This summer, Zora traveled to North Africa with BCMGO to a country that is hostile to Christianity.

“Going into a country like that is very scary and daunting, but we could just trust in the Father–that he would protect us,” she said. Zora served with International Mission Board missionaries and shared that they were “doing amazing work.” The team recently saw individuals come to faith after years of building relationships. “They’re finally seeing the harvest of all the work they’ve been doing for so long,” Zora said. 

While she was there, Zora connected with a young Muslim woman. The women both related to issues of identity and self-worth. Zora used that as an opening to share about finding her identity in Christ.

Mobilizing Students

Zora’s experience is one of many stories of BCMGO’s efforts to mobilize students for missions locally and globally. On college campuses across South Carolina, BCMGO encourages students to participate in missions. In 2024, BCMGO sent 55 students on short-term and full summer trips to France, Great Britain, Thailand, North Africa, Colorado, California, Vermont, Utah, Washington D.C., Louisiana, and South Carolina. They participated in community outreach, supported church plants, served alongside missionaries, and shared the light of Christ with those they met.

Her time in North Africa opened her eyes to the unique challenges and opportunities of ministering to those from closed countries. Now, back on campus, Zora sees similar opportunities in her own backyard. Zora attends weekly BCM gatherings on her college campus, which also has a thriving international student ministry. Nearly 120 international students representing 50 countries attend a weekly lunch. 

At those lunches, Zora can meet students from other countries that are hostile to the Gospel, but she can share Christ more openly with them. “I’ve met a lot of people during our international lunches that I’ve been able to talk to that are from closed countries and countries around where I’ve been,” Zora said. “I get to talk freely about this to you in a way that Iwasn’t before.” She shared that BCM’s desire with the international student ministry is for students to experience Christ and then return to their home countries to share the Gospel with their friends and family. “It’s a way for us to not only just share locally because, of course, we’re doing that, but while doing that, we’re able to share globally,” she said.

Support from SCBaptists

Zora expressed how thankful she was for South Carolina Baptists and their support while she was abroad. “I could feel the fact that I was being prayed over,” she said. Aside from prayer, she also shared that she was thankful for the ways that South Carolina Baptists give financially. Through the Cooperative Program, “they give us that opportunity to go and to send, and they train and equip you to go,” Zora said. 

Through their prayers and financial gifts, South Carolina Baptists are not only sending students like Zora across the globe but also equipping them to share Christ right here at home.