Photos by Ralph Freso
Lauren Rohde served four mission trips in Belize and the Dominican Republic, as well as assisted at a homeless ministry in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, before enrolling at Grand Canyon University this fall.
So a stop at GCU's Missions Meet and Greet on Thursday was big on her to-do list. She was among more than 125 students who attended.
“I really like hearing about the different opportunities and being able to see different opportunities to see where God's calling me,” said Rohde, who plans to study exercise science.
The open house in the Natural Sciences Building introduced new students to ways they can serve as short- or long-term missionaries throughout the world, as well as serve as interns locally.
GCU Missions aims to produce global citizen leaders, and the experiences shared by Rohde and several speakers reflected that goal.
For the second consecutive summer, students and university leaders visited Israel with GCU Spiritual Life, soaking up history and learning about current events and conflict.
Former GCU student Mina Jabar joined HeartFire, a program that leads medical and humanitarian mission trips, through GCU’s Global Outreach and was in Lebanon during the Oct. 7 attacks in the Israel-Hamas war.
“I came back forever changed,” Jabar said. “I came back on fire for Christ, and we experienced so many miraculous moments.”
Jabar has served in Lebanon, Egypt, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico and Israel, but her experiences continue to educate her while helping others.
“Even though I'm Middle Eastern, I was in my own little bubble,” Jabar said. “Everybody knows who Jesus is at least, right? And there's one quote comes to mind where ‘we talk about the second coming a lot, but yet, half of the world hasn't even heard of the first.’
“And the one thing that I really gained from here is I didn't realize how many people don’t know Jesus Christ is the Messiah.
"I've gained a lot of leadership experience. I've grown spiritually more than ever. When I came in, I was on fire because I had just come out of this trip, but now I just know the full, hard truth. And in any disaster, I don't even panic anymore, because I just know who Christ is.”
Bobby Cox, president of GOTEN Inc. (Go To Every Nation), quipped that his process might have been “a little bit out of order” because he worked locally before earning a master’s degree from GCU in urban ministry. But it gave Cox, one of the featured speakers, an opportunity to process his education and ministry experiences.
“The coolest part about being right here is that GCU students have the opportunity to do urban ministry in a practical way,” Cox said. “You get the education side of it from the university, but then just walk out across the street, when you get the practical application of it.
“I love the fact that GCU has a such a good name. Even in our ministry, we have so many students that come in and volunteer with us, and then we know when the GCU students are gone.”
Cox said the GCU void is felt when students from other schools (“who are great, too”) leave at the end of July until GCU students return at the end of August.
“We miss them bad,” Cox said. “You can tell the difference.”
Cox took notice that he spoke to a packed room.
“I think the Global Outreach team is doing a fantastic job, and the fact that it can be marketed during Welcome Week,” Cox said. “And then you just say, ‘Hey, if you're interested in missions, come to this meeting.’ And then you pack a room – that says something about what God's doing in the lives of students.
“And then for the team and the university to give an opportunity for them to take those next steps, you can't get better than that.”
Andrew Cuss, head lead of the Mission team, understands GCU’s role in serving throughout the world.
“I know that's a big part of President (Brian) Mueller's vision,” said Cuss, who served on his first mission at Paraguay with Discovery Christian Church in Colorado at age 13. “There's a purpose on why we're in the place that we are, and within Spiritual Life and all that. There's a bunch of outreaches with Local and with Global (Outreach) that we’re all locally focused on, just different types of people.
“It is part of the character of GCU student to go out and to serve ... to love your neighbor and love your brother and sister in Christ.
“I would say that's part of what GCU is like, trying to embody not only are we going to be academic, but we’re also going to go out and serve in other countries as well.”
Cuss' church partnered with a community in Paraguay, where they built a playground and relationships. And last summer, he spent a month in Indonesia, which he described as a “cultural immersion experience.”
“We were in host families, kind of living amongst the Indonesian people and just doing life with them,” Cuss said. “We did some orphanage work, a little bit of time in a plant nursery, and then (some administration work at) a Bible translation library. It was a super cool experience. Yeah, it was incredible.”
The culture was “very warming and very welcoming, very friendly. … People were amazing. We felt at home.”
Rohde also gained a greater appreciation during a visit to Belize a few years ago.
“It was really cool to see how people lived,” Rohde said. “It really made me grateful for everything that I've had, but also be able to care for people. Even if the language isn't the same, how much love translates between people who don't even speak the same language.”
GCU senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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