Published: July 08, 2009 12:23 am      

Mission camp bringing message to community

GREENVILLE — This is the StudentLife Mission Camp’s first year at Texas A&M University-Commerce, but already they’re making their presence felt in the community.

Residents of Nederland, Texas and attendees of Nederland’s Hillcrest Baptist Church, as well as the StudentLife Mission Camp, made their way from Commerce to the Colonial Lodge in Greenville Wednesday morning as part of the community service portion of the camp.

“This is part of a project in affiliation with the StudentLife Mission Camp at Texas A&M University-Commerce,” said Robbie Roberts, youth director for the group that paid a visit to the Colonial Lodge. “As an extension of that camp we go out into the community to do different mission projects for the sole purpose of showing love to people and doing things for the community in the service of God.”

StudentLife is based out of Birmingham, Ala., but A&M-Commerce has an aspect of it called Mission Camp where students who choose to attend the Mission Camp are sent out into the community.

“This gives them an opportunity to grow and serve the community,” said Lisa Benkendorfer, events coordinator for StudentLife. “These students were out today trying to make a difference in the community and at the same time it allows them to share the gospel they’re learning about while at camp.”

There are more than 200 students attending the Mission Camp at A&M-Commerce, serving anywhere from six to seven different communities in the area.

“We’ll be doing some window washing, painting and cleaning,” said Roberts. “They want us to show them how to play Wii, as well, but the main thing we’re here to do is show love.”

Roberts’ group will be a fixture at the Colonial Lodge until Friday, when they will depart from A&M-Commerce to Nederland, hopefully bringing something of the community back with them.

“The goal of the camp is to have Christ’s word on center stage so that students can, in turn, take it out to their communities and serve,” said Benkendorfer. “We want them to see what serving a community can do so they can take that with them when they go home. I think it’s one of the neatest things for camp because it allows students who have so much to go out to those that have little and help and love and show them that people do care and share the gospel in a true way.”