Two hundred ninety-one Go Now student missionaries commissioned to courageously follow Christ this summer

170 college students gathered in Pilgrim Chapel at Dallas Baptist University (DBU) on May 24 to be commissioned for the mission opportunities they have been called to this summer. The service offered times of worship, prayer and celebration for both the students and their family and friends. 

A total of 291 students will serve on Go Now Missions trips across Texas, the U.S. and around the world from May through August. Several groups began serving prior to the commissioning service. 

Carrying the gospel heart to heart by living courageously

Considering this year's Go Now Missions’ theme “Carry the Gospel Heart to Heart,” Eric Hunter, Go Now Missions sending team chairman, encouraged the students to seek courage over comfort. 

“Authentically following Jesus means living by faith, choosing courage over comfort daily,” said Hunter. 

Drawing from Matthew 14:22-33, he shared with students four key ideas to remind them to choose courage over comfort. First, he told students that faith chooses courage in the middle of storms. 

“Faith does not wait for life to calm down before we are called to trust in God. Faith is knowing that God is still in control, and he is still good even in the midst of the brokenness, in the midst of the chaos, in the midst of the uncertainties of this world,” said Hunter. “Never mistake the presence of a storm with the absence of God.” 

Next, he told students that faith calls us to step beyond what is comfortable. 

“Spiritual growth internally, within us, happens in places of hardship or places where we're not comfortable. We can miss out on opportunities to be used by God when we do not step out in faith,” said Hunter. “The reality is every single day requires fresh obedience. It requires fresh faith, a daily decision not to retreat back, but to step into the next thing.”

Hunter then told students that the courageous keep their eyes on Jesus, not the storm or self. 

“We can’t stare at the storm and walk toward Jesus at the same time,” said Hunter. “Courage is not pretending that fear doesn't exist. It isn't pretending that times don't get hard. Courage is trusting in Jesus.” 

Lastly, he encouraged students that courageous faith leads to greater worship. 

“Courageous faith points people towards Jesus because God uses courageous faith to change the hearts of people that we encounter,” said Hunter. 

Hunter concluded his message by challenging students to courageously follow Christ. 

“The question is not whether storms and hardships and chaos are going to come into our lives. The question is whether or not we're going to continue to step out of the boat and allow God to work in us and through us as he builds his kingdom, and as he changes hearts,” said Hunter. “[Jesus] calls us to be courageous. We're called to step out today. We're called to step out tomorrow to see God change the hearts of the people around us, as we connect to people, heart to heart.”

Returning to where the harvest is ripe  

Jackson Spann, a sophomore at McLennan Community College in Waco, is set to return to Seattle to serve for four weeks this summer after he saw college students’ openness to the gospel on a mission trip with Baylor BSM.

“[Seattle] is so ripe for the harvest. The [residents] get a lot of bad rap of [being] very cold… and not open to people. But once you actually get talking to them, they're very open people [and] very open to Christianity as long as you approach it the right way,” said Spann. 

Spann said he feels called to return to Seattle to invest in fellow college students because he recognizes their need to stay connected to Jesus. 

“[There are] a lot of studies, percentage wise, [that] college is the biggest time where people run away from God… and I get to see it on a day-to-day basis throughout the semester,” said Spann. “So [I want] to go and preach and share the gospel with those who have more of a need for that deep Christian gospel dynamic and just [encourage them to] keep that core [faith], to where they're running to God instead of away from him.” 

544 Go Now missionaries will serve on missions, including Christmas break, semester, summer, impact, special impact and campus missionaries in 2026. 

Go Now Missions is a ministry of Texas Baptists and is made possible, in part, by the Mary Hill Davis Offering. Local BSMs and individual students also raise funds to send students. To learn more, visit gonowmissions.com.