Missions Rally Night (MRN) is an annual event hosted by KCM that highlights the testimonies of previous mission teams of STSM and gives an opportunity for students who are interested in going on summer missions to interact with the teams!
Here we have two previous students who have been personally convicted by this event sharing their testimonies on how MRN was a blessing to them!
Allyson Kim (Sophomore, Pepperdine)
I went into Pepperdine University as a spring admit, meaning I started a semester later than all the other freshmen. I worried about how the semester would turn out, but KCM really allowed me to open up, feel loved, and have a community where I could worship God with my brothers and sisters.
About a month into school, I heard about STSM at my school’s missions night. Listening to the testimonies and watching the skits made me really think about going on missions. I really wanted to go, however I was still hesitant as to whether or not I should.
At this point, STSM was on my mind, but I kind of put it to the side since I didn’t exactly know what my parents would say about going on missions for a whole month. While I wanted to know more about what STSM was about, I was uncertain. When Missions Rally Night (MRN) was coming around and my school posted the link for rides, I initially didn’t sign up. Actually, it wasn’t until the day before that I signed up to go. I remember one upperclassman who was talking to me about MRN in a car ride and he said how freshman year was the easiest year to go or how I should just attend the event to find out more about what STSM was. Right before the sign ups for rides closed, I decided to go, and it ended up being a great decision.
Attending MRN changed my mind completely. I visited the Greece/South India room and Japan/Cambodia room. I was so invested into wanting to hear more and more about what really went on overseas and I absolutely loved listening to the experiences each person went through and what kind of ministry teams did at other countries. What stood out to me the most was the excitement everyone had when they were speaking about their experiences and their encouragement for us to go. This was when I decided that I had to go on missions because of how amazed I was by what God was doing through STSM.
Fast forward to today, I actually went to Greece through KCM’s STSM! If I didn’t attend MRN, I probably would not have went on missions over the summer and I wouldn’t have the experiences which I cherish up until this day.
I definitely encourage everyone to attend the MRN because it really allowed me to grow a bigger heart in wanting to be a part of God’s plan. SO…PLEASE SAVE THE DATE MARCH 9! You won’t want to miss it!!
Hannah Kim (Alumni, Pepperdine)
By the time MRN had rolled around my junior year of college, I had already decided to apply for STSM. God had been working in my heart the past few months, convicting me to go on overseas missions, forgoing my original plan to study abroad in Germany that summer. I felt that God had shown me His heart for global missions, and with MRN, He was going to show me a glimpse of how He was working in specific countries.
After the main session, during which I was once again convicted to go on overseas missions, I had the opportunity to listen to three different teams present on their STSM trips from the previous summer. I saw videos and photos from their trips, heard testimonies, listened to them answer questions, and tasted food unique to those countries. Through it all, missions became more real to me, and the prospect of going became even more exciting. I wanted to take part in what God was doing in these countries. I wanted to go and witness for myself how He was moving. I wanted to be able to come back and tell people of how God was working and to be a part of this movement of carrying the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I wanted God to teach me and to use me.
MRN allowed me to get a glimpse of what God was doing in several countries that KCM sends their mission teams to, and I was excited to go to any of those countries. A few weeks later, I applied to go on STSM. God hadn’t placed any specific country on my heart, so in general, I didn’t put down a preference for any one country, but decided to let God, and the KCM missions committee, decide where the best place for me to go would be.
I had the amazing opportunity to go to North India that summer and to Ecuador the following summer. I am excited to say that God has blessed me with the opportunity to go on overseas missions again this summer with my church. MRN has certainly been one of the catalysts that God has used to stir a passion in me for global missions. Even if you are absolutely convinced that you will not be going on missions this summer, I encourage you to go to MRN, because God may have other plans. Or if God is calling you to stay in the US, go and find out how you can be a faithful sender this summer.
Missions Rally Night is coming up March 9th @ Living Hope Community Church! Don’t see miss out on the chance to hear the testimonies of previous STSM Mission teams!
