Written by Whitney Dixon
Bisons for Christ, Harding’s annual day of service, will take place on Wednesday, April 6. Service projects are planned to take place from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m., but the service that students will partake in is bigger than just one day.
Though the focus has always been on having one day dedicated to service, this year’s project is further-reaching in a variety of ways. Smaller expansions include the student planning committee serving in the cafeteria on the Monday and Tuesday leading up to the event, in addition to some service projects taking place throughout the entire week.
Another outreach is a new campaign to get churches across the state, and even across the country, involved. Todd and Debbie Gentry, College and Outreach Ministers from College Church of Christ, said they are attempting to contact every Church of Christ in the state of Arkansas, and students on the planning committee are contacting their home churches to tell them about the day of service and ask for their participation.
Bisons for Christ will even take place around the world. Yo Kurabayashi, a Harding alum in Japan, is planning a day of service to help earthquake relief. The Gentrys are also hoping to get the overseas campuses involved as well.
Besides the excitement of the growing reach of Bisons for Christ, students are able to join new local projects. Students can donate cafeteria swipes to provide meals for hungry families in the community. Meal swipes will also be used to provide a cookout to families who will be affected by military deployment.
Duffle bags will also be packed with needed toiletry items for foster children through schoolwide collections.
“It is so important for these kids to have something to call their own as they are moved from house to house,” junior Anna Wade, member of the student planning committee, said.
Though the committee is excited about how far Bisons for Christ is reaching, the Gentrys said the original concept of serving the Searcy community will always be at the heart of the venture.
“The idea is to get students to think about this community,” Todd Gentry said.
Bisons for Christ will kickoff Sunday, April 3, with communion at 8:30 p.m. and a special prayer for the project at the Rhodes Field House.
The Gentrys estimate more than 150 projects will be planned for the day. Last year approximately 2,000 students participated in Bisons for Christ, and the Gentrys hope that even more will get involved this year.
The day will come to a close at College Church, where a meal will be served, a devotional will be held, testimonies will be shared and a slide show of the day’s events will be shown. However, the impact of the day will continue long after the closing ceremonies, according to Debbie Gentry.
“When we as individuals get outside ourselves and help another person, it changes our lives and our attitudes,” Debbie Gentry said.
To get involved in a service project, visit the Rock House or call 268-4191 or emailcollege_outreach@yahoo.com. A table will be set up in the student center today and the week of the event as well.
