by Josh Paxton | Apr 18, 2018
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” – Philippians 1:3-5
Ethnos 360 and Biblical Ministries Worldwide join Crossworld in SYNERGY with Calvary University
At the Conference on Global Engagement in January The Burnham Center for Global Engagement announced a new educational option for students called SYNERGY. Synergy involves a cooperative partnership between Calvary and its partners in ministry to train and equip the next generation of missionaries and get them to the field sooner. This is accomplished through students beginning the training process with these agencies while also receiving Calvary University credit for their efforts. This groundbreaking opportunity is a Calvary distinctive that is available at no other school.
More information on the details of Synergy can be found here: SYNERGY
We are excited to announce that both Biblical Ministries Worldwide and Ethnos 360 have recently become partners with us in Synergy. Calvary students now have three choices in completing their Synergy coursework and this list is sure to grow!
Our partners are excited about the prospects of Synergy and we are looking forward to working together to reach the unreached wherever they may be found.
David Brown, Biblical Ministries Worldwide
“Biblical Ministries Worldwide is hugely excited to join Calvary University in training the next generation of cross-cultural workers for harvest fields all over the world! Synergy is such a brilliant idea, an innovative approach combining the credibility of academia with the expertise of BMW’s trainers who have a combined 487 years of church-planting experience. We’re praying that God will use this initiative for His glory and the advance of His Kingdom.”
Jason Weaver, Ethnos 360
“Synergy provides students a path to complete their degree at Calvary University and their training with Ethnos 360 at the same time. I don’t know of another opportunity like this! It’s exciting to think about how this program will prepare future missionaries while minimizing the time it takes to get to the mission field.”
In addition to providing great opportunities for existing Calvary students and new Calvary students SYNERGY will create a unique opportunity for students enrolled at Ethnos 360 Bible Institute. Students who are working towards an Associate degree at Ethnos 360 Bible Institute will be able to transfer up to 47 hours of credit towards an accredited degree at Calvary and also complete their training with Ethnos 360’s Missionary Training Center as part of their degree program through Synergy. The end result will enable them to take the same path they already planned on but earn an accredited degree from Calvary University along the way!
Synergy is all part of the Burnham Center for Global Engagement’s mission to end gospel poverty and ensure that the 3.1 billion people who currently have no opportunity to hear the message of Jesus, get that opportunity sooner rather than later. If you have questions about the Burnham Center for Global Engagement or how to take advantage of Synergy contact Burnham Center director Joshua Paxton.
by Josh Paxton | Apr 13, 2018
Help us walk/run the 8350 miles to Mindanao Island in the Philippines to benefit the Burnham Center for Global Engagement!
REGISTER HERE!!!
In 2001 Martin and Gracia Burnham, both alumni of Calvary University and missionaries with New Tribes Mission were held captive in the Philippine Jungle for over a year. Gracia would be rescued and Martin would tragically lose his life during that rescue attempt. The Burnham name is now known to many and they are also honored and remembered through the Burnham Center for Global Engagement at Calvary University. The mission of the Burnham Center is to train and equip the next generation of cross-cultural servants of Christ to meet the challenges of ministry in an ever-changing world. The Inaugural Race to the Philippines seeks to raise funds to help the Burnham Center in this mission.
The Race to the Philippines is a virtual walk/run. This, of course, solves the problem that unlike Jesus, none of us can walk on water! Undoubtedly you may be asking yourself, what is a virtual race?
REGISTER HERE!!!
What is a virtual race?
I am glad you asked!
While 5k’s 10k’s and marathons have been around for a long time as ways for organizations to raise awareness for their cause and raise funds, virtual racing is a recent phenomenon. A virtual race could be summed up with the tagline, Your Race, Your Place, Your Pace. Unlike traditional walk/runs there is no set date and time to do the event, there is no set course marked out to follow, and no set place to travel to in order to participate. You can walk, run, crawl, skip, or ride a bike, wherever you are, whenever you have time to complete your distance. While we have set a suggested date of April 21st to complete the event it really is up to you. We will not be asking you to “prove” that you have gone the distance either.
We have created a Facebook event page here where we would like you to post a selfie or other picture of yourself completing your distance. Our hope is to gather pictures of people all around the world participating in this event so that it is truly a global event.
There is also the option of purchasing a race shirt here: Shirts are an extra charge but we do receive a portion of the funds towards our overall goal, and we think they look pretty sweet! Kudos to Callie Weeks for her design work!
Everyone who registers will receive an event medal, pictured here–>
What is the Goal?
