Pedro Vieira – Loveland, Colorado … All of the residence hall students at Campion Academy in Loveland, Colorado, traveled to five different churches in the surrounding areas to lead out in their services in a school-wide “Students With A Testimony” (SWAT) event.
The students were divided into groups of 10-15 people and went to Colorado churches in Aurora, Brighton, Greeley, and Fort Collins. They could share their testimonies and musical gifts by leading worship and sharing inspirational special music with the churches.
Carlos Santana, Campion Academy chaplain, came up with the idea of having a SWAT trip on a bigger scale. He shared, “I feel God inspired me to plan this event. One day over the summer, I was talking to my wife Molly about it, and I asked her, ‘What if the whole school did a SWAT trip?’ We thought that if everyone were a part of SWAT, they would each touch different hearts. I was scared because it was a major undertaking to plan, but it ended up going well.”
After the service and over potluck, the students got to talk to the church members and share a little bit more about their life at Campion Academy and also hear some feedback about the service.
Damaris Lopez-Morquecho, junior student, reflected, “I enjoyed sharing my testimony and seeing how my group and I worked together. It was also awesome how the church members at Adventure Seventh-day Adventist Church accepted us. They are all so welcoming.”
Maxwell Bicknell, sophomore student, commented, “When I went on SWAT, my favorite thing was talking to the church members and hearing some of their thoughts. I also really enjoyed being able to give my testimony and felt like I was doing something that God wanted me to do.”
After the success of this event, Chaplain Carlos plans to continue more individual SWAT trips to different churches throughout the year, and potentially make a school-wide trip an annual event.
—Pedro Vieira, Campion Student News Team. Photos supplied.
