Alumnus urges students to make disciples wherever God has them
Riverside Calif. (Oct. 21, 2020) – Luke Womack (’11), founder of The GO Fund, encouraged California Baptist University students to use their gifts to follow God’s commandment to make disciples of all the nations. Womack spoke at the Culture and Justice Lecture Series virtual event on Oct. 15.
“God told us if we give our lives to Him—our vision and our motivation for His sake—we would find our life,” Womack said. “It’s a great paradox of the Kingdom of God that by losing our life we would find exactly what we were looking for all along.”
The GO Fund is a nonprofit organization that pays off student loans for missionaries. The number one reason people give Womack as to why they cannot go into missions is student debt.
“In [one woman’s] application, she had one line that haunted me. She said ‘student debt is the only barrier I have right now’ and when you hear someone say that is the only barrier, the only way to know if they’re telling the truth is to remove that barrier. We did and now she is overseas in the Middle East,” Womack said.
What brought Womack to the missions field was his realization that not every person has access to God.
As a child, Womack’s father would read a Bible story to him at night and it would bring him comfort. As he got older, he realized that not everyone gets to experience the joy of knowing God.
During his senior year at CBU, Womack led an International Service Project team to India. There he witnessed some people who had no idea that God existed.
“I went into a temple in India and there was this man who was bowing down to an idol, and I realized if no one brings the good news of Jesus Christ to this man, he was going to spend an eternity away from God. I wanted to offer people the same opportunity that I have,” Womack said.
“The Bible is a story of God’s glory, and He demanded his glory among the nations. The question I had to answer was ‘do I want to play a role in his great global story?’” Womack added.
Although God commands that his people make a disciple of all the nations, Womack said he understands that not every person is called to go into the missionary field. He felt called to help his peers go by taking away the barrier of debt.
“Start with God’s purpose. Find God’s purpose for you. God said to make disciples but let me be clear. I do not think every person is called to be a missionary overseas, or to start a nonprofit,” Womack said. “God does not value the missionary who goes overseas or the pastor more than the president of a college or a social worker. It’s about using your gifts to make disciples where God has put you. Be innovative with the gifts God has given you, and make disciples right where you are. As long as you live according to God’s will, he will show you where to go.”
For more information on The GO Fund, visit https://thegofund.com.
The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences hosts the lecture series. Joelle Hood, co-founder of Thriving YOUniversity, will speak at the next lecture on Jan. 28.