S.E.M.P.

July 19-25^th 2003 S.E.M.P. (Students Equipped to Minister to Peers) 26 people from our student ministry department went to Chicago for an evangelism conference.  We stayed at Wheaten College the entire week and it served as our 'home-base' for the evangelism work that we did in the city of Chicago.  We were part of a group of 1200 individuals who were from other churches in the northern mid-west part of our country.

During the morning hours, we were involved in training.  Much of the training dealt with the ability to communicate our faith to others.  When the daily training was complete, we would load up and head to downtown Chicago, which was about an hour drive away.  Once in Chicago, we would then approach people and begin talking with them.  Needless to say, it was a wonderful sharing opportunity and experience.

While on the streets of Chicago, we talked with a wide variety of people.  Some were homeless individuals, some were international visitors, and others were residents of that area from all walks of life.  We learned that many people are eager to talk with you about their beliefs.  God led some members of our team to talk to individuals who accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior right there on the street!!

Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of this trip will come when school starts back.  The individuals who went realized one basic thing: sharing your faith is not as difficult as you might expect.  Certainly if we can walk up to strangers in a major city and tell them about Jesus, we can do that also in our schools and places of employment.

Doug Hayes
Minister to Students