Reaching the Nations
On May 13, 2018 a dozen ULM students will travel to New York City for seven days to share the love of Jesus in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world: New York. While some of these students will be going to New York for the first time, many will be returning for their second or third trip with the BCM.
ULM BCM director Chad McClurg has led students to New York since he joined the ULM BCM staff in 2013. “This trip allows students to see God working in people groups from around the world, while giving students mission and cultural experiences,” explained McClurg. The BCM has hosted a number of mission trips to countries all over the world, but students have found this New York trip unique because they get to experience many different cultures in one location.
Martha Zabel, who graduated from ULM in 2017 and now serves as a BCM intern, participated in the New York mission trip in the summer of 2016. Zabel shared, “While I was there, we served at The Bowery Mission, an organization that helps homeless New Yorkers find housing and transition into the work force. My favorite part of the trip was building relationships with the volunteers who cooked at The Bowery, many of whom have been through the Bowery’s programs themselves. Hearing the stories of how The Bowery and Jesus had given them a new hope is something I will never forget.”
During previous trips the BCM has also helped various church plants in Chinatown. Students have served these churches in a variety of ways, including leading vacation Bible school, engaging locals in evangelical conversations, as well as canvassing the city with information cards to invite people to services. Through this outreach in Chinatown, students are exposed to different cultures and religions which challenges and strengthens their own abilities to engage in faith conversations.
This year’s New York team will serve with a Nepali church plant that the BCM began a relationship with during the summer of 2017. Students note that going on an annual trip like this is very special because they can see the growth of the seeds planted from previous years. Clay Corley, a sophomore business major at ULM, will be going to New York for his second time in May and looks forward to working with the Nepali church plant again.
Corley said, “The New York City mission trip is a fun trip and I’m so grateful for the opportunities the BCM has given me to serve. On my first trip to New York, I had so many opportunities to talk to people from other cultures and religions, and I didn’t have to travel halfway across the world.”
Want to get involved?
Pray: As the team prepares to travel to New York, pray for the students and the New Yorkers they will interact with. Pray students will have the boldness to engage strangers in faith conversations and that the hearers would be sensitive to the message of the Gospel.
Give: Many of the students are raising funds to support their trip. If you’d like to give to the BCM missions fund and support a student on mission, click HERE, then EMAIL US and let us know you’d like your gift to go directly to the missions fund.
Go: If you’re a student and haven’t signed up to participate in missions with the BCM, what are you waiting for? For more information about future mission trip opportunities, subscribe to the BCM newsletter below or email us!
