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Boston Spring Break

Baptist Campus Ministries: Brad Simmons
Monday, May 1, 2006

During Spring Break, five students from Wichita State went to Boston, MA to work with the Collegiate Church Planting Community (CCPC). CCPC works in conjunction with the New England Convention of Southern Baptists to reach the 250,000 college students who attend the 30+ colleges and universities in and around Boston. While looking out the windows of the skywalk observatory at the top of the Prudential building, our guide Stacey pointed out a one square mile area where around 100,000 college students live. What a challenge these churches have to reach such a strategic population!

During our time in Boston, we had the opportunity to attend the worship gathering of The Church at the Gate, a two-year-old CCPC church planted near Boston University. This church has seen great success and is already looking to plant a new church at Boston College next fall. Two of the days we were there, we helped Oasis Church, near Tufts University, and Church Public, a brand new church plant near Northeastern University, gather interest about what they are trying to do around those campuses. At Northeastern, I sat at a "T" (subway) stop for two hours engaging students in conversations about religion, its importance to society, its importance to them, and their interest in being a part of a church looking to reach students. These church planters have a long road ahead of them.

The final day of our trip was spent sorting food at the Greater Boston Food Bank and serving a meal at the Boston Rescue Mission.

Overall, the trip opened our eyes to the state of church planting in a culture very different from the Midwest. It helped us to see the need for workers who are willing to step out and go to these great cities and invest in the lives of students who will one day be running companies and countries.