Students in evangelism courses apply Gospel lessons by collecting items for front-line soldiers

On Thursday afternoon, Liberty University John W. Rawlings School of Divinity Professor Dr. David Wheeler and a group of students from his Evangelism 101 classes gathered in the LU Shepherd Office to fill boxes with supplies for close to 200 soldiers overseas.

Wheeler’s classes raised nearly $2,000 to purchase snacks, toilet paper, and baby wipes, among other items. They also wrote encouraging notes for the soldiers.

“The significance is that this is the heart of Liberty,” Wheeler said. “These kids love those they don’t even know. This is what my class is about. It’s about living out the Gospel.”

The opportunity came about when School of Divinity adjunct faculty member Will Gunzelman reached out to Melanie Hicks, an accounting professor and associate dean in the School of Business, to tell her about a group of soldiers in an undisclosed region of the world who had been experiencing some setbacks. Gunzelman had once worked with the same military unit as a contractor.

“The snacks will boost the morale of soldiers who often sleep in the cold desert wind on the front line of freedom,” Gunzelman said. “The students’ support helps keep our nation safe. More importantly, the students’ support through actions instead of words will greatly help witness to those who may not yet know the Lord. It is no surprise that Liberty students stepped up when most people step back. They continue to amaze me as they constantly glorify Him. We can’t thank them enough for their support.”

“I’ve been deployed, and I know exactly what the guys like and don’t like and which foods would and wouldn’t make the trip,” freshman exercise science student Peter Curran said.

Curran, a former United States Marine, volunteered to help Wheeler spearhead the afternoon of packing.

“If this came over to my unit when I was over there, I would have been thanking God, jumping for joy, hoarding as much of this as I could because it really is a Godsend,” he said.

The packages will be delivered to a military chaplain assigned to the unit and sponsored by Liberty, Chaplain Aaron Conner, who will deliver the gifts to the soldiers under his care.

“See a need, meet a need,” Wheeler said. “It opens the door to Gospel conversations.”