From May 8–12, the annual InTents program was planned and led by two WWU senior theology majors. InTents is an on-campus evangelism series that serves as the final project of an evangelism class taught at the university.
Public Evangelism is taught by Pedrito Maynard-Reid, professor of biblical studies and missiology. Across two school quarters, he outlines what evangelism has been and what it can be now. Students who take the class are tasked to put together their own evangelistic meetings known year to year as InTents. Everything they learn in the previous quarter helps them plan and execute the event. This year’s InTents was planned and led by Aurora Gault and Parker Leclerc, both senior theology majors.
InTents meetings explore a theme throughout the week, serving as a spiritual refresh and encouraging an action that accompanies the message. Gault and Parker chose the theme “Was. Is. Will Become” which highlighted the seven miracle stories found in the gospel of John. Gault shared that in contemplating these stories, students could learn who Jesus was on earth, who Jesus is now, and who Jesus can become in their lives.
While planning this event, Gault learned about the difference between worship and evangelism. This knowledge helped her and Leclerc shape this year’s InTents: “Our specific goal with this theme and this year's version of InTents is that we want people to see Jesus for themselves based on the miracles included in John.” Gault expressed that they wanted to see students more confident and informed when making the decision to follow Christ and to encourage them to continue intentionally fostering a strong spiritual life on campus.
”Working on InTents has been eye-opening for me,” says Gault, “it is a great opportunity to practice a specific type of public speaking and helps prepare us to plan larger scale events for the churches and communities we will enter after graduation.”
To learn more about the theology department, visit wallawalla.edu/theology.
