By Katelyn S. Irons
"Little children, let us not love in word or in action, but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18)
This is the theme verse for WOW, or World Opportunities Week, which begins Monday.
"Our main goal of WOW is to connect students to mission reps and vice versa." said junior Mel Kerigan, one of the current Co-Directors of WOW. This week, Nov. 4-8, Taylor will host 30 different missions organizations, more than 50 missions representatives, special chapels and hall events.
"Through the connections made, students also have the chance to apply for internships and jobs with different mission organizations," Kerigan said. These mission groups will be in the Dining Commons for students to connect with. Some of the organizations that will be present are The Boaz Project, OneWay Ministries and Youth for Christ.
The theme this year is "Love In(deed)." "Our idea for this came from the passing of one of our friends and former WOW co-director, Josh Larkin," said senior Ryan Caven, WOW Co-Director. "The parentheses in our theme means that we should love people (Love Indeed), and show people that love through what we do (Love In Deed)."
"WOW was organized this year by the WOW cabinet, which is made up of 16 people, plus Mel and I," Caven said. We're all under the supervision of Mary Rayburn in the Taylor World Outreach office."
Senior Amanda Stephens, Chapel Coordinator for WOW, said Mary Komy will be speaking Friday and Greg Gilbert will be speaking on Monday and Wednesday. Gilbert is a pastor in Louisville, Ky., and has written two books, titled "What is the Gospel?" and "What is the Mission of the Church?"
"Instead of doing formal lectures and seminars in the evening we've tried to make the events more personable and relate-able," Kerigan said, "We're trying to make the entire week feel more relaxed and open so that people can better interact with the mission reps who are coming."
WOW will also be coming into the dorms. Mission representatives will be meeting with students' small groups to speak with them on Monday night. Jacob Mulder, who is in charge of residence hall events during WOW, said Tuesday night represented the biggest change in the events.
At 7:30 on Tuesday, each dorm will be hosting a campus-wide open house event so mission reps can visit one-on-one with students in the dorms. English and Olson will be providing pancakes and Samuel Morris and Wengatz will be encouraging sporting events, according to Mulder.
"The main goal is to provide a way that mission reps can interact with students in a informal way." said Mulder.
