What do church growth experts from the South Carolina Baptist Convention, a Christian rock group from New York City and hundreds of Anderson University students have in common?
The Brett Younkers Band from New York City leads Anderson students in a rousing time of praise and worship designed to enlist college students in the effort to plant new churches across the U.S.The answer: They all gathered together Jan. 30 to rally in support of “Transplant,” a revolutionary new church-planting program being birthed by the North American Mission Board and the SCBC.
The initial trial runs of Transplant conferences last year were well received on the Anderson campus – so well received, in fact, that NAMB and the SCBC selected Anderson as the location for a promotional video that will be distributed to Christian colleges across the U.S.
“Anderson has been an incredible testing ground for the Transplant vision,” said Dino Senesi of the church multiplication group of the SCBC. “For the campus ministries staff, it has gone far beyond permission-giving and cooperation. Greg (Allgood), Matt (Robertson), and Tracy (West) have dreamed with us and helped shape Transplant. The influence of Anderson University will be felt on campuses nationwide through Transplant. God’s kingdom will be advanced as a result.”
Brett Younkers and the Brett Younkers Band led the Anderson students in a rousing time of praise and worship at the Transplant event. Younkers is the lead worshipper at the Gallery Church in New York City, a recent church planting success.
A NAMB video crew records the Transplant rally for use in a national promotional video.The audience was challenged by Dustin Willis, pastor of Midtown Community Church in Columbia, another recent church planting success. Willis shared with AU students the sobering statistics that show almost twice as many churches in the U.S. closing their doors as opening them. He called upon the current generation of college students to consider spending some time after graduation starting a church in an area of the U.S. where the gospel is needed. He found an eager audience at Anderson.
“As I understand it, the Transplant team wanted to use Anderson students in the promotional video because of their obvious passion about doing the difficult work growing the kingdom calls for,” said Barry Ray, university spokesman.
“The students who do missions here are serious about their faith, they are serious about doing the work, and they are serious about the desperate need that grows every day in our country for churches that are vibrant and alive.”
“The passionate commitment to Christ and the dreams of doing something big for God in college students made Anderson University a great place to test Transplant,” added Senesi.
NAMB selected Anderson University as the site for the promotional video on Transplant because of a growing passion on the campus for church planting, a school spokesman said.Following the Transplant rally, students were given the opportunity to request more information on how to be a part of the new church planting effort. A NAMB video crew then interviewed several Anderson students about their commitment to evangelism and missions, particularly through planting new churches on U.S. soil.
Following a period of post-production, the video, designed to inspire students at all Southern Baptist colleges and universities, will be distributed nationwide.
The Transplant team and Anderson University will conduct a conference on campus later this month in which students will have the opportunity to enlist in the new program.