Enrollment counselor Aaron Johnson recently returned from a holiday trip to the Joplin, Missouri area which was devastated by a tornado on May 22 and he was pleasantly surprised at the changes and the cleanup he saw. The last time Johnson had seen his home town was in June when he and a team from GCU drove a van full of clothing and supplies donated by faculty and staff to give to families affected by the disaster. The destruction he had seen then had been sobering.

A Ford minivan filled with four people, fueled by Jesus’ Great Commission and stopping at every college campus on the map is no ordinary vehicle. It’s a four-wheeled missile for world change. “If there’s a revolution you want to start, take it to college students,” reasons Morgan Parker, who visited the GCU campus on Tuesday evening along with three other representatives of The Traveling Team.

A group of students from GCU, led by Campus Music Minister Gabe Salazar, heard the song in the hearts of African children on a recent 16-day trip to Rwanda that “had a significant impact on all of us,” Salazar says.

The conical straw hats and Antelope T-shirts gave them away as a 16-member contingent from GCU returned home Monday evening from an 18-day nursing exchange in China. Dean Anne McNamara of the College of Nursing organized a welcoming party at Sky Harbor International Airport for the 12 graduate students and four faculty members who had flown nearly 16 hours, showing up exhausted but exhilarated by all they had seen and done.

When I first volunteered to go on the trip to Joplin, Mo., to document the experience for everyone at GCU, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I know people say that kind of thing all the time, but it’s the truth.

One thing I learned is something I kind of knew all along: GCU truly cares! I was blessed to see and experience it. I’ll never forget it, and neither will the people of Joplin.

Russ Pennell, GCU’s head coach for men’s basketball, grew up 20 miles from Joplin. Mo., and describes the May 22 tornado as “a little surreal.”
Troy Hill, his best friend from their high school days in …

“GCU’s Drive to Joplin,” a clothing and supplies drive to assist four families devastated by the recent tornado in Joplin, Mo., was conducted over a three-day period at the University’s main campus and Tempe and Peoria sites. Joplin is the hometown of Enrollment Counselor Aaron Johnson, who is personally delivering the donations along with GCU’s community outreach manager, Jose Moreno.
Jennifer Willis of our Communications staff is along for the ride and blogging from the trip.

GCU’s tornado-relief team of three — Enrollment Counselor Aaron Johnson, Community Outreach Manager Jose Moreno and Communications Specialist Jennifer Willis — hit the road Thursday morning for southwestern Missouri. They’re planning to stop in Amarillo, Texas, …

The clothing and supplies drive for residents of Joplin, Mo., displaced by the May 22 tornado received news coverage Wednesday morning by Channels 3, 10 and 12 from US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix.
The Suns and …