Every great event has a great goal and ours is nothing short of legendary. The goal of the Race to the Philippines is to walk/run or otherwise cover the 8350 miles between Calvary’s Kansas City Campus and Mindanao Island in the Philippines. Mindanao is the island were Martin and Gracia were held captive.
There are two ways that we hope to accomplish this. When you register you will be signed up to walk/run the minimum requested distance of a 5k (3.1 miles). In addition, we have created another form where others can sponsor you to run/walk additional miles. So gather all your friends and have them sponsor you for an additional 10 miles and then walk a half-marathon! If you need to you can always break the distance up. Or you can sponsor Burnham Center Director Joshua Paxton for as many miles as you want, he plans on walking/running 1000 miles this year anyway as a personal goal.
So sign up today and join us as we Race to the Philippines!
REGISTER HERE!!!
by Josh Paxton | Feb 7, 2018
Preparing for cross-cultural ministry just got easier!
Calvary University is pleased to announce the formation of the new Synergy Option. Synergy is all about preparing and sending the next generation of cross-cultural workers to the field with the best preparation they can get in the fastest time frame.
The traditional process is too slow!
To date 3.1 billion people remain unreached with the Gospel. This is up from 2.5 billion just five years ago. The sad fact is that the global spread of the gospel is not keeping pace with population growth. Add to that the typical college student’s preparation time of 4 years of college, time spent paying off debt, 1-2 years of training with a missions agency and then an average of 3 years to raise financial support and it is no wonder that we are not keeping pace.
Synergy is the solution!
Synergy is a cooperative option available to Calvary University students as an elective to their degree program. It works with a wide variety of degree options from Biblical Counseling to Ministry Studies and more. Students will engage in 12 hours of coursework (4, 3 hour classes) that will be conducted in partnership with one of Calvary’s mission agency partners. Calvary students enroll in their courses through Calvary are overseen through the process by a Calvary professor and also attend the agencies approved training program.
Agencies currently available:
Agencies in development:
- Ethnos 360
- Reach Beyond
- Biblical Ministries Worldwide – launching soon!
Through this unique educational option students have the opportunity to begin training with an approved mission agency as early as their Sophomore year. Students will become members of the agency they are training with and in most cases be able to start the support raising process in their Senior year. This will allow them to shorten their preparation time while still getting a quality education, excellent ministry and cross-cultural training and securing their financial support by the time they graduate. So that they are then able to launch into the ministry that God has called them to.
Synergy is only available through Calvary University and the Burnham Center for Global Engagement. It represents the next phase in missions training and preparation so that 3.1 billion unreached people can become 0!
Click here for more information: https://www.calvary.edu/synergy/
by Josh Paxton | Jan 12, 2018
The Burnham Center for Global Engagement presents our annual missions conference: The Conference on Global Engagement. Formerly “Missions Emphasis Week”, the conference has undergone several changes this year to better fit our new course schedules. This January 22-25 Calvary University will host 45 Mission representatives and practitioners from 23 different local and international mission agencies.
Dr. David and Karin Brown
Our main speaker for the conference will be Dr. David Brown. “A former Philadelphia lawyer, David and his wife, Karin, have served as church-planters with Biblical Ministries Worldwide, focusing primarily on educating and mentoring national leaders. They worked for twelve years in Johannesburg, South Africa. David has also served as BMW’s Area Director for Africa and Europe. The Browns are returning to South Africa in 2018 to head up the 7 Rivers Outreach, involving a new seminary and biblical counseling center, church-planting, community development, and orphan care among the Zulu in South Africa.”
Dr. Brown will be speaking on the following topics:
Tuesday 1/23 8:00 a.m. Marketplace Ministry Tuesday 1/23 3:30 p.m. Gospel Wildfires
Wednesday 1/24 8:00 a.m. Dialogue with Doubt Wednesday 1/24 3:30 p.m. The Threefold Cord
Other missions representatives will be presenting in seminars throughout those days as well. Representatives will be here from: Biblical Ministries Worldwide, Avant, Crossworld, Ethnos 360, Village Missions, Rural Home Missionary Association, Adelphos-USA, Pioneers, Brazil Gospel Fellowship Mission, Reach Beyond, SIM, FIM, and many more…
We will also be taking special times to pray for our alumni missionaries located around the world and right here at home.
The conference is open to the public. Beginning Monday 1/22 Brochures will be available at the receptionist desk in the Administration Building, for any who would like to attend a Main Session or seminar.
