Gardner-Webb Students Work in Construction and Ministry Projects Over Spring Break

A Total of 26 Travel to New Mexico, Kentucky and Guatemala

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Gardner-Webb University students and staff served people in the United States and Guatemala by participating in mission trips over spring break. Two teams were sponsored by the Office of Christian Life and Service and included 14 people. The other trip was sponsored by a local church with 12 GWU students participating.

Vice President and University Chaplain for Christian Life and Service Dr. Josh Parrott praised these students for their willingness to go and do manual labor on their vacation. “I’m so very proud of these groups!” he asserted. “They represented our Savior and our University in the best possible ways.”

Parrot led a team of five that included his 13-year-old son, Luke, to Albuquerque, N.M. They worked at Inlow Baptist Camp, located east of Albuquerque. “Our task was to deconstruct a portion of the Camp Tabernacle, so we removed walls, boards, and flooring in that space,” Parrott described. “Then our team built the forms to hold the concrete that will be the foundation for two new classrooms to be built in the Tabernacle. The classrooms will provide a space for campers to hear the Gospel and learn from God’s Word. We also helped cut and trim trees around the Tabernacle.”

Inlow hosts conferences, retreats, and summer camp for children. It is estimated that 1,200 to 1,400 campers will visit the camp over the next few months. “Our team is thankful for the opportunity to serve God and neighbor,” Parrott stated.

Albuquerque Team members

• Jake Bryson
• Emma Kate Harrison
• Michelle Lominac
• Beau Martin
• Luke Parrott

Associate Minister for Student Ministries Neal Payne led a trip to Mayfield, Ky., to help with a Samaritan’s Purse rebuild site. The organization is working to build new homes for people who lost theirs in a deadly tornado that struck in December 2021. Samaritan’s Purse has built almost 90 new homes in the past two years and these are given, paid in full, to qualifying victims.

On one of the homes, Gardner-Webb students installed siding, handrails, shutters, roofing, insulation and worked in the crawl space. For another home, they poured concrete for a driveway. Payne said the group started each day at 6:30 a.m. with breakfast and devotion, and they were on the jobsite until 4:30 p.m.

“It was a very Christ-centered week as these students served in the name of the Lord, and represented Him and our university well with grace, humility, friendship, and a strong work ethic,” Payne affirmed. “I was grateful for each team member and extremely blessed to have served with them.”

Kentucky Team Members

• Mollie Rice
• Isaiah LaNave
• Serena Kohler
• Chloe Collins
• Santiago Agreda-Martinez
• Kayla Wehunt
• Lauren Padgett

Guatemala Mission

The students who served with a local church partnered with New Hope Global Ministries to help further their ministry and discipleship groups in San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala. They were:

• Anna Sample
• Logan Baumstark
• Brady Bower
• Samuel Ritner
• Bri Bryant
• Emily Bartlett
• Whitley Weddington
• Whitney Easter
• Gracie Park
• Jonathan Frady
• Bailey Ashe
• Mekenna Boswell

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.