Global Outreach Week Focuses on Foundational Passion for Christ

By Doug Carroll Published September 12, 2012

By Doug Carroll
GCU News Bureau

Jacob Page, a veteran globetrotter for the Gospel, has some sage advice for GCU students who might be considering a mission trip in the coming year: Slow down.

It's not that Page, the University's global outreach director, is trying to discourage anyone from going on such a potentially life-changing expedition.

He just thinks it's important to put first things first.

"I don't want to give the rah-rah missions talk," Page told an audience of nearly 1,000 at theGathering on Tuesday night in GCU Arena, in a talk that was part of GO (Global Outreach) Week on campus.

"There's something more important. A foundation must be set in our hearts first. That foundation is a passion for Jesus and for His kingdom."

Page, who last summer took a group from GCU on a challenging trip to India, read from accounts of Jesus' miracles in Matthew 9 and Mark 7. He noted that those who had been healed -- and the people around them -- were unable to contain themselves in spreading the news.

"Why don't we talk more about Jesus?" Page asked the group. "Why aren't we as compelled as those crowds were? In this day and age, one of Satan's lies is that Jesus is not relevant to our daily lives. But Jesus speaks to every issue we'll come across, to every problem we might have.

"He says, 'Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.'"

Page said evangelism is "a church word" that shouldn't be intimidating to those who are fired up about Christ.

"When we treasure Jesus," he said, "it's not that hard to evangelize. We can't help but spread the good news of Him."

The goal of GCU's global outreach, Page said, is to trigger more than a once-a-year commitment to strangers in a strange land. Rather, it's about making a lifetime impact for the Gospel in a world where an estimated 2.7 billion people remain unreached by Christianity.

Toward that end, he said, an emphasis will be placed this year on what comes after a mission trip. In addition, prayer will play a much greater role. For GO Week, a prayer service has been scheduled for 9 p.m. Thursday in the new chapel on the southeastern corner of the College of Arts and Sciences building.

Anthony Mann, GCU's former student-body president who now works on campus, went on the recent trip to India and isn't sure he'll ever get over the experience. Nor does he want to.

"The fundraising is tough," he acknowledged, "and you never know what to expect (from a trip). But when there's any opportunity to talk about India, I jump on it."

Here's a summary of the options for 2013:

NORTHEAST AFRICA