Religious organizations at Mississippi State University are using service projects and mission trips to help others on a physical and a spiritual level.
Michael Ball, Baptist Student Union director, said it is a Christian organization’s duty to give back.
“God has told us to help other people,” Ball said. “It’s a response that we have to put our faith into action.”
Anna    Comer,     BSU    church    and     community missions coordinator during fall 2011, said BSU has participated in many different service projects and volunteer works last semester.
She said the BSU volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, visited a local nursing home, sent care packages and letters to soldiers stationed overseas, collected baby supplies for the Crisis Pregnancy Center and sent small family groups on a weekend mission trip.
“The purpose of the BSU is to know Christ and make Him known to others, and what better way to show Christ’s love than to minister to people and bless them through acts of service?” Comer said.
“It is encouraging to be able to help someone less fortunate than you are and to see the joy and thankfulness on their faces,” Comer said.
Ball said the spring will see even more upcoming service projects, such as working with the Palmer Children’s Home, cleaning up at a local park, going back to the nursing home and helping with Habitat for Humanity again.  There will also be some mission trips over spring break, and the BSU will be sending a team to London in May.
Another religious student organization that stays involved with service activities is the Catholic Student Association.
William Warner, CSA service committee head, said CSA tries to do at least one or two projects per month.
Last fall, CSA volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the NeedToBreathe concert, a food drive, helping older parishioners with yard work and feeding local firemen. This semester, CSA is involved in a church cleanup event, a Valentine’s fundraiser, Relay for Life and will be hosting a school participating in Habitat for Humanity.
“It’s just us going out, serving our brothers and sisters and showing God’s love,” Warner said.  “It’s a good feeling being able to go out and make the world a better place.”
The Reformed University Fellowship is also committed to helping the community.
Brian Sorgenfrei, RUF campus minister, said usually 25 to 30 people participate in their weekly activities.
“Every week we have a group that goes out to visit with the people in Rolling Hills, and we have a Bible study in a low-income neighborhood,” he said.
RUF will also be having a mission trip to the Yakama American Indian reservation in Washington over spring break to help a church there and do outreach in the neighborhood.
“I think it’s very important for us to give back,” Sorgenfrei said.  “One day every bit of suffering will be healed, and we’re supposed to be a part of that in any way we can.”
The University Christian Student Center is also working to help others both locally and internationally.
Perry Jinkerson, UCSC director, said there are two mission trips scheduled for spring break.
“We have 10 students going to Poland and another group going to Washington, D.C. over spring break on a mission,” he said.
The UCSC also has an annual trip to Honduras in July, where they distribute food, pass out clothes, visit the hospital, build houses and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“The service projects are very important from the perspective that they’re following the pattern of Matthew 25,” Jinkerson said.  “We reach out to people and help out in any way we possibly can; that’s characteristic of what all Christians should be doing.”
The UCSC has recently become involved in Widow’s Work Day, an effort to help elderly widows in the congregation with yard work and other challenging tasks.
Reverend Carol Mead, chaplain for the Caterbury Episcopal Fellowship, said the group is heading more in the direction of service projects due to the enthusiasm of the students.
“The students really like to actually get their hands on things and working to make the world better,” she said.
The students have been working with Habitat for Humanity, mentoring younger students at a local school and contributing through donorschoose.org, a website dedicated to helping to cover the cost of projects and school supplies for teachers.
Mead said through their generosity, the students are helping her relearn what it means to be a Christian.
“A lot of us who are older get too comfortable just talking about doctrine,” she said.  “This generation is teaching us to get back to the essence of what faith is about, which is taking care of our neighbors.”
Hugh Griffith, campus pastor at the Wesley Foundation, said outreach is very important to his organization as well.
“You don’t have to convince students of the need to make a difference,” he said.  “These students are hungry for opportunities to put their faith into action.”
He said Wesley has an ongoing relationship with Ghana. Over the past four years, 30 to 40 students have served there, spending time with the children, putting on Bible studies, helping the school and building relationships.
Wesley also makes an effort to help on a more local level.  In January, a group traveled to Memphis to work on a variety of projects.
“We worked tutoring refugee students from African countries for the ACT, and we worked on an urban farm in the middle of the city working to promote local produce,” Griffith said.
There are seven groups within the organization called PODs (Practicing Outward Discipleship) that connect students with service and mission opportunities.
The Muslim Student Association is another student religious organization that makes an effort to give back.
Nash Mahmoud, MSA president, said helping others is one of the best things a person can do.
“Giving back to the community is a major concept in Islam, as God says in the Quran,” Mahmoud said.  “Based on that, each year we organize a major event to collect donations to local or national organizations.”
MSA held a fast-a-thon dinner in 2009 dedicated to collecting donations for a local orphanage in Starkville, and, in 2010, they collected donations to benefit the victims of floods in west Asia. Each year, they also host several inter-faith meetings and workshops to introduce Islam to the local community, including MSU students.
“We continue to participate in any project or mission that we believe will benefit our community and make it a better and more open place for everyone,” Mahmoud said.
For students looking to give back on a physical or spiritual level, there are a variety of religious organizations to choose from.
Heidie Lindsey, associate director of student life, said she always encourages students to get involved in organizations.
“Joining an organization is one of the best ways you can gain and practice life skills that you don’t necessarily get to do in the classroom,” Lindsey said.  “There are so many benefits from getting involved.”