There are approximately 7 ½ billion people on this planet, yet two billion individuals have never encountered the salvation message. Two billion individuals live unaware of the message of God’s love.
As Christians, we are called to reach every nation. We are called to spread the Gospel to the world because it is a direct command that is given to us. Our mission exists because of The Great Commission.
“This is a Faith Venture,” says Kermit Bridges, President of SAGU. “We may yet face challenges but ours is a worthy mission. It is a Kingdom mission. As population increases, God will most certainly call more men and women to take the gospel around the world.”
With this mission in mind, SAGU made a commitment in 2010. This commitment was to send students to serve in 192 nations, 34 Chinese provinces and 35 Indian states by 2020. This commitment was called Mission TEN (To Every Nation).
SAGU has since honored this commitment sending students to over 149 countries from all around the globe, from populated cities and cultural meccas in Europe to unreached jungles in South America.
The vision behind Mission Ten was simply to send students to locations where people needed to hear Jesus, not just locations where it was convenient or inexpensive. Many traditional short-term missions trips occur in areas where there is already a strong presence of missionaries and ministerial work. Mission TEN was created to push the boundaries for students interested in ministering to all parts of the world, including locations that are often unreached by short-term missions trips. Working in these locations provides students with a way to advocate for unreached areas that are often overlooked and even unheard of by many Americans.
Rennae de Freitas, Missionary-in-Residence, is in charge of coordinating Mission TEN trips and training trip leaders.
“Students that will go into these unreached areas will be impacted by that country,” de Freitas says. “They come back to the U.S. and pray for that country. It’s a way to plant seeds in areas that desperately need to hear the Gospel.”
Testimonials
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Regan Merrill
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“The first night we had service, there was a girl who came in a wheelchair. After service, we offered prayer and our team members prayed for her. Soon thereafter, the missionary joined them in prayer. The girl began manifesting demons. The next night, she joined us for dinner and actually prayed over our meal. It was a true testament to God’s healing power and revealed to me how desperately these people need Jesus.” “It was definitely an eye-opening experience and I would definitely recommend every student take part in a Mission TEN trip!” |
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Barbara Garza
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“Our main ministry was prayer. We were able to tour different cities with our missionary, learning the religious history, present culture, the way of life in a common household and find specific prayer needs to intercede on. “Overall, it was an eye-opening trip. God demonstrated how he works in a culture where there is no physical need and I was able to understand the importance of discipleship in missions, something we usually forget about. We got to connect with local Christians and see how they live out their faith in their culture, experience local Swiss life and see the real needs where others might not see any.” |
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Hannah Dotson
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“Business for Missions is integrating ministry and the marketplace. This trip was a part of a three-year program to create micro-businesses across South India and in the Andaman Islands.” “I recommend every student go on an MTEN trip at least once in their college career. It will change you. Experiencing another person’s world view puts your own life into perspective and, not only will you grow a new compassion and love for others, you will also grow a thankful heart to guide you in every season. We should seize the opportunities of life change that MTEN offers us, because trips like these may not come again after college.” |
Mission TEN is possible because of partnerships with experienced missionaries who are also passionate about training the next generation of Christians. Along with partnerships between the institution and missionaries, students have the opportunity to forge relationships with missionaries during their trips.
Meredith’s story
Meredith Bagby graduated from SAGU in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Theatre and a minor in Intercultural Studies. During her time as a student, Meredith had the opportunity to minister to Swaziland and Mali through Mission TEN.
“It was my first time to be in Africa and the culture was so very different than anything I had experienced before,” she says.
She and other students on the trip installed water tanks, helped build a church, and delivered food. They also helped to facilitate other teams from the states that came over for a week-long missions trip.
After experiencing the impact and fulfillment of missions work, Meredith was intrigued by the idea of full-time missions work.
“That trip caused me to truly contemplate whether or not I could live in a place so different from what I knew. I told God that I could and I would- I’d go anywhere he wanted me to go."
After ministry in Mali, Meredith knew God was calling her to Africa.
She became close with the missionaries Randy and Dezra Freeman. Under their leadership, Meredith soaked up every opportunity to learn how to effectively minister to the locals.
After the trip, she longed for the opportunity to work alongside the Freemans once again, especially after God’s confirmation of the calling she had felt in her heart for some time. Meredith and the Freemans kept in close contact after she returned to SAGU. Randy would later inform her of an opportunity in which she could be a part of a church planting team in Durban, South Africa. One opportunity led to the next and God faithfully provided the necessary funds in order for her to go back. She is now working on her visa clearance to make the trek to Durban.
“I am incredibly excited to step into what God has called me to do,” she says. “And it makes my heart happy to work with such good friends once again.”
“I believe every student should go on a Mission TEN trip no matter what you are studying. The amount you will learn about you and your fellow man is incredible. God will stretch you in ways you didn’t know were possible, and you will get a glimpse of how wonderfully diverse the Kingdom really is. Cross-cultural experiences widen your perspective and allow you to see people the way God sees them. Many people have gone into missions as a career after going on a short-term trip. “
If you would like to donate towards Meredith's ministry, click here .
Along with gaining experience in the mission field, Mission TEN enables students to take knowledge learned from inside the classroom and apply them in real-world situations. There have been a number of trips from different academic departments such as Business and Counseling & Psychology.
Through the Business’ Department’s objective to integrate business and missions, students established a goat farming business in Coimbatore, a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As a result, a local pastor and his family are now able to sell the meat and create revenues to fund an orphanage and school they oversee.
There are also a number of opportunities for students to gain academic and cultural experience through Mission TEN trips without having to go overseas. This past summer, students studying Social Work were able to travel to South Dakota and minister to the Native American Population. De Freitas says that they are excited to incorporate more trips such as the South Dakota trip in which students can minister using the training and knowledge they have picked up from their academic experience. Next summer, Mission TEN will host a special missions trip to Bolivia for counseling students.
Mission TEN looks for opportunities to integrate academics into its overall purpose of reaching the lost. This upcoming semester marks a new milestone for the program as students can now receive class credit through leadership training. Participants undergo a three-credit course in the spring.
De Freitas encourages all students, especially those pursuing a future career in ministry, to take advantage of the course. “If you’re going to pastor in any way, chances are you will have to lead a short-term missions trip at some point,” she says. “This is great training for that.”
“Mission TEN is SAGU at its best! SAGU students drip with passion for worldwide impact, and every year Mission TEN gives hundreds of those students the chance to engage. Of course, as we set out to change the world, nothing changes more than we do. Futures are shaped, destinies discovered, and values are cemented into the heart of every student launched by this extraordinary dream,” said Mike Clarensau, Dean of Bible and Church Ministries.