Impact: Christian Challenge students experience missions firsthand in Yuma

Christian Challenge students help with a trunk-or-treat event at Real Life Church in Yuma.

Impact, Christian Challenge’s biennial missions experience, provides college students across the state of Arizona an opportunity to serve locally and casts a vision for God’s heart for all people.

On Oct. 25-27, approximately 125 students and staff from about 10 Christian Challenge chapters throughout the state participated in Impact. They chose from seven different mission projects and joined in times of worship featuring speaker John Pope, who is planting Mosaic Church in Mesa.

Lainee Pegelow, Christian Challenge’s missions and communications catalyst, as well as student Rhiannon Boesl share their experience.

Q: What is Impact and what does it accomplish?
Pegelow: The purpose of Impact is to cast a vision for students about what missions is, how they can serve locally and abroad, how they can serve their church and how they can serve in missions with their local Christian Challenge chapter.

Q: What are you hoping students take away from their time at Impact?
Pegelow: God has opportunities for us to serve throughout our lifetime. Impact is often that first picture of what missions could be for many of our students.

Christian Challenge students from NAU give food to the homeless during a mission project at Impact in Yuma.

Q: How is the gospel preached and proclaimed at Impact?
Pegelow: Challenge is reflecting and responding to God’s call on each of us to share the gospel wherever we are at and with whoever we are around. That is why we make it a priority to share the gospel as we are serving at Impact.

We are not here to simply participate in a service project. We are here to respond to the needs of the churches we have come to serve and share the good news of Jesus with the communities they are reaching. Jesus is the life changer. We share His gospel to honor Him and grow in our walks.

Q: Rhiannon, would you please share your testimony?
Bosel: Growing up, I had no Christ influence in my life and did not grow up in a Christian home. One day I began hearing horrible voices in my head, and through that I found God, actually through Instagram and social media. I did not know the truth about God, but I was still seeking Him. As I was going through this dark time, I started to grow closer to Him, and Jesus set me free and just completely changed my life. So for the past year, I have been getting to know Him more and falling absolutely in love with Him.

Christian Challenge students help with a mission project during Impact in Yuma.

Q: This is your first missions experience. Tell us what you perceived missions to be.
Boesl: Before, I was thinking missions were more disaster relief or people who go out to provide food and aid. I never saw missions as sharing the gospel, it was kind of just helping others.

Q: What was your experience serving at Impact?
Boesl: Our team was assigned a project at Real Life Church here in Yuma, where we helped set up and put on a trunk-or-treat for their community. My goal was to serve with joy and diligence.

At the moment, during setup, everything is super exciting, but as the day goes on you begin to feel more tired. Once the community showed up, I was filled with so much joy. Throughout the night I was more encouraged, and even in the times when conversations did not go the way I wanted or I missed an opportunity to share the gospel, I still know with all the prayers and hard work that God is honored and He is here.

Q: Can you share a story of a special interaction you had?
Boesl: I had the opportunity to ask one family if they were attending the church and the mother said no. I got to tell her about who we were and shared with her what Jesus has done in our lives. She responded by saying thank you. I shared with her, “whatever you are going through, it is going to be okay,” and that was really special.

Ellie Lambert (left), Christian Challenge campus missionary at ASU Downtown, hugs Rhiannon Boesl, a student at ASU Downtown, while they participate in a mission project during Impact.

Q: What are some takeaways from Impact you want to take back with you to campus?
Boesl: Every day is our mission, to share the gospel, to love on and serve others. We can pray in our dorms. We can go out of our way to do something kind for someone else. That is what it means to represent Christ. We are called to be the light of the world and salt of the earth! It is not us that accomplishes anything; it is the Holy Spirit working within us, and this is how I now view missions.

Ellie Lambert is the Christian Challenge campus missionary at ASU Downtown and a member of Mercy Hill Church in Phoenix.