By definition, missiology is the area of practical theology that studies the mandate, message and work of the Christian missionary.
Students in a summer term missiology course at Samford University in Birmingham applied their classroom study to real world needs during a working three-day missions trip to rural central Alabama.
“We thought it would be good to put some hands, feet and heart into what we were studying,” course instructor Jim Barnette said.
At the end of the five-week course, the students teamed with Mountain Brook’s Brookwood Baptist Church to assist with a sports and academic enrichment camp in Wilcox County. Located in the middle of Alabama’s Black Belt region, Wilcox County is among the poorest counties in the state.
Brookwood Baptist, which Barnette serves as teaching pastor, has sponsored various missions programs in the Black Belt since 2004.
At an elementary school in the small Wilcox County town of Pine Hill, the students helped coordinate and lead the camp for 200 children and teenagers. The daily agenda included Bible studies, worship services and reading and science tutorials. Personal development sessions offered information on educational opportunities and how to prepare for college.
On the last night of the trip, the students initiated a meeting with a county commissioner and other community leaders to explore ways to strengthen and expand Samford’s presence and ministry in the area. Such an effort would complement Samford’s ongoing social ministry programs in neighboring Perry County.
The students were especially concerned with the need for programs that address mentoring and college preparation, Barnette said.
“The discussion was rich, intense and insightful,” said Barnette, whose course syllabus included a study of poverty in the area through research and class discussion.
Even though well armed with data — such as the fact that Wilcox County’s 25 percent unemployment rate puts it on par with many third world countries — class member Clay Huffaker was surprised at what he saw during the visit.
“I have been amazed at how neglected the area is,” said Huffaker, a senior religion major from Signal Mountain, Tenn. The experience opened his eyes to a need for churches to support local projects as well as world missions, he said.
“We often forget our next-door neighbors,” Huffaker said. “There are people with just as much need in our back yard.”
The class roster also included religion majors Austin Davis and Billy Shepard, sports medicine major Meagan Sloan and graphic design major Lauren Bond.
Pine Hill Baptist Church Pastor Carl Williams, who observed the students’ interactions with camp participants, believes such hands-on field experience is a good thing, especially for those who plan a career in ministry.
“It is important for them to see the needs of small towns and to know that there is a large opportunity for them to make a difference,” said Williams, a Samford graduate with a degree in religion.
He noted many new seminary graduates begin their careers in small rural settings such as Pine Hill, which can have barriers, including racial ones. “It is good for students to see the cultural and economic challenges that can exist,” he said. Barnette is satisfied that the missions trip was a good way to end the course.
“People talk about the culture shock that they experience upon returning from overseas missions trips,” Barnette said. “As we pulled back onto our campus after three intense days in the Black Belt, we all experienced a similar shock after being just down the road in our own state. All it took was a two-hour trip to remind us of our calling to address issues of poverty and injustice.” (Samford)
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