A broader perspective: Global Missions Week at Southeastern

 Global Missions Week 2014 at Southeastern challenged students to follow Christ’s example by encouraging them to go beyond their comfort zone to serve the church and fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).

The week included two special chapels, a panel on church planting and several other events designed to expand the perspective students.

Aaron Coe, vice president of mobilization with the North American Mission Board and a student in the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) doctoral program, spoke in SEBTS chapel on Wednesday. Since 2001, Coe has helped plant 38 churches in the New York area following the September 11th terrorist attacks.

“We have great potential in this room; historians will look back at the missional output from Southeastern of this period,” Coe said. “We really need this institution as well as others … [to] stand here firmly believing [Matthew 16:18].”

Coe preached on Philippians 2:5-8. He encouraged students to hold their plans loosely. “We tend to be very small thinkers, and He has much bigger dreams than what we are thinking about,” Coe said. “Jesus held his rights, desires and expectations loosely, so the will of the Father could be accomplished.”

In New York City, Coe has learned that cities are important, church planting is God’s methodology to reach the world, and we do not have enough churches. Approximately 80 percent of North Americans live in cities. “[Cities] create the culture that determine how the rest of the world will think and behave,” Coe emphasized.

After chapel, a panel of church planters discussed “Planter and Place: Factors in Finding a Good Fit.” The panel featured Coe, James Roberson from New York City, Ron Larson from Baltimore, Md. and David Person from New Jersey.

Thursday marked dress like Danny Akin day. Students, faculty and friends of Southeastern enjoyed sporting styles typically worn by Akin. In honor of the special occasion, David Platt, senior pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., preached in chapel wearing cargo pants and a quick dry polo shirt. “I feel like I’m going on a mission trip to The Masters,” Platt said. “Would it be, when it comes to a heart for the Great Commission, this room would be full of Danny Akins.”

Platt’s sermon explored three questions from Luke 9:57-62 focusing on sacrificing for missions with an undivided heart.

After chapel on Thursday the Ledford center hosted a Taste of the Nations event. Students were encouraged to learn more about international people groups through sampling food from various countries.

Thursday evening approximately 100 students attended Mugs and Missions about overseas church planting. Missionaries from the Middle East, Europe and East Asia were featured on the panel.

On Friday, students had the opportunity to engage with the international community in the Triangle and discover various people groups in the area.

Jo Cho, a College at Southeastern student from Chapel Hill, said, “This experience helped me realize how I can be more intentional in conversations with international people.”

Josh Barrera, from New York is also studying at the college, “I feel a growing conviction to reach out to people who are lost. I don’t know how I could sit back and not do anything to help them find Christ.”

To watch Coe or Platt’s sermon online, please click here.

To view photos from chapel, please click here.

To view additional photos from Global Missions Week, please click here.