HPU: Serving the community beyond campus

Students at Howard Payne University worship during Impact Weekend.

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I am called to Howard Payne University and to minister on campus to students. When I talk to students, we discuss how God called us to our major, dorm, apartment, class or whatever. But many times, we neglect to see the area beyond campus.

kim lilley130Kim LilleyBeing called to Howard Payne also means I was called to Brownwood. We plan mission trips that we will go to a variety of places and work with varied groups and religions. All the while, in my own town, people are hurting and just as lost as the places where I would love to travel.

Our calling to serve Brownwood was the vision we shared with our students during our Impact weekend. We spent time serving in our community and worshipping together. The first two hours of the weekend, we sent four teams to service projects around the town. We did everything from playing with kids, to repairing a house, to sorting clothes and food, to hanging out in a juvenile correctional facility.

At Impact, I was reminded there are people in our community who have a very different life than me, and it’s heartbreaking to see the hurt I ignore in my own community. During evening worship services, representatives from assorted organizations came to give us more information about what they do and the people they serve. It was shocking to hear of things that go on every day in a town where I live, work, shop and eat. One speaker reminded us we don’t even have to leave town to see hunger or to encounter hurting and poor people.

Many times, we get so caught up in the things that we do and the area that we work in that we forget the things we don’t always see. I am the worst about feeling like I never have time to help with anything else, but there are times when I need to step back and look at why I never have time to work in my community. I want to be involved in helping the community and make my time in Brownwood more than just about Howard Payne University.

By knowing that God called me to Howard Payne, I know that he also called me to Brownwood. God wants me to make an influence on both—to minister to my campus and my town.

Kim Lilley is serving with Go Now Missions as a campus ministry intern at Howard Payne University.


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