Missions Week Connects Students with Service Opportunities

Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, Baylor University Media & Public Relations, 254-710-1961 
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Baylor University Missions, Service & Public Life will host its annual Missions Week on campus from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, which features a variety of tabling events, social events and dinner to share information with students about different missions, causes, organizations and opportunities. Dating back to the 1980s, Missions Week is an opportunity for Baylor students to learn about the many options to serve locally and around the world.  

“Each year, we invite faith-based organizations and partners who represent cultures and communities across the world to share their stories and opportunities for students to serve,” said Rebecca Kennedy, MBA ’14, associate chaplain and assistant dean of Spiritual Life at Baylor. “My hope is always that students will see an opportunity beyond their current worldview to imagine life, if only for a short time, in another culture and be impacted by a greater circle of influence.” 

During the week, students can meet with more than 30 partners and organizations offering local and global service opportunities, with short-term and long-term service options, available to any student regardless of major. 

“Often people think of ‘missions’ as being something for just preachers or religion majors, but it is so much richer than that. There are opportunities for everyone to serve,” said Sarah Nelson, assistant director for missions at Baylor. “I hope students find ways that inspire them to join the work happening here and around the globe by these organizations, or countless others, and I want them to learn about all the different ways they can serve that they may not even know exist.” 

Guided by Baylor’s mission to educate men and women for worldwide leadership and service, Baylor Missions, Service & Public Life helps shape the University’s faithful engagement with Waco and the world. Nelson said missions opportunities with local and global partners have a deep impact on students as they explore how to use their faith, academic discipline or passion to make a difference at home or abroad. 

“Students learn from practitioners in the field, in the spaces they serve in and reflect on the experiences to see how they affect their faith and calling. Local organizations provide ways for students to serve, often in regular ongoing ways, to help them to see impacts in their local community and instill that passion to continue after graduation,” Nelson said. “Globally, Baylor mission trips provide students with a chance to see just how their discipline can be used missionally in ways they may not have imagined, while processing the experience with the help of their faculty and staff leaders for meaningful transformation."

“Serving is a chance to live out our faith and helps to show others why the world needs a Baylor,” she added.  

Missions Week Schedule of Events  

Monday, Sept. 30  

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. FUNday Monday on Fountain Mall. Missions, Service & Public Life will be tabling on Fountain Mall, inviting students to play games, take a break from classes and get familiar with the upcoming events.  

Tuesday, Oct. 1  

10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Serve Local Tables on Fountain Mall. Local nonprofit organizations will be on Fountain Mall to provide students with an overview of the opportunities available closer to home, with organizations serving in Waco and surrounding communities.  

3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Dr Pepper Hour in Barfield Drawing Room. During Baylor’s beloved tradition, Dr Pepper Hour, students can visit over 30 different mission organizations that serve around the globe for various causes.  

6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Dinner at the Bobo with Global Organizations. Students will meet for dinner at Bobo Spiritual Life Center to learn about available opportunities to intern, work and serve throughout the world. Dinner is free, and registration is required.  

Wednesday, Oct. 2  

10:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Tabling at Fountain Mall for Global Partners. Some of Baylor’s global partners will be on Fountain Mall to provide students interested in making a global impact through internships and missions information about where they can serve. Additional global partners will be tabling on Fountain Mall, Thursday, Oct. 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with more information.  

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Dessert Social at the Bobo Spiritual Life Center. Students interested in serving globally can meet for a sweet treat at Bobo Spiritual Life Center. Organizers will have “Top 5” lists available by categories to help students unsure of what they’re looking for find a place to start.  

A full schedule of events can be found on the Missions, Service & Public Life website.  

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY 

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. 

ABOUT BAYLOR MISSIONS 

Baylor Missions creates tangible opportunities for students to serve others through their academic discipline. These experiences allow students to reflect on how God might use the knowledge and skills they gain at Baylor to make a difference in the world while providing opportunities to experience and learn from a different culture and be a part of what God is doing in and around the world.