WINGATE, N.C. (ABP) — On Thursday night, 29 high-school students gathered around a tree, holding hands and praying — with no adults in sight. It was the next to the last night of Echo, an event for students who feel called to ministry. They were up past curfew. But who would care when they were huddled to pray?
The weeklong Echo event, sponsored by the Samuel Project, focused on “listening to God's call.” One day soon, most of the 37 students at Echo will be serving churches as pastors and worship leaders. But while many came to Echo feeling called to vocational ministry, they also came full of questions about what that might entail.
During the conference, they were invited to struggle with their questions.
“Here at Echo, I came out of my comfort zone [was] surrounded by people just like me, called but full of questions,” said C. J. Jackson, a rising high-school senior and member of Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Ga.
Libby Austin, from First Baptist Church in South Boston, Va., is headed to college in the fall. “Echo pushed me past my limits,” she said.
Two thirds of the Echo participants were women, suggesting the leaders who will be standing behind pulpits in 10 years will have different faces and different voices than many Baptists are used to.
Dane Jordan, campus minister at Wingate University, where the event was held, said he felt like he was standing “at the beginning of greatness, the beginning of something profound, in these students' lives.”
During the week, students attended classes led by professors from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, participated in worship, and worked through their calling in small groups. They even learned practical aspects of ministry, such as how to baptize — practicing in the baptistry of Wingate Baptist Church.
The Samuel Project is a joint effort between Passport, a youth camp organization, and Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. The project focuses on helping students hear the call to vocational ministry. It is funded through a Lilly Endowment grant given to help curb the coming shortage of ministers.
“What is impressive is not the [Echo] schedule or the content of the week, though those were great,” said Nick Foster, director of the Samuel Project for Passport. “What impresses me are the students. Their openness to listen, to watch, to be challenged is amazing. I'm inspired by them.”