HLG top in nation for Baptist mission service

Hannibal-LaGrange College students are given an opportunity to participate in mission projects at various locations in the United States, and they have recently totaled so many weeks of service that they earned an award for being number one in the nation.
This is the Courts Redford Award for Excellence, which was presented by Van Simmons, director of student missionary deployment with the North American Mission Board (NAMB). Ten awards are presented annually, and HLG received third place in the nation in 2005.
This year HLG was first among the 314 colleges and universities who sent students to work with NAMB. More than 1,100 students across the US and Canada participated in NAMB-sponsored summer mission work.
“The award is based on the number of students who spend four weeks or more at a site working with the North American Mission Board,” said Tom Hufty, vice president for collegiate affairs, who coordinates HLG’s mission efforts.
“They invest a month of their year,” Hufty added. “We had several that were in one of their strategic focus cities last year, and right now have over 20 in Baltimore, and we have others serving in Missouri and Illinois.”
HLG students are eager to help, he explained, joking “it’s like herding cats in a hailstorm - keeping up with all of the students.
“They are so active,” Hufty reported. “I am so proud of our students, because they are so active in mission work. Whenever we have an opportunity, all we have to do is put it out in front of them, and they rush to meet the challenge.”
In 2007, HLG students participated in several NAMB mission projects, including sports-related clinics, summer camps, and the Cleveland Hope project.  The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) named Cleveland, Ohio, as a strategic city in 2007. HLG students spent four weeks in May in Cleveland, participating in sports clinics, painting homes for senior adults, and other labor-intensive projects.
Hufty noted that the SBC has designated several strategic focus cities, including Cleveland, Baltimore and San Diego. “They are working in the metropolitan area in Baltimore, (doing) everything from helping local churches with outreach efforts to working with the city in doing projects like painting. ...At the end of that project they have a block party event and minister to the people.
“We are thankful and honored by the award, not only because it recognizes the mission efforts of our students, but it serves as a reminder of our calling as an institution,” Hufty continued. “The Lord has blessed HLG by bringing to us some of the greatest students in the nation who desire to make a global impact for Christ. It’s a privilege to rub shoulders with them every day. I wish everyone could experience the enthusiasm for serving others that exists in the students at HLG.” 
Dr. Woodrow Burt, HLG President, explained that, “four years ago, Hannibal-LaGrange College made a commitment to be the center for recruitment and training of students called into mission service. Over the past few years, the missions emphasis at HLG has grown and expanded to include the addition of the Carroll Missions Center; an Intercultural Missions major/minor; mission trips every school break; a three-day missions conference series designed to expose our students to mission efforts around the world, along with offering other mission opportunities throughout the school year. The Courts Redford Award is a special affirmation to our students for their participation in mission efforts all over the United States.”