JEFFERSON CITY (MBCollegiate) – While ministry on Missouri college campuses wound down at the beginning of May with finals week and the close of the semester, May was a month of missions mobilization resulting in 588 spiritual conversations and 526 gospel presentations through on-campus ministry and international missions.
Scott Westfall, Campus Missionary with The Bridge Collegiate at Mizzou, went with a team of seventy-five to Juárez, Mexico. The team, which was made up of church members from Moberly, Columbia, and surrounding areas as well as a number of college students, built homes for three families in need.
Westfall writes, “[The team] not only gave their time and energy but also experienced life-changing encounters with God and others. The Gospel was shared boldly, and local pastors and missionaries were encouraged and equipped to continue the work year-round. Christ was glorified in every moment—from hammering nails to praying over families, to worshipping across languages and cultures. We’re grateful to Casas Por Cristo for helping create space for this kind of kingdom impact. Our hope is that students catch this vision: Missions isn’t just a trip—it’s the life we’re called to live. As Romans 10:15 says, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Crowder BSU and North Central Missouri College BSU teamed up to travel to Japan, where less than 1% of the population is Christian. Their team of staff and students spent nearly two weeks roaming Japan sharing the gospel with anyone who would talk to them in restaurants, malls, college campuses, and everywhere in between.
Campus Missionary Austin Pfrimmer, who led his team of five students plus his wife and baby, sums the trip up this way:
“Japan feels hopelessly lost. If you stood in the right place in Osaka or Tokyo, tens of thousands of people would walk past you in a single day, and the reality is that almost all of those people have never heard the gospel before. Why do we know this? Statistics aside, we know this because we experienced it. We went to the highly populated areas in Osaka. We walked shoulder to shoulder with tens of thousands of people, and almost all of the people we shared with had never heard the gospel before…. We shared the gospel out and about in Japan for around 11-12 days. We traveled by train and by foot to reach our destinations since that is the norm in Japan. We picked out a base of operations, like a park, and split off into groups from there. For several hours, we simply went out and shared the gospel with people who would talk to us…. We handed out cards that had the gospel written on them in Japanese, cards that had church information on them, and bracelets and stickers with the 3 Circles presentation on them. After a few hours of this, we would head back to the area we were staying in, take a short break, and then go out and do the same thing in that area, often staying out until close to midnight. It was exhausting, but we can rest now that we are home…My students fought the temptation to be tourists and were some of the most committed, passionate, and locked in missionaries that I have personally witnessed.”
Emma Robinson, one of Pfrimmer’s Crowder students, shares one impactful story from the trip:
“Angelica and I found a small store that made rings out of yen coins as we were walking… We handed [the owners] a Gospel card in Japanese and shared a QR code with the Gospel presentation. He quickly scanned it, and I walked him through the 3 Circles message. It was clear that he was genuinely interested. Angelica shared her testimony, and the conversation went deeper and deeper. Eventually, he opened up about some personal struggles and after some more talking, he asked us a question that broke my heart: ‘Why have I never heard this story before?’ A man who had been a complete stranger minutes earlier encountered the life-changing message of the Gospel for the very first time. He asked if there were other Christians in Japan. We told him that less than 1% of the country is Christian, and that we had come thousands of miles to share this exact message. We gave him a church card, answered his many more questions, and exchanged social media accounts. As we left with our handmade rings, both Angelica and I were overcome with so much emotion.”
Campus Missionary Christina Boatright, who led her team consisting of her intern and three NCMC students, summarizes the trip this way:
“Japan. Such a beautiful country but so much lostness. Our group got to share the gospel every day, multiple times a day, with people from Japan, Vietnam, Korea, all over the world! Many of our conversations were with people who had never heard of Jesus!
“We had so many deep conversations such as in KFC with two young women, with ramen restaurant workers, and on the university campus with our new friends. We also connected with a missionary there purely on accident thanks to Hannah. We got to hear from that missionary and others on his team about the need for Jesus, even having a picnic with them! We fed deer at Nara Park and walked around the huge mall areas, coffee shops, and towers, all while sharing the gospel!
“My students truly understood the love for others while simultaneously having joy and fun in such a beautiful country steeped in tradition. Our students were respectful of culture and language, asked questions, and stretched themselves physically and spiritually. It was an honor to share the gospel with people who have never heard it! We planted seeds and we pray for spiritual rain.”
The Japan trip was made possible by the generosity of the many churches who chipped in to provide funding, including churches from Shoal Creek Baptist Association which raised over twenty thousand dollars to send BSU students and Pfrimmer’s family to Japan. Their generosity served to further motivate the students to steward their time in Japan well. Pfrimmer writes:
“I want to end by expressing the utmost gratitude I have for the churches in our association that funded this trip. The fact that we were fully funded to take the gospel to Japan never left the minds of our students, and that is one reason why they were so focused on sharing the gospel and did their best to ignore the distractions.”
Pfrimmer believes that while it may be relatively common for churches to help raise funds for collegiate mission trips, the abundant generosity of these churches has a profound Kingdom impact for three reasons. He says,
“Firstly, churches that donate to mission trips become sending churches. They are both directly and indirectly involved in the mission itself. They have a direct role in making the mission possible, doable, able to happen. Thus, they indirectly play a role every time the gospel is shared through one of the missionaries that go on the trip. In our eyes, it was as though the local church was right there with us each time we shared the gospel, because without their support, we would not have been there.
“Secondly, by supporting collegiate mission trips, local churches take part in the discipleship of college students, and thus, into the next generation of church leaders and serving members.
“Thirdly, being supported by local churches does several things to the mental state of our students. They gain confidence, knowing that they are trusted by their supporters. They realize that local churches paid a high price for their trip, so they absolutely must make the most of their time and of every opportunity and not be distracted by tourism. It helps students regain faith, hope, and trust in the institution of the local church, which is desperately needed.”
You can read more about the Japan mission trip at https://mbcollegiate.org/college-students-mobilized-in-japan/.
AloJapan.com