Virginia Baptists were hard at work behind the scenes at the 20th Baptist World Congress, enriching the experience of more than 4,000 global Baptists.
HONOLULU — Behind the comings and goings of those attending the BWA Congress, a group of 120 youth stepped beyond their cultural norms to join with others their age from around the world for fellowship, Bible study and cultural fun at the BWA Passport youth program.
Youth from a variety of cultures study Scripture in a small group. (Photo by Pete Trayhham)
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The group of 13- to 18-year-olds representing more than 15 countries met Thursday through Saturday, striving to see the world in a diverse way and leaving to see their faith in Christ as a strong tie to students from around the world.
“Our theme was ‘Barefoot,’ where it says in Romans how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news,” said Greg Harrell, director of the program and youth minister at Blacksburg Baptist Church in Blacksburg, Va. “We talked about how to trust God, follow God and share God.”
The Passport program, which is a missions-based camp affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship combining fun and spirituality through Bible study, mission projects and group activities, is held each year at various universities in the United States as well in several countries around the world. The BWA youth program was based on elements of the program and was lead by four leaders and 12 adult volunteers from various countries.
“I was moved by people sharing their stories, singing songs together,” Greg said. We are people from all around the world — different genders, cultures, races. We are all united as one in Christ. It is easy to talk about this, but I actually saw it unfold.”
Each day, students from the Baptist student ministry at the University of Hawaii led worship while Greg shared messages about students taking the gospel to the nations and growing in their faith in Christ. The youth then gathered in small groups to discuss how these truths translate into their societies.
Greg and Melanie Harrell with two students from Norway.
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“It’s about building community and sharing from their cultural experiences and learning from one another,” said Melanie Harrell, Greg’s wife. “I think how quickly the kids bonded over their faith. They came together and bonded and that surprised me — how well they became honest with each other and open to each other. I think the common ground of being there helped that. That taught me about the human spirit and connecting with people who share the same faith.”
Part of the program also included Hawaiian culture through teaching and experience. Each day, youth rotated through groups discussing Hawaiian geology and volcanoes, war and peace, Christianity and religion as well as language. Then each afternoon, the youth experienced Hawaiian culture firsthand through outings to Ala Moana beach and Diamond Head.
“At Diamond Head, I saw three girls form an incredible bond,” Greg said. “One was from New Orleans. One was from Canada and one from another place. These three youth have found a common bond with each other. And there were lots of pockets like this. You would think they knew each other for ever.”
The group also spent Saturday afternoon filling bags of food with the Stop Hunger Now humanitarian project.
For Kemi Oguntona, a student from Virginia, participating in the program opened his eyes to the diversity within the family of Baptists.
“I wanted to try something new and explore different ways to find God,” Kemi said. “Through meeting different people, I have been able to learn how others experience God and that has allowed me to experience God in new ways. [I have enjoyed] diversity that we are all together, but we are from different parts of the world. We come together as one. It is a two-in-one experience. We have gotten to see Hawaii for what it is, but we also have gotten to see what God is doing in different parts of the world.”
Tobi Oguntonu of Nigeria agreed but said he also gained a more diverse view of God because of the interaction with Christians from around the world.
“I wanted to be closer to God, and I thought this was a good way to do that, Tobi said. “The teaching and mingling with other kids has helped me grow closer. The openness and diversity of everybody has helped make this happen. It brings the youth together as a group, and it allows for getting a diverse view of God.”
All involved left the conference with a bigger picture of how they are connected to missions and ministry around the world through the Baptist family.
“To be able to participate in this gathering is a big deal,” Greg said. “It’s Baptists from all over the world, and it’s a big deal to be able to come together and worship God and celebrate our identity. To be part of that is too good to pass up.”
Kaitlin Chapman is a newswriter for the Baptist General Convention of Texas.