Over Spring Break, a team of eleven Southwestern student musicians and two sponsors made a lengthy ministry trip from Waxahachie to the upper Midwest.  “Ransomed” is a twelve-piece band made up of a variety of SAGU students from around the country, and is one of several SAGU traveling ministry groups.

Ransomed, created for the dual purpose of involving students in hands-on ministry and helping recruit new students by representing Southwestern, hit the road for a full week of music ministry opportunities in Illinois and Wisconsin. Traveling almost 3,000 miles, the group ministered at a variety of sites, including a Teen Challenge Center and an inner city outreach ministry in Milwaukee, two Christian schools in Wisconsin, and four churches in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Representing the love of Christ and Southwestern Assemblies of God University everywhere they went, Ransomed help to serve as a testimony to the saving grace of Jesus Christ through upbeat songs such as “Glorious” and “Greater,” and then into quiet, introspective times of worship and reflection with songs like “Do You Know Jesus?” and “You Deserve the Glory.”

As pastor and co-leader of the group with his wife, Christi, SAGU faculty member Del Guynes was instrumental in his sensitivity to the movement of the Spirit during altar times, giving a place for those seeking the Lord a time where they could reaffirm their commitment to Christ, along with leaving room for those without a vibrant relationship with Jesus to make the best decision of their lives.

Ransomed returned to the SAGU campus in a two-day, 17-hour bus ride from Milwaukee the day after Easter.  While bringing back contact information for numerous prospective SAGU students as part of the group’s recruitment role, they also returned with rich memories of ministering to the churched and un-churched, the prosperous as well as the needy.