Stories
Missions Impact Weekend 2022
Our first Missions Impact Weekend was an incredible success. We enjoyed getting to know over 20 of our local, regional and international mission partners and loved having the opportunity to come together as one church to see how God can stir something in us.
FRIDAY
On Friday night, we had over 300 people attend our Missions Expo event and our Opening Celebration. We gathered in Drake Hall for food and fellowship, and interacted with our mission partners on a personal level as we visited each table to learn more about the incredible work they are doing. For the Opening Celebration, we moved to Sisk Hall and heard beautiful and moving music from Nicholtown Choir. Our featured speaker was Jerry Blassingame, founder and executive director of Soteria. He delivered an inspirational and very energetic message that echoed our theme of the weekend, “Stir”. You can watch the Opening Celebration and Jerry’s message here.
SATURDAY
On Saturday morning, we kicked things off with a Men’s Pancake Breakfast at our Trinity Campus. Over 50 men enjoyed breakfast together while hearing from Homes of Hope, one of our local mission partners. Testimonies were shared along with information on how we at BSUMC and as individuals can support this organization moving forward. Next door, B-Street Youth hosted a Food Drive at the Samaritan House, where they received a ton of donations in non-perishable items.
Our International Luncheon was on Saturday in Drake Hall. We had a delicious lunch together while hearing from all of our International Mission Partners. It was a great opportunity to learn more about their work, how they got started, and how we can help them. There is always great fellowship shared when there is good food involved!
After lunch, we had a Poverty Simulation in Sisk Hall. Over 60 people had the chance to experience this impactful program, led by Beth Templeton.
SUNDAY
On Sunday, we had two special “One Church” worship services in Sisk Hall. We came together in a blended-style of worship, with music from both our Choir and the Contemporary worship team. Our mission partners were invited to stand and be recognized and prayed for, and Deb-Richardson Moore gave a very meaningful sermon on the impact BSUMC has had on her journey and the work we have done for Triune Mercy Center. She spoke on how she was stirred, and how important it is to be a ‘mat-carrier’. You can watch her message here. It was a great way to close out the weekend!
We saw BSUMC come together in a way that we had not seen before, and we already can’t wait for next year!
Mark your calendars now for next year’s Missions Impact Weekend, March 10-12, 2023. If you want to help with the planning, please contact Mignon Fowler.
Below are a few messages we received from our Mission Partners in response to the weekend.
Mission of Hope – Otis Garrison
Thank you for the incredible Missions Impact Weekend. You and your team are rock stars. Don’t tell Chapin, but this may be the best one I have ever attended. And I’ve been to a few. The Missions Impact Weekend was AWESOME!
Circles – Bruce Forbes
Thank you for honoring Circles and all of the wonderful mission partners BSUMC sponsors. It was a great time to really meet so many wonderful BSUMC members. We felt very supported and I believe many will participate in helping Circles thrive. It was great to hear from the international partners. I learned many great things from them.
Homes of Hope – David Peebles
Thank you for the wonderful hospitality, the terrific Mission Impact Team and volunteers, the lunches, and the worship services. I hope we do this again next year. Thank you for all your hard work putting this past weekend together! We had a great time! The service yesterday was really awesome! Thank you again for including Homes of Hope!
Zoe Empowers – Randy Weirsma
What a wonderful weekend of mission celebration. It was so beautifully planned and executed. The speakers and music were so great. It was also nice to meet the mission partners along with re-connecting with Zoe’s travelers and supporters. Thank you for your support of Zoe and the opportunity to be a part of this special weekend. I suspect it will be an annual event from what I was hearing. It will be hard to top this one.
Kairos – Bobbie Pritchard
I want to congratulate your team for a wonderful weekend! I thought it was the best gathering our church has ever had. Good job! Thanks for all you do for BSUMC.
Mosaic- Laura Estep
Thank you for a great weekend with BSUMC. We enjoyed meeting more of the congregational members and especially loved speaking to the Sunday School Class. A few of their members are going to team up to teach painting during our Summer Arts Camp! They were really, really wonderful and their Sunday School class was probably my favorite activity of the whole weekend! Thank you again for putting together a great event! It’s wonderful to see y’all connecting with your partners on a deeper level and ensuring your church members truly know where their money/time is going. Those connections are so important!
Missionary to N. Africa – Jeff Jacobs
Thank you! I went straight to my church staff and excitedly told them all about the weekend. We were inspired by all that BSUMC is doing, and I hope that St. Paul’s Summerville captures some of the vision you have. The speakers were great. I loved networking with the other partners as well and getting to meet members of the church. More than all that, we simply felt cherished and loved. The hospitality was stirring.
