Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College Students Serve on Mission Around the World

# Overview Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College students spent the summer serving in two complementary mission efforts: a faculty-led trip to the Philippines and multiple deployments through Spurgeon's Fusion missions program. The work combined high-volume evangelism with disciple-making and leadership training alongside national believers.

# Philippines: large-scale school outreach A 27-member team led by Joe M. Allen III, assistant professor of missions at Midwestern Seminary, traveled to Palawan. Teams visited 556 schools, spoke to more than 170,000 people, and distributed over 175,000 gospel tracts during nine days of ministry in partnership with the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Association.

Daily rhythm required early departures around 3:30–4:00 a.m. Teams of roughly 10 included Americans, Filipino pastors, and translators and averaged slightly more than six school visits per day. Presentations used the S.A.F.E. acronym—Secrets, Alone, Force, and Exchange—followed by distribution of a tract titled "Welcome to Heaven."

# Fusion program: global, mixed-duration deployments Spurgeon College's Fusion missions training sent 76 participants to engage 59 people groups across Asia, Africa, Europe, and South America. The program structure for the summer included 33 Fusion Impact participants (three-week term), 42 college-level Fusion participants (three months), and one Fusion Masters participant.

Fusion teams reported 5,130 gospel presentations, 93 professions of faith, 59 baptisms, and training of 1,276 national believers. Deployments placed students in varied ministry contexts: evangelism, discipleship, leadership training, church ministry, and support work alongside missionaries and local churches.

Participants observed that the work extended beyond initial proclamation. One student wrote that a summer expected to focus on evangelism revealed urgent needs for sustained, biblical discipleship—sitting with new believers, reading Scripture together, and having difficult conversations that shape worldview. Another student connected healthy congregations to faithful pastoral leadership and concluded that missions must include equipping pastors and building daily discipleship habits.

# Examples of follow-through Fusion teams reported follow-up outcomes: renewed relationships led to a person who first met students the prior summer later professing faith and beginning foundational lessons with church elders. Teams also opened doors for ongoing gospel conversations in contexts where initial contact did not immediately lead to profession of faith.

# Practical implications for future deployments

• Short-term evangelistic outreach can reach large numbers quickly but requires systems for follow-up and discipleship.
• Partnership with national pastors and translators enabled access to large school audiences and local networks.
• Teams should plan for weather and transportation challenges, including boat travel to remote communities.

# Closing note Leaders framed the summer as evidence of expanding Great Commission activity among students and faculty. The combined efforts sought to balance high-volume proclamation with investments in national believers and pastoral leadership.