For 33 years, a giant yellow and white striped tent pitched on the lawn at Walla Walla University has served as a center for music, testimonies, gospel preaching and altar calls. InTents, the spring evangelistic series, is planned and implemented by students enrolled in WWU’s public evangelism class.
"While InTents is one treasured tradition at WWU, students across campus routinely practice evangelism through service to others, a wholistic approach where personal and social concerns are equally significant," said Pedrito Maynard-Reid, WWU theology professor and Complete Evangelism: The Luke-Acts Model author. “True reform movements throughout Christianity recognized the connection between social and spiritual aspects of Christian outreach."
Students of WWU's public evangelism class plan and preach at InTents evangelistic meetings every year.
“WWU has long been known for its mission-minded students. Our student missions program is where faith in God meets generosity in service,” said Andrea Keele, WWU associate chaplain for missions. “God’s love is made real to us, and through us, by our actions — serving and showing up for others.”
Spending a year as a student missionary is a major commitment. Whether it’s teaching high school in Pohnpei, offering practical help to mothers and babies in Chad, or mobilizing a youth group in the Philippines, each student missionary’s experience is unique. “This experience produces a practical blend of discipleship, evangelism and service,” Keele said. This year, at least 95 students have expressed interest in extending WWU's 66-year tradition of serving as student missionaries around the world.
One doesn’t need to travel far to proclaim the gospel through service. “Students can see faith in action through meaningful service opportunities right here in our community, fostering a gospel that is lived, not just spoken,” said David Lopez, WWU Center for Humanitarian Engagement director.
Established in 2018, CHE helps WWU students find a calling, not just a career. Through long-term community relationships, CHE pairs skilled students with local and global organizations. Whether it’s running a Walla Walla Tool Library workshop, staffing the Hey Neighbor Neighbor project, joining the annual Service Day or participating in Community Action Relief Experience weekends, students offer support for nonprofits serving marginalized community members. “In doing so, our students extend the gospel, not just through words, but through love in action,” Lopez said.
“At WWU we work fervently to follow the footsteps of Jesus,” Maynard-Reid added. “Jesus not only proclaimed personal salvation, but He combined it with social outreach and service as revealed in His opening statement of mission in Luke 4:18–19 — caring for the poor, the brokenhearted, the oppressed, those physically and mentally sick, and more. This is what inspires us. This is what drives us!”
