By Rachel King, Staff
Missions Emphasis Week is a long standing tradition here at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. This year a few changes are being made to the schedule to create what the event’s directors hope will be a more efficient and effective experience for those attending. This all started with the idea of changing Missions Emphasis Week into Missions Emphasis Weekend. We spoke to directors, Chloe Diggs, Rebekah Hasse and Yeslem Arredondo about this change and this year's event as a whole.
“We want to make this event as accessible as possible to students, and people are typically more available Friday and Saturday,” Diggs stated. “It’s just going to open a lot of doors and as far as allowing more space and time for students and missionaries to build relationships.”
MEW will begin on Wednesday night this year and have events going on up until Saturday morning, as opposed to the Monday-Friday schedule we’ve seen in previous years. This change will affect the schedule a little bit, but for the most part it will still be the same MEW that we all know and love.
“We’re still following the old schedule for the beginning of the week. We’re still doing Market night, which has always been a huge favorite with the students,” Hasse said. “We’re still doing the Mission Fair on the second floor of Bawcom. It’s still the same as it always has been, but just expanded into the weekend.”
The main difference between this year’s event and that of past years is the addition of Friday and Saturday and the structure of those two days.
“We’re aiming for more of a conference type of event this year,” said Arredondo. “That way it will help give students the next steps, instead of just throwing a bunch of information at them. We’re having meetings Friday night and Saturday morning that will focus on giving students the next steps to take in regards to missions.”
“On Friday night there will be several sessions, a few speakers, worship and some prayer,” Hasse added. “That will drag into Saturday morning, the next day, when we’ll have some more speakers and more worship with time to talk about missions and pray together. It will be more clear and specific about what missions means while also showing them what those next steps might look like.”
While MEW is going to be very similar to what it has been in the past, there will still be plenty of new things for students to get excited about.
“Obviously the sessions are going to be very interesting and different,” Said Diggs. “We’re also looking at getting a few food trucks for Market Night and worship is going to be a really big deal this year, but we really want students to be excited for the opportunities to learn more and expand their understanding of missions.”
“Students should be really looking forward to the speakers that we’re going to have and all the information we’re going to be giving them about missions.” Arredondo stated. “We’re also going to be walking alongside them through the process of figuring out what part of missions they’re drawn to instead of just throwing them out there without any direction.”
Missions don’t end when Missions Emphasis Weekend ends and these directors want to make sure the messages they’re sharing stick with students as the continue on their walks with God.
“There will be missions pastors from several churches in the area there.” said Diggs. “We want students to connect with a church, whether that be one that they’re already involved in or a completely new one. We also want to help students who are going on trips this winter be more equipped and ready for what they’re going into.”
“There’s more connectivity with this layout and the way that we’re reaching out to people after MEW,” Hasse added. “The job doesn’t stop when the weekend ends. It’s continuing on with people going to church and worshiping the Lord and thinking about how he is moving overseas and what we can do to help.”
These directors and their committee members have been putting a lot of work into Missions Emphasis Weekend and are super excited to meet all the students attending. The event starts on Sept. 25th and runs through the 28th this year. You can follow MEW on Instagram @umhbmew for more information and updates on the schedule of events.
