Impact Movement shares Christ during conference

Posted to On Campus by Catherine Newhouse at 6:44 p.m., Jan. 18, 2010

Students in the Impact Movement organization attended a regional conference this weekend to share the gospel and prepare for a new semester of ministry.

The Impact Movement, a national Christian ministry for African-American college students, hosted Ignite regional conferences Friday through Sunday. About 20 MU students attended the conference in Chicago, MU Impact vice president Micah Kelley said.

The conference featured the musical artist FLAME and speaker Pastor James White, according to the Ignite Web site. Kelley said seminar topics included summer mission trips, discipleship and evangelism training.

During Saturday’s outreach activity, MU students went door to door in the South Side of Chicago to share the gospel. While students were gathered at the Agape Community Center, a Chicago boy was shot outside the community center and died, Kelley said.

“I felt like it was very tragic because they had to watch someone die right in front of them,” Kelley said. “I saw now so even more that it’s time to share the gospel on the South Side of Chicago. A better community starts with Jesus Christ.”

Impact member Jaron Simon said at first he was afraid the inner-city community might not be able to relate to him, since he’s from the suburbs. He said he meditated on Deuteronomy 31:6 and asked God to give him the strength to defeat his fears.

“All my fears were replaced with joy,” Simon said. “The Lord showed me that anybody can be used to share the gospel. It went beyond who I am, more so to who Christ is.”

For MU students, Impact conferences can be life-changing experiences, Kelley said. She said she felt moved to change her major after attending the national conference as a freshman last year. In the prayer room at the conference, she asked God where she should head in her career.

“I felt like God was telling me ‘ministry,’” Kelley said. “When I got home, I was still praying about it, and I was still getting the same answer.”

As a result of her prayers and experience at the conference, Kelley switched her journalism major to sociology. She said she wants to use her sociology degree to provide Christian counseling for minorities, women and families.