Across continents and borders, college students spent summer sharing gospel

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The South Carolina Baptist Convention’s family of ministries mobilized 347 students this summer alone through the Palmetto Collective, BCMGO, and SCBC summer camps – Camp La Vida, Camp McCall, SummerSalt, and KidSalt.

Serving at Camp

Camp La Vida, an auxiliary ministry run by the Woman’s Missionary Union, had 24 students serve on staff, representing 15 colleges and universities. More than 1,400 campers attended Camp La Vida, a missions discipleship education camp in Fairfield. Of Camp McCall’s staff, 39 were college-aged students from South Carolina. During the summer, Camp McCall also sent out 17 staffers on nine different short-term mission trips. More than 2,300 attended 10 camps held during the summer, breaking the record for the largest number of campers since 2013.

SummerSalt and KidSalt are both held on Charleston Southern University’s campus and are staffed by 25 college-aged students. More than 3,000 campers attended five weeks of SummerSalt, and nearly 1,000 campers attended two weeks of KidSalt.

Whether in Winnsboro, Sunset, or North Charleston, more than 7,700 campers were exposed to the hope of the gospel.

Sent on Mission

College students were also sent across the country and the globe on a mission to transform lives with the gospel.

Palmetto Collective, a program focused on equipping college juniors and seniors from campuses across South Carolina to be missional leaders, sent students for both full summer and short-term projects. Fourteen students served internationally, and 15 served in North America for the summer. For short-term projects, 20 students served internationally, and 16 served in North America. Palmetto Collective sent students to many locations, including Los Angeles, Boston, Greece, and North Africa.

On campuses across the state, BCMGO encourages college students to participate in missions both locally and globally. Baptist Campus Ministries sent 177 students on short-term and full summer trips to locations across the country, including Denver, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans. Globally, they sent students on mission trips to France, North Africa, and more. They participated in community outreach like soccer camps, supported church plants and planters, and shared the light of Christ with those they met.

(Editor’s Note: This story first appeared on the SCBC website.)