Making an Impact
Posted on: February 3, 2021
Everyone comes into someone else’s life for a purposeful season, and sometimes that season is just a weekend.
Freshman year, I got involved in Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) and Impact Teams [at North Greenville University]. I am now a junior who helps lead a weekend Impact Team. My Impact Team goes out, and we work Disciple Now (DNow) weekends, which are basically retreats where a youth group hosts the weekend and everyone comes together to worship and spend time in the Word.
We usually help spend time playing games and investing in the youth, lead worship, and do whatever else is asked of us. The grades are usually split up and spend the night at someone from the church’s house, so we lead small groups in the houses, too.
It’s just a weekend of intentionally setting aside our time to go out into the state’s community and pour into high schoolers or middle schoolers.
I would definitely love to work with youth in the future, so Impact Teams have not only helped confirm that calling, but also given me an opportunity to learn more about how to reach out and talk to others about what they are dealing with on a personal level.
My favorite [outing] was one I worked last year in Sumter, SC. What I remember is that I made good connections with the teenagers in my house. There were some girls there that I think really needed to be there.
At night, we would have small groups and just open up the floor to questions. Three girls, in particular, were very curious about how to deal with certain struggles they were going through and what their lives should look like biblically — in a world telling them 100 different things. We ended up having very honest discussions about what was going on, and they still reach out to me now if they need advice.
I was with juniors and seniors that weekend. They made me question why I believe the things that I do and challenged me to dive deep into the truth of God’s Word and provide substance that [would actually] impact their walk with Christ. That weekend was all around spiritually mending and molding.
I think everyone should work at least one or two DNow or church discipleship events, especially in college. Since we are still young, we have the ability to connect with people who are only [a few] years younger . . . [and] to pour out to others in intentional ways.
Every single time you go, it’s worth it. Every single time you’re there, it’s like, “I don’t care what I missed or what I’m going to have to study for late at night to make up for this, because it’s worth the experience and the opportunity to see the Lord move.”
That is just a testament to why we keep doing Impact Teams: because we love seeing the Lord show up, the bonds we share grow, and other people be shaped spiritually. The Lord shows up every time!
Written By Emily Brown (expected ’20)
