By Kimberly Prather, Student Reporter
The Spring Break Campaign lottery system gives students a shot at participating in the campaign of their choice as groups begin to form in preparation for this ACU spring break tradition.
Monday the lottery process started in the Campus Center where students bought a ticket and then proceeded online to www. acusbc.org to fill out a personal information form. The process will continue until Thursday, when actual sign-ups will take place.
Mark Lewis, director of spiritual life, said the lottery started because the original sign-up process was on a first come, first serve basis until about five years ago. The process was not fair to everybody, especially to students who had other engagements or to those who had class, Lewis said. “We decided to have a controlled and organized organization that gives everybody an equal chance,” Lewis said.
The lottery now gives every student a fair chance to serve and minister with Spring Break Campaigns.
“The purpose of Spring Break Campaigns is to impact lives through studentled, short-term missions that are dedicated to Christlike service throughout the world,” said Jennifer King, senior finance major from Cleveland Ohio, and chair of Spring Break Campaigns.
The purpose of Spring Break Campaigns was made known Tuesday night at the information fair held for the Spring Break Campaigns in the Campus Center. Here, students met the leaders, got a vibe for the campaigns on a personal level and saw the type of service they will be doing, along with the cost, King said.
The Spring Break Campaigns are not cheap but it is easy to raise the money with effort, said Jeremy Webb, graduate student from Austin, and spiritual focus leader for Spring Break Campaigns.
“It takes effort, but the money is out there. People are always wiling to help other people you just have to ask,” Webb said. Lewis said there will be a committee this year offering workshops to help people learn how to raise money for the campaigns.
“We help the campaigners and the leaders learn how to write letters because people want to give to people; they don’t want to give to organizations,” Webb said.
The lottery process concludes Thursday morning, where sign-ups will take place for the campaigns. There will be a poster in the Campus Center that has a time corresponding with the chosen lottery number and the place students will meet for sign-ups.
King said the lottery process is not only making the process more equivalent, it is also helping to diversify.
“With the waiting list, people might not get their first choice. The lottery process will open people up to new places, and it also diversifies the campaigns,” King said.
It also helps students to really get to know each other and it gets people out of their comfort zones, King said.
Students have 27 different locations to choose from this year, each with a male and female leader. Each leader has been preparing for the last three weeks, going to leader meetings and preparing to lead Chapels, King said. “For the next three to four months, the leaders will be meeting with faculty and staff mentors and church leaders throughout the community to prepare them for what it is they are going to face out in the mission field,” Webb said.
Lewis said this is a way for faculty and staff members to become involved with the campaigns and to be able to offer spiritual guidance, prayer and encouragement.
Last year, more than 500 students spent their spring breaks in service. The committee members say they prays that this tradition will continue to glorify, and that many will be a part of it.
