Serving Others
Engage partnerships encourage a spirit of service between the CSU family and the local community. Matthew 20:28 states, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus came to serve the people. When we serve others, we give our lives away to them just as Jesus did for us. Community service is the link we use to reach our community and fulfill our university’s vision of integrating faith in learning, leading and serving. Like Elijah, we are not only to serve our CSU community but those in need outside of our borders (Luke 4:24-27).
Some of the organizations we have partnered with include: Habitat for Humanity, Lowcountry Pregnancy Center, Operation Christmas Child, Water Mission and Summerville Miracle League.
Campus Ministries is affiliated with various organizations to provide summer, Fall Break and Spring Break mission opportunities to students. Some of these include:
- South Carolina Baptist Convention
- Southern Baptist Convention
- South Carolina Baptist Collegiate Ministries (BCM)
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes
- International Mission Board
- North American Mission Board
Upcoming Opportunities
Boston:
- Spring break trip (March 6-10).
- Stay in a mission house in Mission Hills that can house up to 30 students.
- Costs $40/student to be housed here. 3-story house converted to mission team usage; it has full kitchens on each level as well. With the kitchen, we can cover several meals for students to minimize their costs while in the city. It is located 1 block from the public transportation system which would allow the team to easily navigate across the city. A 7-day pass is $22.50 for unlimited usage on the system. Flights are very reasonable; I paid under $200 for a round trip. Currently, they look to be a bit more expensive for the spring (around $400 right now, likely to go down according to Kayak).
- Total cost for students (not addressing food) for a 6-day trip would be about $650.
- NAMB has about 80 church plants and replants in the greater Boston area.
- Assist with campus evangelism at one of the nearby universities and we can serve with various outreach events as well. We can also do some basic maintenance work for their facility as well as serving with them on Sunday (some of the churches would love to have college students give their teams a day off one week). We have a lot of options here because we can work with several churches while in the city.
Kenya:
- Spring break trip (March 6-10).
- Business/Computer Science Oriented by helping businesses in Kenya and sharing the Gospel. 2-3 professors will be in attendance.
- Cut off by Add/Drop in January.
- 3 hour ELR Credit.
- A passport/visa is needed.
- IMB housing.
- Total cost for student $3,000-$4,000.
Tennessee:
- Spring break trip (March 4-9).
- Cost per student $60.
- Partnering with Fishery Community Church.
- In the past we have painted, cleaned, cleared trees, ministered to a nursing home, helped fix the houses of some elderly people, worked with the homeless, served with children in a children’s home, and shared the gospel countless times.
- Lodging: Vacant Parsonage – Very large house with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. (Bring an air matters and sleeping bag, pillow, towel and toiletries.)
Home Grown:
- Short spring break trip in Charleston (March 3-6).
- Total cost for students $20.
- Local service projects in partnership with churches, downtown evangelism, homeless ministry, and nightly fellowship.
Roatan, Honduras:
- The dates that we have booked to work through the Legacy Center are May 13-20th.
- In partnership with Rene and Brooke Pizzati and their ministry Legacy Mission International.
- Students will have opportunities to create and serve an afternoon kids camp, lead an evening of worship/teaching for youth/adolescents, assist in a medical clinic, serve by visiting homes in villages to bring rice and beans to the poor and to help make relationships for the Legacy center. There will be chances to teach ESL as well. Spanish is the national language, but Roatan was formerly a British colony and so there are also many English speakers. Students who are learning Spanish will have many opportunities to practice and use their Spanish, and students without Spanish can still serve and make an impact. We will make use of unique giftings and abilities of the Buccaneers who join us on the team. One or two nights of the trip, we will almost certainly have the chance to play soccer with local Hondurans. We will take one day to engage in some fun activities including snorkeling. Roatan was a pirate hideout, and the village we stay in uses water taxis as a means of transportation. It’s a perfect environment for Buccaneers who want to serve on mission.
- Student will need to raise or provide funding for the trip. Those details have yet to be worked out and will flux due to airplane costs, but it is anticipated to be less than $2000 per person (all inclusive).