Houghton’s long-celebrated New Vision Week will begin on Monday, October 23rd and last until the 25th. New Vision Week gives students an opportunity to explore missions and learn about the different forms missions can take. Kylie Gibbs ’18, a co-organizer of New Vision Week, emphasized the universal nature of missions in the life of Christians. “It’s important that people recognize that their mission field can be anywhere…you can be a chemist and God can use that,” she said. She added that through chapels, workshops, and special events, New Vision Week will provide a chance for students from diverse backgrounds and majors to find unity.
This year’s New Vision Week speaker is Mick Veach, who is a pastor at Mosaic Midtown Church in Detroit, Michigan. According to the church’s website, Veach’s commitment to share the love of God has led him to “smuggle Bibles, feed lepers, and work and live amongst a Muslim people group.” Veach will be speaking in chapel on Monday and Wednesday.
Monday night will feature the Culture Fair according to event organizer Courtney Zhang ’18. This event will involve food, music, henna, and crafts, and will give international students an opportunity to “share their culture,” Zhang said. Students will prepare traditional Chinese and Korean food for everyone to sample, which Zhang noted is always one of the greatest attractions of the event. Co-organizer Briana Bellan ’19 said that one of the things she values most about New Vision Week is the opportunity to “see all the various cultures that our student body shares and represents.” She continued, “If someone is looking to engage in conversation [with the missions representatives] but the line at the mission organization tables seems intense, the Culture Fair is a great way to engage in more relaxed conversation.” The Culture Fair will take place in the Campus Center from 8:00-9:00.
On Tuesday, workshops will be offered for alternative chapel credit. Gibbs announced there will be a total of 6 workshops offered, some from 11:00-12:00 and others from 3:00-4:00. The topics of these workshops will range from “how to find a mission field or missions organization” to “missions in a Muslim context” Gibbs said, adding that she is particularly excited for the latter. Bellan said that when she was a freshman, the workshops drew her into New Vision Week and gave her a chance to “begin some conversations and journeys.”
On Wednesday night, there will be a prayer and worship night, which Bellan said is a “fairly recent creation.” She continued, “We started it last year in place of the usual documentary and felt that it went over really well. I’m looking forward to attending that as we close out our ‘week.’”
Throughout New Vision Week, 13 missions representatives will be available to students interested in learning more about missions. Gibbs said that these representatives will speak in classes throughout the week, and each will have a booth in the Campus Center. Gibbs emphasized that the representatives are eager to interact with students of all kinds and share their experiences. “We encourage students to talk to the reps whether at their booths or over a meal or coffee,” she said. Some of the representatives “have people coming with them who are interested in business and science, so this is not just to appeal to students majoring in missions or intercultural studies,” Gibbs said. While many of the representatives are returning and are “excited to catch up with students that they knew from previous years,” the organization Teach Beyond will be represented for its first year, according to Gibbs.
New Vision Week will provide an opportunity to “learn to use our gifts for missions, wherever we are, however old we are,” Gibbs said. Bellan expressed hope that New Vision Week’s approach to missions will involve a diverse body of students, saying “We want to be intentional in recognizing the value in [diversity]–and not just this week, but starting conversations, relationships and outlooks that will place diversity and difference in a positive light for many, many years to come.” She continued, “I’m looking forward to all that is in store for this upcoming New Vision Week, but I’m most excited to see the way that God is glorified through it, and continues to guide journeys and hearts for His purpose.”