College students can be amazing!

There are many times when today’s college students are portrayed negatively in the media. While we can’t speak to every story or every school, the Biola University students we have partnered with have been amazing. Over the last three years, we have built a deep partnership with the Student Missions Union at Biola. This student-led missions union is responsible for sending students around the world and developing a heart of missions prevalent at Biola University.

We could approach Biola (and other churches/schools) as if they were clients, help them run good mission trips, and then move on. However, we believe that through ongoing partnership, we can build better and deeper ministry opportunities that have a great impact on the people serving and the church/missionary being served.

So, what does a partnership mentality look like with Biola?

It means we have taken trips with their security teams to help them understand how important we take the safety of their teams. It means we prepare each team from Biola with our proven preparation training. It means we communicate with each new SMU student director to help them in their entire role, not just on the trips with Base. It means we work hand in hand with the missionaries/churches they are going to serve to ensure the work being done will benefit the mission of that missionary/church.

It isn’t just about doing a single mission; it’s about connecting with and helping Biola not only have good mission trips but better equip the leaders at their school for ministry. Looking at the goal of Biola and how our mission fits into that goal creates a partnership that moves both ministries forward.

The outcome of a good partnership is servant leaders who go on mission to learn how to live and share their faith in the global communities they serve, at home and abroad.