by Clem Boyd, Communication Content Manager
At a university that sends hundreds of students each year on short-term mission trips, a conference named “GO” is the right way to start the new semester and a new year.
The GO (Global Outreach) conference kicks off January 7 at Cedarville University. Featured speaker this year is Dr. Danny Akin, president and professor of preaching and theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He will speak at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. on January 7-8 in the Dixon Ministry Center’s Jeremiah Chapel.
Dr. Matthew Bennett, assistant professor of missions and theology at Cedarville, will speak the last day of the conference, January 9, during chapel at 10 a.m.
— Anna Johnson
Akin has taken part in numerous short-term global mission trips since 1977, including to Thailand, India, Sudan and the Middle East. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in biblical studies from The Criswell College, his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington. He and his wife, Charlotte, have four married children and 12 grandchildren.
Bennett joined Cedarville in fall 2017 after serving and living in North Africa and the Middle East since 2011. He earned a Master of Arts in intercultural studies, a Master of Divinity in international church planting and a Ph.D. in missiology from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Matt and his wife, Emily, have three children, Anabelle, Elliot, and Oliver.
In addition to messages from Akin and Bennett, the conference will also offer numerous breakout sessions and an ice cream social in Stinger’s, Cedarville’s snack shop, on January 7 at 8:30 p.m. Missionaries and representatives from 49 different mission organizations will be on hand as well. Missions has long been an emphasis at Cedarville. Cedarville students, faculty and staff have been taking mission trips during breaks since the 1970s. Most of these trips focus on medical care, youth and children’s programs and construction projects.
During spring break 2019, nearly 200 students served on four domestic and 11 international global outreach mission trips, and during the summer, another 150 students and leaders on 19 teams spanned the globe with the Gospel.
“My heart was softened and burdened for the many Quechua people who are still unreached and currently do not have the opportunity to know our Savior,” wrote Anna Johnson, a senior mechanical engineering major from Hermann, Missouri, on the GO blog. She served as a short-term missionary in Cochabamba, Bolivia, during summer 2019.
“God’s faithfulness and goodness were so evident throughout my time in Bolivia, along with the months and even years leading up to this trip,” she continued. “I realized that I have much to learn and little to teach. Servanthood is both a challenge and a burden that, by the grace of God, we must fully embody to effectively minister the gospel of Christ cross-culturally.”
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,380 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including its Master of Ministry and Master of Divinity programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.