{"id":48910,"date":"2024-12-02T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/?p=48910"},"modified":"2025-11-03T11:42:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T16:42:52","slug":"international-university-ministry-requires-trust-in-god-to-lead-and-provide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/international-university-ministry-requires-trust-in-god-to-lead-and-provide\/","title":{"rendered":"International university ministry requires trust in God to lead and provide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Join your fellow Florida Baptists in prayer for missionaries serving around the globe during the <\/em>Week of Prayer for International Missions<\/em><\/a>, Dec. 1-8, as well as in financial support through the <\/em>Lottie Moon Christmas Offering<\/em><\/a>. Here, read the inspiring story of one Florida Baptist young woman who is sharing the gospel as an international missionary in Poland.<\/em><\/p>\n

KRAKOW, POLAND\u2013Kelsey Bennett finally felt acclimated to her new role as an International Mission Board<\/a> missionary in eastern Europe. In a mid-term role, she served with a great ministry team, and her knowledge of the language and culture had grown. Then because of unrest in the area where she served, she had to evacuate quickly to a new location, leaving behind many personal possessions and the relationships she had built.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, she found herself serving in Poland, learning another language and culture, and working with a new ministry team. Her home church, Hillcrest Baptist Church<\/a> in Pensacola, rose into action, packing three suitcases with clothing and other items that were delivered to her by a pastor from the church and his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a blessing that was!\u201d enthused Bennett. \u201cThat was a really difficult year, and to have the support of my home church to physically help and offer an outside perspective was huge.\u201d Visits from others in her home church also have provided her with an opportunity to introduce the ministry first-hand and to offer suggestions on what they can do to help.<\/p>\n

In November, Bennett, along with 48 others, was appointed by the International Mission Board for full-time career service and participated in a Sending Celebration at New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Through missions, Kelsey Bennett has learned to trust God where he leads.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Called to missions\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bennett never imagined she would be a missionary until she served as the Baptist Collegiate Ministries associate at a northwest Florida university. Developing a strong affection for ministering to university students, Bennett longed for an experience outside of America. After much prayer and with wise counsel from pastors and other missionaries, she began her journey into missionary service with the International Mission Board.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs followers of Christ, we are all called to missions in some capacity. Whether it be to a location, to a people group, or in our everyday lives, we are called to share the Good News with anyone we meet,\u201d said Bennett.<\/p>\n

\u2018God is working\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

Through missions, she has learned to trust God where He leads. She understands that things can change in a very short amount of time and that challenges abound no matter where you take the gospel.<\/p>\n

As she serves in a university ministry in Poland, challenges include communication mishaps due to language barriers and cultural differences. Bennett found that in Krakow, Poland, people can come across as blunt and rude to someone who was raised on southern charm in the United States. To smile at or talk with a stranger in Poland is uncommon, she said, but Polish people \u201care very hospitable and friendly\u201d after you get to know them.<\/p>\n

Another challenge is helping Polish people see their need for a relationship with Jesus. Catholicism permeates the culture, with many believing they are \u201cgood\u201d because of their religious traditions. \u201cMostly, they just don\u2019t see their need to be forgiven of sin and saved in Jesus. It is hard soil, but we know God is working,\u201d said Bennett.<\/p>\n

She seeks to develop friendships over coffee and evangelism-based activities like karaoke, game nights, movie nights and sports days at a local park. Eventually, those friendships lead to Bible reading, gospel conversations and times of prayer.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

 <\/p>\n

A weekly event called Breakthrough Krakow is a time for practicing English conversation skills where topics can be light and fun, but can lead to the deep and spiritual discussions.<\/p>\n

Another fun event that Bennett looks forward to is hosting an American Thanksgiving meal for students. Many who attend will have only seen Thanksgiving celebrations in movies and on television shows. It is another way to build relationships and show gratitude to Christ.<\/p>\n

Bennett finds discipleship, fellowship and accountability through weekly Bible study with a group of young women at the Polish church she attends. Her mission team is made up of Polish Baptist church members who desire to grow in discipleship, evangelism and sound biblical teaching and preaching.<\/p>\n

The goal of university ministry is to connect students with local Baptist churches so they can be discipled by Polish believers in their heart language. \u201cThere are many steps to get to that point, but our main goal is getting these students connected to the church. We may not be there for more than a few years, so we want to make sure we pass them to believers who will continue to invest in them,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Join your fellow Florida Baptists in prayer for missionaries serving around the globe during the Week of Prayer for International Missions, Dec. 1-8, as well as in financial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[231,407,40,17,154,939,20,23,45,25],"tags":[121,13,936,122,937,938],"class_list":["post-48910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collegiate-blog","category-cooperative-program","category-developing","category-missions","category-next-gen-blog","category-offerings","category-partnership","category-sharing","category-statewide","category-stories","tag-hillcrest-baptist-church","tag-imb","tag-imb-new-missionaries","tag-kelsey-bennett","tag-lottie-moon-christmas-offering","tag-lottie-moon-week-of-prayer"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67818,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48910\/revisions\/67818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flbaptist.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}