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Posted: 5/30/03

Wayland sends out revival team

By Jonathan Petty

Wayland Baptist University

PLAINVIEW–Wayland Baptist University will extend the reach of its student summer missions teams this year with a new Lighting the Way revival team.

The team is fashioned after the Shine Out revival teams that were sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas several years ago.

Lewis	Mahannah
Rieff	Weaver

The Lighting the Way team will serve in addition to Wayland's existing student groups, Rejoice and Rec Team.

Wayland's four-member revival team will visit 10 churches in West Texas this summer.

Although the BGCT stopped funding the Shine Out teams due to budget cuts, “there is still a need for that type of ministry,” said Micheal Summers, director of church services at Wayland.

In fact, the Wayland team was created in direct response to requests from churches, he reported. “The request came in this school year, and we have put a team together. We are responding as soon as we can.”

The team will be led by sophomore Shawn Mahannah, who will serve as the speaker/preacher of the group. Senior Josh Rieff will lead worship, while freshman Anne Weaver and sophomore Britany Lewis will work with the children and youth.

Lining up 10 churches to participate in the endeavor was no problem, Summers said. “The need is greater than what we can supply.”

Experiences lined up for this summer are diverse. The team will work with Genesis Baptist Church, a Hispanic congregation that has been restarted just a few blocks from the Wayland campus in Plainview. And they also will lead a youth camp at the beach for First Baptist Church of Junction.

Unlike Rejoice and the REC Teams, the Lighting the Way team is not employed by the school. The team works on a volunteer basis. Churches are asked to provide $250 for travel expenses and to take care of the team's room and board for the week, but no salary is involved.

“This is definitely a missions commitment,” Summers said, “to give 10 weeks of your summer to be in different churches every week with a different pastor every week, doing different activities every week.”