during their ministry.
As part of the experience, the team also visited a local mosque and met with an Imam. They walked away with a greater heart and greater clarity on how to pray for those who don’t know Jesus to come to know Him. Continuing the experience with the guidance of the AGWM missionaries in Eurasia, the group made a native breakfast to get a taste of the culture there.
Going through the virtual experience together, Chicago Chi Alpha is using it as a precursor to the mission trip to Eurasia they hope to take in the future when the borders open back up. Todd says, “We believe that this will be an avenue for us to continue to really grow in this value of connecting and sharing the gospel cross-culturally.”
All views expressed on this blog are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the view of Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, U.S.A., U.S. Missions, and The General Council of the Assemblies of God.
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