2008 Woodie Awards
SBU students reach out at First Friday Art Walk
Charlotte Holman
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: In the Spotlight
- Page 1 of 3 next >
Just as musicians practice their instruments, evangelists must practice evangelizing. That is the thinking behind Director of the Jack Stanton Evangelism Institute and Associate Professor of Evangelism Dr. Dave Bennett's On-Site Evangelism Experience.
"Any practical course you have to practice," said Bennett. "In my art class, I take [the students] out, and we paint. In my evangelism classes, we evangelize."
For the six years that Bennett has been a faculty member at Southwest Baptist University, he has required students in his upper-level classes to attend First Friday Art Walk in Springfield to talk to people. Bennett chose the Art Walk because of the diversity in the people that the students will encounter.
Students must attend three of the four Fridays and then write a reflection paper about their experiences. Students are not graded on how many people they bring to Christ or even how many conversations they have, only by the fact that they went.
Students are given a worksheet that offers advice on how to read people's body langauge and tone of voice. This helps students recognize when a person is interested or offended. Each student is also encouraged to carry a copy of the New Testament.
Each month 20-50 students and Bennett meet in Goodson Student Union at 6 p.m. to break up into groups of four or five. The students then head to Springfield to either attend the Art Walk or visit places such as Bass Pro Shop, Barnes & Noble, Borders, the billiard hall or the square.
Each group is encouraged to go where they would be most comfortable. At about 10:30 p.m., everyone gathers at a predetermined location to discuss their encounters.
The experience helps students become more comfortable ministering to a secular culture outside of the secure climate of SBU.
Not every student will be able to have a spiritual conversation with a complete stranger or even start a conversation every month, but every student will learn and grow with each experience.
"Any practical course you have to practice," said Bennett. "In my art class, I take [the students] out, and we paint. In my evangelism classes, we evangelize."
For the six years that Bennett has been a faculty member at Southwest Baptist University, he has required students in his upper-level classes to attend First Friday Art Walk in Springfield to talk to people. Bennett chose the Art Walk because of the diversity in the people that the students will encounter.
Students must attend three of the four Fridays and then write a reflection paper about their experiences. Students are not graded on how many people they bring to Christ or even how many conversations they have, only by the fact that they went.
Students are given a worksheet that offers advice on how to read people's body langauge and tone of voice. This helps students recognize when a person is interested or offended. Each student is also encouraged to carry a copy of the New Testament.
Each month 20-50 students and Bennett meet in Goodson Student Union at 6 p.m. to break up into groups of four or five. The students then head to Springfield to either attend the Art Walk or visit places such as Bass Pro Shop, Barnes & Noble, Borders, the billiard hall or the square.
Each group is encouraged to go where they would be most comfortable. At about 10:30 p.m., everyone gathers at a predetermined location to discuss their encounters.
The experience helps students become more comfortable ministering to a secular culture outside of the secure climate of SBU.
Not every student will be able to have a spiritual conversation with a complete stranger or even start a conversation every month, but every student will learn and grow with each experience.
Be the first to comment on this story