Conference Schedule:
|
Tuesday 1/23 |
Wednesday 1/24 |
| 7:00 |
|
|
| 8:00 |
Main Session 1 |
Main Session 3 |
| 9:30 |
Prayer |
Prayer |
| 10:30 |
Break |
Break |
| 11:00 |
Seminars |
Seminars |
| 12:00 |
Lunch |
Lunch |
| 1:00 |
Seminars |
Seminars |
| 2:00 |
Seminars |
Seminars |
| 3:00 |
Break |
Break |
| 3:30 |
Main Session 2 |
Main Session 4 |
| 5:00 |
Dinner |
Dinner |
|
|
|
| 9:00 |
Event |
Event |
|
|
|
by Josh Paxton | Jan 4, 2017
In just a few short weeks Calvary University will welcome 30 Missions Mobilizers from 15 different agencies for our annual Missions Emphasis Week. Missions Emphasis Week is a long standing tradition at Calvary. Our students have the opportunity to hear from special speakers in Chapel, seminars, class sessions and informally throughout the week. Our keynote speaker for 2017 is Dale Losch, President of Crossworld. He will be sharing with our students four words that can change the world. Also joining us will be representatives from Avant, TEAM, BMW, Pioneers, New Tribes Mission and many more. Students will have opportunities throughout the week not only to hear about missions work around the world but to get involved themselves through prayer and special outreach projects.
Around the world 2.5 Billion people are still without access to the gospel. Calvary seeks to have a role in changing that number through training our students in cross-cultural ministry and providing opportunities for them to get involved both here at home and through partnerships with many missions agencies that allow students to experience cross-cultural ministry first hand. Missions is a key component in Calvary’s mission to prepare our students to serve in the Church and the World according to a Biblical Worldview.
Please feel free to join us during Chapel, Tuesday – Friday at 11:00. If you are available, missions representatives will be giving special seminars on Tuesday the 24th throughout the day, a schedule will be available at the reception desk.
For more information contact Joshua Paxton at [email protected]
by Josh Paxton | Aug 22, 2016
Students cleaning up downtown Belton after the 2015 Fall Festival.
As part of Calvary’s commitment to being a vital part of our own community and being engaged in sharing the love of Christ there is a group of students on campus known as the Student Missions Committee. Rather than tell you about them myself I thought I would let their President for the 2016-2017 school year Celeste Williams (far left with the broom) talk about her experience with this great group of students.
“I was only planning on going to Calvary for one year. I thought it was a good plan: I would get to deepen my relationship with Christ and figure out what I should do with my life then move on. God had something else planned for me, though—something exceedingly abundantly above all that I could ask or imagine. Yes, I was able to draw closer to Christ and receive direction on what to do with my life, but I’m now starting my third year at Calvary because I found my “together” there—and I’m not talking about a ring by spring. Let me try to explain.
Acts 3 tells the story of John and Peter going to the Temple “together” at the hour of prayer. They end up healing a man who had been lame from birth and preaching the gospel. I was challenged in a sermon based on this passage to find my “together”: people with whom I could go out and share Christ, individuals who would help me stay focused on what is truly important, brothers and sisters who would encourage me and strengthen me in my walk with Christ. I found my “together” in the Student Missions Committee at Calvary. We did really basic things together: organize and attend weekly meetings called “Haystack,” where we learned and prayed about missions; organize and participate in monthly outreaches; and brainstorm ways to better engage the student body at Calvary and the community around Calvary. As we did these things together, though, I grew to love this group of like minded people I had found. I loved getting to go out as a team with the same goal in mind: share Jesus. And when we gathered for Haystack, we also had the same thing on our minds: further the kingdom through prayer.
Perhaps the most exciting part was how I was changed by our time together. Being around people who were so passionate about sharing Christ made me more passionate about it. Regularly and intentionally going out to engage people with the gospel made me more aware that I should always be doing that. Praying about missions made the spread of the gospel the desire of my own heart. I am so thankful that I became a part of the Student Missions Committee my first year at Calvary, even if it did mess up my plans to leave after one year. I am really looking forward to how God uses the Calvary Student Missions Committee this year—to grow me, to grow others, to grow me closer to others, and to make us all more aware of what God is doing and wants to do in the world. We are going to be challenged beyond our abilities and stretched out of our comfort zones, but I can’t think of a better way to spend my year. I know it will make us depend more on God, and that’s the best thing we can be doing. – Celeste Williams
The Student Missions Committee is an eclectic group of students at Calvary who are studying a different variety of topics. Celeste herself is an Elementary Education major. There have also been Intercultural Studies, Pastoral Studies, Biblical Counseling and Music majors as part of this group. It doesn’t matter what your major is, you can be a part of missions at Calvary. Our first activity of the year will be coming up soon September 9 -10 as we volunteer at Belton’s Fall Festival. Be on the lookout for more updates about other outreach activities.
