KANSAS CITY, Mo—At a special chapel service on April 23, Spurgeon College commissioned nine missionary teams to overseas service in Africa and Asia. The ceremony also commissioned several graduate-level students who have completed rigorous training in the Fusion Master’s Cohort in preparation for service as career missionaries.
Since 2005, Fusion has existed to equip believers for a lifetime of Kingdom service by training students to make disciples of all nations through a one-year immersive program. Each year, Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College sends several Fusion teams overseas and signifies their service through the commissioning ceremony.
Friends and family members of the commissioned students gathered with the campus community to celebrate the occasion.
Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen opened the commissioning service noting the eternal impact of the students’ training to advance God’s mission. He said, “I say to you on the authority of Scripture, in light of the gospel of Christ and the commandment Jesus gave us in the Great Commission: these students’ studies and service are worth it. Today we recognize and celebrate God’s call on their lives and their efforts, and we commission them knowing that the Lord will use them strategically.”
Joe Allen III, who serves Midwestern Seminary as assistant professor of missions in the Gary Taylor Endowed Chair of Missions and Evangelism, delivered the Precedent of Expectation from 1 Corinthians 15:58. He charged students to pursue the Great Commission with confidence in light of their union with Christ.
Drawing from Paul’s discussion of Christ’s resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, Joe Allen highlighted how the resurrection guarantees that suffering for the gospel is never in vain. He noted, “Paul’s argument is that the resurrection is the consolation and the compensation that makes your toil and suffering worthwhile.”
Joe Allen encouraged listeners with examples of Christians in church history who joyfully endured suffering for the gospel because they knew they had nothing to lose since they were united to Christ.
He charged, “If you are going to stand immovable, always abounding in the work of Lord, you need a settled conviction deep in your soul that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That’s how you become invincible. You simply cannot threaten a person who has eternal life.”
He went on to say, “If Jesus really rose from the dead, then the most rational thing you can do is lay down your life and live for His glory among the nations.”
Following Joe Allen’s message, Erik Odegard, director of Fusion, addressed the significance of the commissioning ceremony to affirm Fusion students’ preparation for overseas service.
During phase one of the Fusion program, students undergo rigorous training in areas including discipleship, evangelism, foreign language, first aid, security, and survival. The commissioning ceremony serves as a rite of passage into phase two of the program, in which students spend a summer applying their training in hard places on the global mission field.
Upon affirming the successful completion of their training, Odegard invited Fusion students to commit publicly to go to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations. To signify this commitment, students stood and recited the Fusion creed:
As a follower of Christ: I am called not to comfort or success but to obedience. Consequently, my life is to be defined not by what I do but by who I am.
Henceforth: I will proclaim His name without fear, follow Him without regret, and serve Him without compromise.
Thus: To obey is my objective; to suffer is expected; His glory is my reward.
Therefore: To Christ alone be all power, all honor, and all glory, that the world may know. Amen!
Fusion leadership then presented the nine teams and graduating Fusion Master’s students to the family, friends, and seminary community gathered, giving each student a map to represent their commitment to the Great Commission.
The commissioning ceremony concluded with a prayer, led by Dean of Spurgeon College Sam Bierig. Bierig gave thanks for the commissioned students and prayed for their safety, faithfulness, and success in glorifying God among the nations.
To watch a portion of the Fusion Commissioning Ceremony, click here. For security reasons, other portions of the ceremony were not filmed.
For more information about Fusion or to apply to the program, please click here.
