DBU students running with a mission in mind

DBU run

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DALLAS—Chris Holloway, Baptist Student Ministry director at Dallas Baptist University, loves running and loves missions. Recently, he recognized a way to combine both his passions.

A team of runners from Dallas Baptist University participated in Fort Worth’s Cowtown Marathon to raise money for Baptist Student Ministry summer missions. (PHOTOS/ Kalianne Reed/DBU)

Having participated in several past mission trips with the BSM at DBU, Holloway knew creative fund-raising is essential to success. He also knew Fort Worth’s Cowtown Marathon was approaching.

So, Holloway started thinking about the possibilities. At first, he hoped he could convince 10 students to run the Half Marathon (13.1 miles) portion and raise some support along the way. He figured if each student could enlist 10 people to sponsor them, paying around $1 per mile, each student could raise around $130. The original goal was $1,300—a lofty goal, in his estimation, since the BSM had not attempted anything like it in recent years.

But to his surprise, students kept signing up to run and add their support, and soon DBU faculty and staff added their names, as well. In all, 38 runners from DBU wanted to participate.

Hoping their “13 for 13” plan would still work, each runner began seeking sponsors who would pay $1 for each of the 13 miles.

“During this whole process, the Lord showed us that he is not bound by our goals,” Holloway explained. “And we found that people were more generous and gave more than we expected.”

In the end, 38 people raised $5,743 to help DBU students participate in summer mission trips.


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“It was an amazing experience knowing that I was involved in an event that would be supporting the spread of the gospel,” said Lauren Moore, DBU alumna and resident director of the Crowley Complex.

“Having competitively run during high school, running had been about me in the past, but training for this event refocused my purpose in it—to do everything for (Christ), not myself.”

What started out as a small idea resulted in big lessons learned for DBU students, faculty and staff who were involved.

“I didn’t really feel like I was doing anything special to help at first,” DBU senior Jeremy Stalford said. “Usually, it’s hard to feel like I’m helping if I’m not the one actually going. But when race day came and I learned how much money we’d raised, I really felt like we’d accomplished something pretty big.”

BSM leaders hope next year they will be able to provide even more money for student missionaries. And Holloway said he has learned that his own plans cannot outdo God’s work, even on his best day.

 


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