Students share Christ with largely unchurched San Diego

Photo by Joe Westbury

SAN DIEGO - When 33 student missionaries arrived in San Diego at the beginning of June, most of them had no idea what the summer would bring. But throughout the next eight weeks, hundreds of people began a personal relationship with Christ because the students answered a call to share the gospel in a county where 85 percent do not attend church. That fact alone made San Diego a new experience for most of the missionaries who came from places where church attendance is the norm.

It didn’t take long for the students, several of whom had never been to California, to realize the differences in West Coast culture. “This is a very different style of ministry from what I experienced back home,” said Jill Stevens, who attends Valdosta State University. “This is definitely not the Bible Belt. The children I am working with have little or no church or even Bible background; it’s all new to them.”

One of seven missionaries who worked with San Diego churches in Vacation Bible School, Erin Wood of Alabama saw firsthand how her ministry impacted at least three lives this summer. “I was able to lead three children to Christ, which is an indescribable feeling. I feel like San Diego was exactly where God wanted me,” Wood said. Even more summer missionaries are needed in San Diego for 2009. For more information on serving visit www.visionsandiego.com.