NOBTS’s 2024 fall Serve Day offered students and faculty the opportunity to volunteer around the New Orleans community and offer the hope of Christ to those who are hurting.
This semester's Serve Day, taking place Thursday, Sept. 26, saw more than 200 students and faculty serving the community and sharing the Gospel all over New Orleans. Several professions of faith were reported, including a 96-year-old woman and her great-great-grandchildren.
The day kicked off with chapel in the morning. Preston Nix, professor of evangelism and evangelistic preaching, offered a message about the importance of service.
“Greatness in the Kingdom of God comes from a life of unselfish service to the Lord and to others,” Nix said. “The world’s greatest profession is being a servant.”
Thomas Strong, vice president of spiritual formation and student life, closed out the service by expressing his great excitement for the day to come.
“I am so thankful for your willing hearts and for you being a part of this,” Strong said. “I want to encourage you as you go out today to serve well. Let Christ serve through you and make a difference in the place where you are.”
Students and faculty then grouped together to go out on their various assignments throughout the city. Groups participated in activities such as prayer walking, trash pick-up, volunteering at local churches and community centers, storm drain clean up and evangelism.
The groups returned to the Luter Student Center later that afternoon for a time to share about what they experienced.
Several students and faculty members spoke about their interactions with members of the community and noted the great need and hurt they saw among the people they talked with.
Despite this, several positive testimonies illustrated the power and hope of Christ.
Lloyd Harsch, professor of church history and Baptist studies, said his trash-pick up group encountered a woman who has lived across from the seminary for 36 years and has noticed the impact of the school.
“She has observed things over the years and she said ‘I really like seeing you all out here in our community,’” Harsch said. “She sees us as a benefit and a blessing because we’ve gotten outside the school property to go and minister to our community. Going out into our communities has a great effect on how we can witness and what we do as a school.”
Nix shared the story of his evangelism group's encounter with a 96-year-old woman who made a decision for Christ.
The group was invited into the family's home where Nix prayed with the woman as she nailed down her commitment to Christ.
After he finished praying with her, Nix noticed two young boys overhearing the conversation. These were the woman's great-great-grandchildren.
Nix was able to walk each of them through the Gospel and both of them accepted Christ. Other family members began to gather around and singing started to fill the home.
“God is at work in our city,” Nix proclaimed. "This just blessed my heart."
NOBTS President Jamie Dew, who participated in one of the storm drain clean up groups, expressed his personal thanks to the students for their hard work.
“Personally, I am super proud of you all,” Dew said. “I’m certainly grateful to hear great stories of what the Lord has done and how he’s using you.”
Dew reminded students what the Lord thinks about their service for Him.
“If you wonder how the Lord looks at what you’ve been doing today ... when we go out into these places and we do what we do because of our faith, because the of the life that we have found in Christ ourselves ... when we step out into places where people are weary in faith and in obedience and because of a love for Jesus Christ, He Himself looks at you as His very own family.
“I hope that you take courage in that. I hope that you find great joy in that, and I hope that once again the Lord will continue to normalize this in our lives,” Dew said.
