Editor’s Note: This summer, 120 Mississippi Baptist Student Union (BSU) students served in 20 countries, 14 states, and two U.S. territories. This is the first in a series of articles illustrating that what the summer missionaries had comprehended on paper, they now experienced for themselves: the power of the Gospel.
By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist
As a BSU Summer Missionary serving with Valley Life Church in Columbia Falls, Riley Cowart and her team spent two of those weeks at Glacier Meadow Lodge in Browning, Montana. A pastor of Valley Life founded Glacier Meadow in 2005 for the purpose of reaching the people of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation by providing camps centered on the Bible and dedicated to evangelism and discipleship.
A student at Mississippi State University (MSU), Cowart worked alongside Skyler Meyers, a fellow BSU Summer Missionary from Southwest MS Community College, and Bruce Crockett, lead pastor of Valley Life and a graduate of Blue Mountain Christian University. For three summers now, Mississippi BSU Summer Missionaries have served as Church Planting interns alongside Crockett in Columbia Falls.
“Many of the kids who live on the reservation,” said Cowart, “are exposed to addictions at an early age, along with abandonment and abuse. There is a common cycle of parents leaving their kids, who end up living with other relatives. The reservation does not have a lot of structure, nor is there much hope or encouragement to leave and seek more in life.
“God has truly blessed Glacier Meadow. Thanks to generous donors, the kids can come for free. During the week-long camps, they just get to be kids as we take them to Glacier National Park, play gaga ball, have campfires, sing songs, memorize Scripture, learn about creation, share testimonies, and teach the Gospel and how to share it. During my two weeks of serving there, I got to meet some incredible kids who have heartbreaking stories. A lot of them didn’t know Jesus or couldn’t grasp the concept that there is a good God who is loving, merciful, kind, and just, because of what they have been through or because they have never been discipled.
“But while I was there, I got to witness God move in big ways. They asked questions like, ‘Have you ever doubted God?’ or ‘Why did you turn to God?’ or ‘How can I trust in Him?’ It was encouraging to know they were thinking and chewing on the Gospel. I got to see kids memorize Scripture and work super hard at it. Some even skipped game time because they were so determined to get it.
“I was able to witness three baptisms. Since camp had been so impactful, these three decided to be baptized in the creek there. Two of them are siblings whose mom had abandoned them. They ended up living with their great aunt and uncle who are followers of Jesus and helped them come to know Christ. They shared that they chose Jesus because they found joy, hope, and purpose in Christ. The third was a woman in her thirties who was not a current camper, but she had been a camper in the early years of its opening and wanted to be baptized there.
“It was sad seeing them leave, because many of the kids are going home to environments that are not good. There is a need for church planting at the reservation along with ongoing discipleship. The camp can only do so much during the summer.”
Pray that God will break the curse that is on the reservation, that addictions would be broken, restoration would come to those who have experienced trauma and abuse, and lives would be radically changed. Pray that current believers on the reservation would be bold to share the Gospel and the hope they have found in Jesus.
Mississippi BSU summer missionaries are supported in part by your gifts to the Cooperative Program. For more information, contact the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board Collegiate Ministries department at (601) 292-3299.
