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Student mobilization for missions prompt Sonic Flood tour, book

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Two new partnerships aimed at mobilizing students for missions have been announced by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board.

The IMB will sponsor a missions mobilization tour featuring the Christian recording group Sonic Flood to at least 40 cities, beginning in September. Multimedia images of missions work, including testimonies of students working on the field, will be part of the Sonic Flood “This Generation” tour.

And in partnership with Integrity Publishers, a missions-themed devotional book for students, “My Life, His Mission,” is slated for an Aug. 1 release. The book is the second in the “Voices of the Faithful” series launched last August featuring an initial collaboration by Beth Moore with Kim Davis as the compiling editor for the book’s missionary testimonies.

The Sonic Flood tour “is designed for students to hear God’s purpose in their lives to reach the nations,” Mike Lopez, head of IMB student mobilization, told a crowd of more than 600 at the National Collegiate Ministry Leadership Summit in Nashville, Tenn., in late April. “We appreciate a band like Sonic Flood who will help us get that message out to high school and college-age students.”

Rick Heil, Sonic Flood’s lead singer, said he hopes the three-month nationwide tour will inspire students to think about their faith and examine what it means to follow Christ.

“So many students are searching for truth and looking for something more,” said Heil, who has participated in international mission trips to South Africa, Turkey and Thailand. “I hope through this tour students will realize that God is bigger than the boxes they have put Him in. I pray that the students will see that God loves everyone the same and He is to be shared.

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“If you have the cure for cancer,” Heil said, “wouldn’t you want to share it with the world? We can offer a cure for sin -– Jesus Christ -– and we should share Him with the world.”

My Life, His Mission, meanwhile, is a six-week challenge to encourage student participation in missions.

“I want students to see that as followers of Christ they have some role to play in missions, whether it is praying or going overseas,” said Davis, a former IMB missionary in Africa. “This book will help students determine their role in the Great Commission.”

My Life, His Mission relays 90 real-life student missionary testimonies recounting how they responded to their call to short-term mission projects. The book also is a resource for mission preparation.

“As a missionary for 13 years who hosted a lot of volunteers on the field, I realized the most important thing I could do is help students be prepared before coming to the field,” said Davis, adding that preparation begins with developing the students’ walk with the Lord.

The first chapter, “Impact the World on Your Knees,” guides students to effectively pray for the lost. “As they pray, a place on the map will become a place in their heart,” Davis said.

The book also explores responding to the Great Commission, learning how to share the Gospel effectively and learning the art of flexibility. Each lesson incorporates biblical principles and reveals how God uses ordinary people to carry His message to the lost.

The book also integrates group discussion questions after each chapter and includes a free leader’s guide with DVD footage of students serving on the international mission field. The leader’s guide and DVD will be available Aug. 1.

Following the announcement of the new IMB partnerships, Ken Chaney, pastor of Barton (Ark.)Baptist Church and campus minister of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas, said, “Getting students involved in missions opens a whole new world of opportunities for them to serve the Lord.”

Chaney has participated in international trips in the past and said he hopes to take his students on mission assignments in the future.

“I would love for the students to share their faith and understand that there are so many in need around the world,” he said.
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To learn more about the Sonic Flood tour, go online to www.sonicflood.com. To order My Life, His Mission, go to thetask.org/hismission. Pre-release orders are available until July 1 at up to a 60 percent discount. The book is scheduled for release Aug. 1.