A group of students from Erskine College worked in the Pittsburgh area during spring break.Pittsburgh is home to the world champion Steelers, “terrible towels,” and the same number of college students as in the entire state of South Carolina.
The metro Pittsburgh area is home to some of the world’s most renowned universities, including Carnegie-Mellon, Duquesne and the University of Pittsburgh. The next generation of leaders are bred in this region with very little ministry presence on campus.
After scouting several cities, South Carolina’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries have partnered with the Baptist Association of Southwest and their CrossSeekers organization to form a symbiotic missions relationship to help meet the needs in both states.
To date, five BCM groups from South Carolina participated in missions initiatives in Pittsburgh over spring break, and one team will be working in the metro area throughout the summer. Mission opportunities are varied, including work on university campuses and in homeless shelters.
“Throughout the mission trip, I have realized that I am just a very small part of the body of Christ. I have been stretched and stretched, and put in situations where I would have never been able to handle, much less be successful, without God,” said Rick Langdale, a Winthrop University student.
In addition to the South Carolina mission teams students CrossSeekers, the Pennsylvania BCM equivalent, spent part of their spring break in South Carolina working with York Baptist Association.
In addition, Pittsburgh students attended the South Carolina annual collegiate retreat at Myrtle Beach in February.
The five-person Pittsburgh summer mission team from South Carolina will be working with college students and Baptist churches in the metro area. There are only 60 Baptist churches for more than 3 million people.
Despite the small number of churches, Winthrop students see God’s hand working in the city.
“When talking to people on campus, I expected an annoyed sort of response, and although some tried to politely cover it up, others were really thankful to know that people are concerned about their problems – . Reaching out to people and helping and showing that you care, then opportunities follow to share the gospel,” said student Kelley Phifer.
The partnership will continue through 2006, with plans to extend through 2007.