Irving church becomes missions learning lab for students

Posted: 8/24/07

Irving church becomes missions
learning lab for students

By Leann Callaway

Special to the Baptist Standard

IRVING—Oak View Baptist Church in Irving became a learning lab for seven student missionaries this summer.

Five of the workers served two weeks at Oak View before departing for assignments in the Middle East and Canada through the Baptist General Convention of Texas Go Now Missions program.

Two students—Laura Garcia from Kingwood College and Melanie Vasquez from Wayland Baptist University—remained at Oak View 11 weeks, helping with the church’s far-reaching missions work. 

“I feel called to help the underprivileged,” Garcia said. “I really want to be part of the hands and feet of Jesus and help those in need—to share the gospel and share Christ’s love. Oak View’s minister of missions, Sergio Matassa, has impacted our lives tremendously. He is an amazing, godly leader and example. He’s a hard worker and has taught us a lot. (He taught us) … to truly obey God and to be a missionary wherever we go—not just a one-time mission trip, but in our lives as Christians, we’re called to share Christ in our everyday surroundings.”

This summer, the student missionaries led Kid’s Clubs at local apartment complexes and volunteered at the Baptist Benevolence Ministries of Irving , where they stocked shelves, distributed food and witnessed to needy families.

They also went on mission trips with Oak View’s student ministry to support church plants in Hutto, near Austin, and in and Covington, La. 

“This was so different from what I expected,” Vasquez said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I want to serve Christ.  Working with other people and preparing for mission trips—it’s been an amazing experience.

“I’ve seen people in a different way and seen that everybody just wants to be loved and needs to know that they are loved.  We had so many opportunities to minister to people who had never heard about Christ before.  So many times, we think about going overseas to share about Christ, but there are people right next door who aren’t saved.”

A young boy draws a picture at a Kid’s Club.  Each Kid's Club was filled with activities such as games, crafts, songs and Bible stories.

Originally, Vasquez planned to spend her summer doing missions work in Russia, and Garcia was considering an assignment in Africa.

“We often get caught up in having a label of missionaries and thinking about foreign missions,” Garcia said. “But Jesus said to make disciples of all nations. I’ve learned about having a missions field wherever we go, not just when crossing a border. …. So often, I feel like I forget about the people in my community, at school, at work; they all need Christ. It’s not just about going overseas. God can use us in our everyday surroundings.

“We have learned a lot this summer—working with the people and seeing the joy of the children. Seeing kids open up and get so excited about hearing about Christ was amazing.  I loved building relationships and working with the kids at the mission locations.

“It was so amazing to see them wake up early on a summer morning to come to a Kid’s Club and to see how much fun they had.  Some of the kids would go to their friends’ apartments to wake them up and would invite them to join us.  Seeing that they wanted to learn more songs and wanted to spend time talking about Christ—it was great seeing how God worked. This experience helped me to learn that I can do that in my neighborhood back home.”