In March, four Point University students — Shellby Dedmon ’28, Luke Johnson ’27, Quade Roberts ’28 and Skye Turney ’30 — traveled overseas with Globalscope during spring break to serve at local campus ministries.
Dedmon, Johnson and Roberts travelled to Birmingham, England, where they served with a ministry called Canvas at the University of Birmingham. Turney travelled to Mexico to serve at El Pozo, a campus ministry at La Universidad de las Americas Puebla.
Globalscope is an international ministry that seeks to provide community for college students on university campuses around the world. During their trips, Point students connected with college students, built relationships and gained an understanding of how campus ministries function in other countries.
“Every time someone asks me what I liked about the experience, I think a better question is, ‘What didn’t I like about it?’” said Roberts. “Every aspect of the trip, the culture, the people, the food… I loved every bit of it.”
In Birmingham, students had the opportunity to witness how Canvas incorporated evangelism into their ministry work. “The local ministry lived out their faith in a way I had never seen before,” said Dedmon. “Being over there, I got to see how they approached 
faith by bringing in the nonbeliever. It doesn’t make people feel pressured or judged, but many students seem intrigued to understand more.”
For Johnson, the trip was both challenging and encouraging in both the cultural and ministry differences. “Southern hospitality is definitely not the norm there,” he said. “While people may not greet you with a smile or anything on the street, they were actually quite friendly and loved to engage in conversation. While it is not as pronounced here, this trip was a great reminder of how important the relational aspect of ministry is. Relationship can be the bridge that connects the gospel to someone’s heart.”
Turney, while in Mexico, experienced a very different culture, yet had similar takeaways. “I was surprised at how friendly everyone was,” she said. “Something I learned from the students at El Pozo was to love people no matter what they struggle with. Our most important calling is to love God and to love people. Who knows how much God could use your encounter with somebody to change their life?”
To learn more about Globalscope, please visit https://www.cmfi.org/about-us/who-is-cmf/globalscope/.
