University of Mobile Students To Help Church Planters in Major Cities

For the third year, the University of Mobile will send students on The Bridge trip during Spring break. The 34 students, one faculty member and one staff member will help church planters in Chicago, Boston, or New York City during the mission trip sponsored by UM’s Campus Ministries.

The annual trip, on Feb. 29-March 9, will allow students to be exposed to the spiritual needs within the United States and to work with church planters from North American Mission Board, an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. The church planters, who are establishing new churches, are trying to reach the unreached through their church planting efforts. The students are separated into three teams—one for each city—and have two student leaders for each team.

The Chicago team will work with a church planting strategist, one who coordinates multiple church planters in an area, to do some of the early research in an area before the church planting actually begins. They will also spend time in training.

The Boston team will work with a young church plant, participating in some outreach projects in the city. The New York team will work with an established church plant by participating in ongoing ministries of the church.

“I hope the student’s eyes are opened to the reality that there is a great need in America as there is across the globe,” said UM Director of Spiritual Life Neal Ledbetter, who is also attending the trip.

“I hope they see that the nations are at our doorstep,” he continued.

The Bridge was coordinated by students Mat Alexander, Britney Barentine, Lee Harper, Jaye Herrod, Greg Johnson and Aimee Snead.

Ledbetter said the trip is called The Bridge because it is a bridge, or a step, between the experiences that UM students have with local ministries and their involvement with international ministry mission efforts.