This week at Shaw University nearly 500 students are gathering for the 55th annual Lott Carey Youth Seminar applying their faith for “missional serving and learning” and acting with ONE. Reflecting on the theme “Called to Be a Blessing,” I had the privilege of joining the gathering yesterday in Raleigh, NC where I spoke to the role of advocacy in fighting global poverty and treatable, preventable disease.

Many of the students, aged 14-21 and from the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest, had just come back from a service-learning project where they were “gleaning” a local harvest of crops while others were in breakout sessions examining the intersection of their faith and global concerns.

Nurturing a new generation of leaders to be prepared to tackle the challenges and opportunities of the day is something that Lott Carey has been doing for some time. This year, however, the role of advocacy is being elevated alongside direct service and ministry as integral to the fight against senseless and extreme poverty. It was exciting to be on campus, where the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was birthed during the Civil Rights movement, to see a new generation of students organized and acting with ONE.

The Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention, founded in 1897, is on the ground today in over 20 countries. Focusing on health, education and ministry projects, Lott Carey is particularly engaged in addressing and alleviating the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. Watch this clip of Rev. Dr. David Goatley, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of Lott Carey, to learn more:

-Adam Phillips