BROWNWOOD—The simple act of painting walls in a local home provided Howard Payne University students the opportunity to share the gospel.
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Rebekah Reed, Rachel Amy and Ashley Bono serve the community through painting walls during Howard Payne University’s Impact weekend.
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“The homeowners were amazed that students would want to do something for them, asking for nothing in return,” junior Molly Gore said. “Their questions and eagerness to know what we were about opened doors for us to tell them about our Savior.”
The students were serving through Impact Weekend, organized by Howard Payne’s Baptist Student Ministry. The weekend event’s “Prayer, Care, Share” tied students’ efforts to Texas Hope 2010, BSM Director Katy Blackshear said. Texas Hope 2010 is an Baptist General Convention of Texas-initiative effort to share the gospel with every Texan by Easter 2010 and meet human needs.
More than 100 students participated in Impact weekend activities. Blackshear organized the weekend to include prayerwalking and community service. During an on-campus picnic that launched the weekend, local churches were invited for fellowship and to meet students.
Doug Newton, a student from Howard Payne University, helps a local resident with landscaping.
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After the picnic, a student-led worship service emphasized missions. Sophomores Nick Kresge and Caitlin Woodard shared testimonies about their summer experiences through Go Now Missions, and senior LJ McCulloch spoke about living missionally.
On Saturday, students participated in mission projects around Brownwood ranging from painting and landscaping to door-to-door evangelism. The BSM partnered with a new local nonprofit agency, F5K, to find homes in the area where student could meet needs.
The weekend’s activities were concluded on Saturday night with a community street party. Students invited the homeowners they had met and served during the day to join them for a hot dog supper. At the dinner, HPU student Richard Reed shared the gospel with those in attendance.
Students characterized the event as a great event “where we were able to share the gospel as we cared for people and met their needs,” Blackshear noted.
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