Samantha* and three other students from colleges around our state were excited about banding together as summer missionaries this year and taking the gospel to a foreign land.

One month before they were to depart, a bomb shattered the walls of a church where they were to serve. In an instant, dozens of people died from the blast of a suicide bomber.

Reality hit their parents first, and then it settled in with the college students. But it didn’t take long for the Baptist Collegiate Ministries staff to get a call from them, with a clear message: Send us! Danger will not keep us from the mission.

We live in chaotic times. As Christians, we live comfortable lives in our nation, while some in other parts of the world are willing to die for a lie. Sometimes it happens close to home and is a reminder that we are in a war for the souls of mankind as we seek to bring the hope that only comes through the gospel. We could learn a great deal from the courage of these college students who are willing to risk their lives and go across the world for the sake of the gospel this summer, while many of their friends relax on the lake.

Samantha, along with more than 60 other college students, gave up her entire summer to serve as a missionary with Baptist Collegiate Ministries. Another 250 students will serve this year on short-term mission trips. For many, it may be the first time they engage another culture. Others may find themselves sharing the gospel with a stranger for the first time.

They will face danger and uncertainty and will be forced to depend on their Heavenly Father in ways they never have before. And, for some, the Lord will break their hearts for those who have never heard of Jesus, and their lives will be forever changed. These weeks will turn into a lifetime of service as the Lord calls them into full-time vocational mission work.

If you live near a college, take a risk and join students for a BCM meeting. They will love the cookies you bring, and you will be able to hear their stories. Perhaps their accounts of going across the world will compel you to go across the street in your own town and take the gospel to a neighbor who is far from God.

Who knows? You may find yourself across the world next year on an adventure to take the gospel to a people who have not yet heard.

*Samantha’s name was changed in order to protect missionaries in dangerous areas of our world.