“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
Those familiar words ring true in every area of ministry. At North American Ministries, our desire is to fill the fields with laborers carrying the good news of the gospel to North America. With this in mind, we are excited to launch a brand-new ministry at NAM — Frontier Student Missions. Frontier exists to engage students in church planting and ministry leadership, fanning into flame their gifts and callings (2 Timothy 1:6) and empowering them to blaze new trails in planting and leading churches across North America.
Frontier is committed to awakening courage in the next generation by placing students in ministry environments where church planting and leadership are happening firsthand. Through hands-on exposure, mentorship, and meaningful service, students discover how God has uniquely gifted and called them.
As they step into new contexts and unfamiliar spaces, their faith is stretched, their gifts are refined, and their calling begins to take shape. When students are exposed to the front lines of ministry, we trust the flame of God’s purpose within them will ignite.
From urban centers to underserved communities, Frontier empowers students to blaze new trails — not just observing ministry, but also participating in the planting and leading of healthy, gospel-centered churches across North America.
Before students are sent into the harvest, they will be equipped by a week of training designed to strengthen their faith, expose their spiritual gifts, and build their confidence in sharing the gospel. Frontier will train and send students out in teams. What may seem like a daunting task can quickly turn into an exciting adventure when carried out with other believers.
After an intense week of training, serving, and team building, students will travel to churches across North America where they can apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills. While on the field with church planters, students will witness the excitement of lives transformed by the gospel, gain practical experience, draw encouragement, and learn to understand their role in the Great Commission. By the time students return home, our prayer is they will feel empowered to reach out in their own communities and make a lasting impact for Christ.
You may be asking, “Why do Free Will Baptists need another student missions opportunity?” The answer is simple: “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” The need is as great as ever for young people to answer the call into the areas of church planting and ministry within the local church. Further, statistics tell us students who participate in denominational ministry programs are far more likely to remain engaged in church through college and beyond.
With Frontier being offered by NAM, ETEAM by IM, and Truth & Peace by Vertical III, high school students now can experience church planting, international missions, and leadership development. If a student takes advantage of all these opportunities, he or she will walk away with a broad range of ministry experience, along with a better understanding of where God may lead for a lifetime of ministry.
About the Writers: Church planter Josh Bennett serves as chief strategy officer for North American Ministries. Previously the NAM accounts administrator, Kylah Walker recently transitioned into the role of student impact coordinator.
