Annual Spring Trips and Tours End Successfully at Moody Bible Institute
A number of undergraduate students have returned to their campus at Moody Bible Institute (MBI) in Chicago after participating in ministry trips, music tours and study trips offered by the distinguished Christian institute during its spring break, March 6-19.
MBI's four student ensembles, including the Moody Symphonic Band, Moody Men's Collegiate Choir (MMCC), Women's Concert Choir & Bell Ensemble (WCC) and Moody Chorale, toured around the nation, holding concerts in various churches around the world that host these annual spring concert tours, according to MBI press release.
These tours provided the student ensembles the opportunity to "affirm, encourage and interact with the churches that host us," said H.E. Singley III, conductor of MMCC and director of tours.
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"We present the Gospel. We present God's Word, and our students collectively and individually give witness to their faith and to God's work in their lives," Singley added.
Charles Thompson, conductor of the WCC, explained the ultimate purpose of these tours.
"I believe we should do our music as excellently as we know how and offer it first to God and let people just listen in," said Thompson.
The students were also given opportunities to interact with people in their homes in between concerts and tours in which the students have described the experience to be "some of the most memorable and beneficial aspects of their experience."
"This presents a very palpable opportunity for dynamic one-on-one interaction and ministry," Singley said.
"We have seen people come to know the Lord through our music and our time in people's homes," Thompson said. "It is the greatest joy to see the Lord work so mightily through the lives and testimonies of the girls and through our music."
Ministry trips to England, Philippines and Oklahoma were hosted by Practicle Chrisitan Minisitry (PCM) department with the purpose of "exposing students to extended ministry opportunities" outside of Chicago area.
The students who took the trip to England were able to serve a local church with its various ministries.
Those who spent their spring break in Philippines, worked with Christian Light Foundation in various programs in Manila the first week and with local schools and churches in Pampanga the second week.
Ten students decided to take a local ministry tour to Oklahoma, where they ministered to the Choctaw Native Americans and helped plan and counsel for a weekend retreat on March 11-13 held for the youth in the city.
On the Europe study tour, several students explored the ancient and medieval world of Turkey, Italy, and France.
The sites they visited in Turkey include Istanbul, ancient Nicaea where the Nicene Creed was formed and Ephesus, and some of the seven churches of Revelation.
The students took journeys to the city of Rome, where they visited the Colosseum, Forum, Pantheon, Vatican and catacombs, Pompeii, and the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino.
Chartres and Notre Dame cathedrals, the University of Paris, Sainte Chapelle and a museum of the Middle Ages were the special venues in France.
"The students gained a full immersion into Greco-Roman and medieval church history," said Bryan Litfin, one of the faculty members who led the Europe tours.
