Commissioning chapel sends out students

By Morgan Smith, Faith Editor

As the end of the semester draws closer, many OBU students will start preparing for summer GO Trips. Part of this preparation comes in the form of Commissioning Chapel.

This year’s Commissioning Chapel took place on Wednesday, April 26.

The theme of this year’s chapel was “Declare.”

Dr. Joy Turner, the Director of Global Mobilization, said students who are going out into the mission field will have the choice to declare the Gospel to the world.

“That seemed to fit the whole concept of people going out,” Dr. Turner said. “Declare God’s goodness, His mercy in several different contexts, or multiple contexts.”

Dr. Rebecca Naylor served as the guest speaker at Commissioning chapel as well.

“She’s been associated with OBU for a long time,” Dr. Turner said. “She’s served in India with the International Mission Board as a doctor, and started a hospital in India.”

Dr. Naylor is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Global Outreach Center. The board met after the chapel.

“She being a doctor, and us having a lot of nursing students who are interested in missions, she seemed like a good fit,” Dr. Turner said. “She’s served overseas, she understands the concept of being sent out, and she’s spoken in chapel before and just does a really good job.”

In addition, an e-mail was sent out across campus before the chapel asking people if they wanted to participate in the chapel.

“We’re commissioning students who are going with Global Outreach trips, and we’re also commissioning any student that has let us know if they’re serving at a camp or with their church or internship,” Dr. Turner said. “It won’t just be GO Trips that are being commissioned, it’s anybody that’s serving this summer in any kind of capacity.”

Dr. Whitlock said a prayer of commission during the service before sending the students out.

Dr. Turner said she sees the whole campus as being part of the commissioning chapel.

“We also make a prayer booklet that goes with the commissioning chapel, so that people can take that and pray for their friends, peers and the booklet will show where they’re serving and what context they’re in,” Dr. Turner said.

A rehearsal for the chapel took place the day before on Tuesday, April 25.

The chapel itself was planned by a committee consisting of members of the Spiritual Life office and the Global Outreach Center, as well as student life. OBU students Morgan Grove and Tyler Curry served as student co-chairs of the committee.

“We meet together, pray together and just come up with ideas that reflect something we feel we’re doing this summer in sending people out,” Dr. Turner said.

Grove said she hopes students will take a que from the chapel’s theme, and recognize that they have the opportunity to declare who God is to everyone they come into contact with during the summer.

“We have the opportunity every day to share: with our roommate, the person we sit next to in class or the Shawnee community,” Grove said. “My prayer is that we are each obedient to follow what the Lord is calling us to say or do.”

Dr. Turner said the committee sees the Commissioning Chapel as the beginning of mobilizing for next year, and hopes that students will be inspired by their peers to participate in future mission trips.

“We see it as a time of sending, but also a time of calling others out to be obedient to the call to go,” she said.

Dr. Turner also said that the Commissioning Chapel is one of her favorite chapel services of the year.

“It’s always very worshipful and encouraging just to see our students,” she said. “We have incredible students at OBU; it’s just fun to see a visual picture of their obedience in the commissioning and sending them out.”