By: Sarah Collie
Bradford Jones, CrossRoads Missions Director of Operations, spoke on the importance of serving as a missionary during Missions Emphasis Week, and he offered students an internship opportunity to do so.
During Jones’ presentation on Wednesday, October 2 in Jeanes Hall students were given free pizza as they listened to him speak on CrossRoads Missions, a ministry that works as a conduit between individuals who are looking to serve and ministries that are looking for servants. The program began in the basement of Milligan’s Sutton Hall over twenty years ago. Since then, the organization has grown to over a hundred thousand participants and has relocated to Louisville, Ky.
According to the organization’s website: “Mission teams who participate with us are involved in multiple areas of ministry including: construction, medical missions, education, discipleship, evangelism, worship, and disaster relief. CrossRoads Missions enhances existing local ministries, supporting them with additional resources they may be unable to provide.”
CrossRoads also works with college students by offering them internships in which they can serve as members of a missions team for 10 weeks to two years. There are three missions based internships located in Appalachia, New Orleans and Mexico. An internship to any one of these sites consists of Biblical fellowship with the surrounding community and working on construction projects. Students must apply for these internships, and are paid $1,000 upon completion. Travel and lodging expenses are paid by the program.
Aside from short-term missions, CrossRoads has become involved with local churches through Help Build Hope, and more recently, Storytellers. Both programs are designed to engage churches and individuals. Help Build Hope works to build houses for the underprivileged, and Storytellers is designed to help tell the stories of ministries through various types of communicative media. Both programs have internships opportunities.
Jones stressed that participating in local and short term mission trips not only make a significant difference in the lives of those students serving, but also make students more self-aware.
“That’s one of the best things about being a part of missions – short term missions especially—you just get to meet so many unique and different people,” said Jones.
He closed by encouraging the audience to imagine living in poverty.
“Think how desperate you would feel,” he said. “Think how lost you would feel. And then if somebody could come in and give you hope and break you out of that cycle of hopelessness—it’s an amazing thing. Especially when someone offers you the hope of Jesus Christ.”
Any student interested in an internship with CrossRoads Missions can find more information and apply at www.crossroadsmissions.com\internships.
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