Samaritan’s Purse COO, staff share their Christ-led mission with Liberty University students

Throughout this past week at Liberty University, students have been given multiple opportunities to be inspired and potentially called to action by representatives of Samaritan’s Purse, an organization where Champions for Christ can impact hurting people around the world.

The organization was a part of Global Focus Week and the 2024 CEO Summit, both taking place on campus.

Liberty’s ties to the evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization go back decades, including student volunteer service trips domestically and internationally, internships, employment with Samaritan’s Purse and its sister organization, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), as well as regular participation in Operation Christmas Child.

During the week, students were invited to tour an Emergency Field Hospital on the Academic Lawn, getting a glimpse into the medical work done by missionaries around the world. Stretching nearly an acre when it is deployed, the hospital is completely mobile and designed to respond at a moment’s notice to disasters and humanitarian crises. The hospital arrives on the scene with all of the necessary equipment to be self-sufficient, including generators and water purification systems. The facility holds a triage space, emergency room, ICU, operating room, laboratory, surgical sterilization tent, more than 50 inpatient beds, and staff sleeping quarters. Samaritan’s Purse staff in each room shared information about their respective space in the hospital, spoke about their experiences overseas, and answered questions.

The field hospital has provided aid in recent years in warzones in the Middle East, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Liberty President Dr. Dondi E. Costin walked through the hospital on Tuesday morning with Samaritan’s Purse Chief Operating Officer Edward Graham. Costin expressed his admiration for Samaritan’s Purse in its mission to, like Liberty, be a helping Christian influence to a broken world.

“Samaritan’s Purse, as an organization, is perhaps the best and most comprehensive of what we want to focus on during Global Focus Week,” Costin said. “They do everything. They take care of physical and medical needs, they take care of spiritual needs, they take care of everything a human being made in God’s image would need in a time of crisis. The fact that (Edward) Graham and his team would be here with this field hospital, it’s a reminder that whether you’re a medical (professional), a counselor, a missionary, or whatever else it may be, there is a place for you to be a Champion for Christ in this world and meet the needs of others.”

That night, Graham was a keynote speaker for the CEO Summit dinner in the Montview Alumni Ballroom. Graham, who attended Liberty before transferring to West Point and serving 16 years in the U.S. Army, spoke on stepping out in faith to God’s calling, citing  the story of the Apostle Peter walking on water with Jesus.

“If you want to be part of a miracle, you’ve got to get out of the boat,” Graham told the students attending the summit. “Too often, especially for those of you at a Christian school like this, sometimes you will look around that boat and see fellow Christians and you think that is the safest place to be. Jesus wasn’t in that boat. He was walking on the water. Peter was the only one that went to Him.”

“I need courageous people,” he added. “I need people who are willing to get out of the boat. I need young individuals not afraid to do something out of your comfort zone.”

Also on Tuesday night, students attended a Taking the Gospel to the Nations panel in the Towns Auditorium to hear from Samaritan’s Purse disaster response staff. The event featured three Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) members: Mark Lopshire from Twin Falls, Idaho; emergency room nurse Jodie Bushey, and Samaritan’s Purse Director of International Health Dr. Elliot Tenpenny.

Samaritan’s Purse Deputy Director of International Projects Aaron Ashoff moderated the panel, opening by explaining what sets Samaritan’s Purse apart: speed, muscle, and passion.

“We want to be the first ones out there in the world getting into a disaster (zone), and we have a lot of (resources) that we can bring to bear on any given big crisis,” he said. “We’re not out there to make much of ourselves. We’re out there to make much of Christ. And so that should mean we would go further and push ourselves into places that really few people are willing to go.”

Panel members spoke on their varied experiences around the world, from war-torn areas and the aftermath of natural disasters to the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the heart of New York City.

Tenpenny recounted the life-changing story a male patient in the Middle East in 2017 who was a member of ISIS. As he received care from Samaritan’s Purse staff, the man looked to his peers and asked them who the doctors and nurses were. When they replied that they were Christians, the man’s heart was altered. A few days later, Tenpenny said, the man and others with him chose to follow Christ.

All four speakers spoke to the unpredictable nature of day-to-day work on DART teams, saying that the only guarantee is that they begin the day with God and prayer.

“There is no such thing as a daily plan or routine,” Bushey said. “Every deployment, we just rely on God for our energy to sustain us and continue to guide us in making decisions. We ask for wisdom and discernment all the time, (and) we really are relying on our teammates too.”

“You’re always going to start with prayer, you’re going to always start with devotions… and throughout the day you have that chance to pray for one another,” Lopshire added. “You’re working together as a team. We have God in the center of everything that we do.”

Being the hands and feet of Jesus as part of Samaritan’s Purse, Tenpenny said, only takes dedication and a heart to follow God’s lead.

“It doesn’t take superheroes to do this stuff. It takes us normal folks that are willing to serve and make (our) lives open to how God will use us through the Holy Spirit,” he said. “He imbues us with the power to do things that are far beyond our capacity. When you realize things are beyond you and your strength, you go to God and He gives you strength and a purpose. We can’t take any glory for anything we do.”

The event concluded with an open Q&A session with students, who asked about opportunities at Samaritan’s Purse, how their unpredictable DART responsibilities affect relationships back home, and how Samaritan’s Purse facilitates local discipleship for those who have heard the Gospel from a team member.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Edward Graham (@edwardbgraham)

Samaritan’s Purse representatives were available to meet with students throughout the week to speak about potential opportunities, whether it be through its Global Impact Internship or Apprenticeship programs, or a full-time position.

“Samaritan’s Purse has had a Global Impact Internship for over 10 years now, and we have had over 200 Liberty students intern with both Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in those 10 to 11 years,” said Samaritan’s Purse campus relations senior program manager Matt Cain. “We love Liberty and have had great experiences with students who have interned with Samaritan’s Purse. There is such a broad range of majors at Liberty, and Samaritan’s Purse has a broad range of opportunities through internships and full-time positions.”

Samaritan’s Purse was one of 48 organizations on campus for Global Focus Week.