Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School celebrated the university’s impact in global missions during a Global Voices lecture event on Sept. 5 in Beeson’s Global Center.

A panel discussion featured Scott Guffin, assistant professor and executive director of Christian Ministry; Felicia “Fish” Belter, program assistant for the Office of Spiritual Life’s Global Missions Scholars; Scott Bickel, associate dean in the School of Health Professions and director of the Office of Faith and Health, and Darin White, who serves as the executive director for Samford’s Center for Sports Analytics and as the Margaret Gage Bush Distinguished Professor of Marketing in Brock School of Business.

Each shared stories of alumni and students serving the Lord in various ways across the world, emphasizing God’s faithfulness to the Samford students called to the missions field and Christian ministry.

Belter said a student in Berlin was recently invited to speak on national television about her work and was asked why she invited people into her home for meals, giving her an open door to share the Gospel with the entire nation.

“The Gospel light is dim, but she carries it with so much light, so much beauty,” Belter said.

Bickel noted a graduate who trained as a physical therapist, paid off their student loan debt and went back to East Asia, where they had previously served as a Journeyman through the International Mission Board, to serve as a physical therapist and assist with a church plant.

Sports represent a universal language, White said, opening up doors for ministry and missions.

“I can take a soccer ball and go literally anywhere in the world and have immediate friends,” White said.

This was seen when a graduate working in Southeast Asia for a baseball-based ministry created his own bats and had an opportunity to put them in the hands of Major League Baseball players when they visited. Now, there’s a chance to sell the bats, which garnered praise for their power, to MLB players and more, with that money going back into a Christian ministry, White said.

Belter said the Office of Spiritual Life helps students who feel called to the missions field, helping them leverage their major, whatever it might be, for the sake of the Gospel.

Guffin said he’s met students who are leading their fellow Samford students to the Lord as they prepare for a lifetime of ministry. Bickel noted a graduate who is now serving Spanish-speaking residents locally through her work in kinesiology.

For students concerned about funding their future missions work, Belter said Samford is here to help, and Guffin encouraged them to trust in God.

“Where God calls you, He’s going to provide for you,” Guffin said.

The Global Center regularly holds Global Voices lectures and other events, with information available on their webpage.