Student Experience: Field School of Evangelism

Being away from home for six weeks in the middle of a city that you are unfamiliar with was hard. Six weeks living with your classmates and sharing small spaces was even harder. Preaching a whole evangelistic series on your own was the hardest, but that is what School of Evangelism is. Before leaving Southwestern Adventist University, I would have told you that I was doing it because it was a requirement, but now, I look back and I can say that it was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had.

As we were driving to a place none of us had ever been, to complete a huge task we’d never done before, many thoughts raced through my mind. I was nervous. I kept questioning myself, “Is this what I am supposed to be doing in my life? I’m sure God has a reason for this, right?  There must be something He wants me to learn. I hope.”

The one thing that I learned was that God will never leave you alone. Despite the challenges, the fear, and the questioning, God turns your willingness into something good. Being alone with six classmates and one professor really creates a bond. I can now say that not only do I have classmates, but I have brothers and colleagues, and I know that they are men of God that are there to help each other out. The way we all connected with Dr. Kilgore, our professor, was amazing. Dr. Kilgore was there for us, to guide, talk, and give us counsel on what ministry really is. He became our role model, an example to follow, and, over all, a friend.

After working together for several weeks and learning the ropes of hosting a evangelist series, the time came to leave to our individually assigned churches to begin our own evangelistic series. I was still nervous because it was a new church and I didn’t know any of the church members. The fear quickly disappeared as the church members took me in and made me feel welcomed. The Metairie Church was inviting and very attentive. They were concerned about where I was staying and if I had food to eat. I was blessed by Sister Sylvia, one of the church members, who would feed me every single night after the meetings.

The whole School of Evangelism experience taught me that God will take care of us anywhere we go. He will put people in our lives when we most need them. I not only learned so much about hosting an evangelistic series but I came away with even more - my classmates became my brothers, my professor became my mentor, and the church members became my family. 

Update** Edgar, a theology major, is now teaching in Korea with his wife Enny, a music major. Both graduated in 2017.