During the next couple of weeks while you’re sleeping, college students will be making an impact for the name of Jesus. More than 900 students are making their way to Panama City Beach, Florida, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to their peers through Beach Reach. They’ll head out from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. each night and offer free van rides to students who shouldn’t be driving and invite them to meet back up for free pancakes the next morning from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
I had the opportunity to serve as the prayer room coordinator last year, and it was such a spiritual marker in my own life. During the van rides each night, students take turns spending half of the evening in the prayer room—praying over requests that come in over a live feed, and praying in creative ways for the ministry that is taking place.
They wrote down the names of students they encountered and posted them for other students to be praying for them by name; they prayed for their peers who they knew were out partying; and they prayed for their friends who were doing ministry on the streets while they were praying. Students had opportunities to pray for and with their leaders, pray for each other, and for themselves. We walked through several models of how to pray, and as the week went on, the students took more initiative and asked a ton of questions.
Some would say that these college students sacrificed their spring break, but I completely disagree. They invested in Kingdom work during their spring break. These students chose to spend their time loving on the lost and broken and sharing the Gospel with those they encountered. It wasn’t a sacrifice to serve this way—it was a joy.
I watched them become more and more engaged in prayer throughout the week because they realized the value of praying for God to move. Did all of our prayers get answered? No. But I can guarantee you that these college students went home with a completely different perspective on the way that God works through prayer and hands-on ministry.
In 2016, we saw 65 students pray to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior, gave 13,284 van rides, and served 6,841 plates of pancakes.
From March 4-17, 2017 (Sunday-Thursday both weeks), please join us in praying for the ministry of Beach Reach. Each night from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. CST, you can watch the live feed of prayer requests coming in from the vans out on the Panama City Beach strip and pray with our team for life change to happen among college students. Watch the live stream at beachreachlive.com. You can also follow @LifewayYA on Snapchat and Instagram to see what’s happening throughout the week!
Mary Margaret Collingsworth serves as an Event Project Coordinator at Lifeway Christian Resources and coordinates training events for women in leadership. She has a passion to see women engaged in ministry and living out their calling. Mary Margaret loves teaching God’s Word, eating Mexican food, calling Nashville home, and hosting Lifeway Women’s {MARKED} podcast. Follow her on Twitter: @marymargaretc.
