DALLAS—Armed with hammers, nail guns, paintbrushes, ladders and shingles, 260 students from across the United States came to Dallas this summer to improve 21 houses in low-income neighborhoods and share the hope of Christ with residents in the area.
The project is sponsored by World Changers —a ministry of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board. Middle school and high school students from as far as California and Illinois paid $260 each to sleep on the floor at Casa View Baptist Church, shower in disaster relief trailers, work in 100-degree heat and ultimately share how Christ has changed their lives.
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World Changers volunteers reshingle a house. n 2008, more than 22,000 students will serve with World changers in 95 projects in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
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“The first (goal) is to obviously share the gospel with the homeowners as we work on their homes,” said Shawn Edwards, Dallas project coordinator and associate pastor at North Park Baptist Church in North Richland Hills. “The second is that the lives of the students will be changed. It’s important for many of the students because, for most, it is the first hands-on missions experience they have had.”
Crews of nine to 12 students were formed from different youth groups. A crew chief, usually a college student who has participated in World Changers at previous projects, led each team.
“They start out the week not knowing anyone,” David Scott, World Changers national missionary said of the students. “But they leave at the end of the week as best friends with their team.”
Middle school teams formed painting crews, while high school teams worked on roofing and more detailed repair jobs. These projects not only teach home-improvement skills to students but also give opportunities to learn leadership through directing devotions, break times and evangelism efforts.
Students worship during a World Changers evening gathering.
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“The goal is that they learn to do something that they can apply to future World Changers projects,” said Chris Nettles, crew chief for a high school crew.
Nettles, a student at the U.S. Air Force Academy, gives a week of his three-week leave each summer to direct a World Changers crew because of the impact the project had on his life when he was younger.
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“It really rejuvenated my walk with the Lord,” Nettles said. “It’s a great way to grow (spiritually) and get involved in the community at the same time.”
Starting six weeks before the project, students participated in preparation Bible studies and evangelism training. Once they arrived in Dallas, they prayerwalked the Fair Park and Oak Cliff neighborhoods, areas where the projects took place.
People Helping People, a home-repair department with the City of Dallas, referred houses needing work to World Changers. The crews kept a rigorous schedule, starting the day at 6 a.m. and ending after 11 p.m. The students spent most of the day working on the designated house and ministering to the people in the neighborhood. In the evenings, the teams participated in large-group worship and individual devotions by churches.
“The first thing is to show love to them and show you care about their needs,” Joseph Bedford, a student with Woodland United Fellowship in Woodland, Calif., said of the residents he met. “You have to get to know them, which leads them to ask questions (about why we are here). Then we invite them to the Friday service and hope to lead them to salvation.”
World Changers volunteers get in some Bible study during the week of service in Dallas.
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The crews paired with churches in the Dallas Baptist Association. The local churches brought lunch to the crews and attempted to form a relationship with the homeowners. The churches will maintain follow-up ministry now that the World Changer crews have returned home.
Since the main goal of World Changers is for students to understand their role in sharing the Gospel, they had chances to look further into other missions possibilities. On Thursday night after their worship service, students were invited to come to a missions discussion about other service opportunities through the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board.
“I am convinced that the more you take part in missions now, that it will cultivate a missions lifestyle in your life,” Scott said to the students at the meeting. “Be prayerful and be thoughtful about doing one of these before you graduate. Be open to say, ‘God, I’ll go.’ God will use that in a mighty, mighty way.”
More than 260 student labored in 100-degree heat repairing low-income housing.
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Because World Changers has impacted Dallas more than12 years, City Councilman Jerry Allen came to the last worship service of the week to proclaim July 18 as “World Changers Day.”
Within Texas this summer, 765 people participated in World Changer projects in Longview, Paradise and Dallas. Another 170 students served in Austin at a Powerplant, a ministry that teaches students about church planting and provides work opportunities similar to World Changers.
In 2008, more than 22,000 students will serve with World changers in 95 projects in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. During summer 2009, World Changers will sponsor a three-day pilot project in Dallas as well as full-week projects in Lubbock, Corpus Christi, Longview, Austin and Dallas.
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