Southern's new Master's in Global Community Development program is already opening up many doors for both students and faculty. One such opportunity was the chance to network with the ADRA president and vice president during their trip to the university on July 31 and August 1. While at Southern, ADRA leaders discussed potential partnerships benefiting both the global outreach organization and the school.

During their two-day stay on campus, the ADRA team spoke with several university deans and chairs to discusses new options for partnering around their common goal of advancing Christ’s love globally. Meetings with the School of Religion, School of Social Work, School of Business and Management, and the History and Political Studies Department were only a few of the appointments kept during a busy visit.

As an early result of these conversations, plans are being discussed for creating an ADRA-sponsored mission trip and connecting Southern graduate students with ADRA field training experts stationed in more than 100 countries around the world.

"ADRA provides development services in many of the world’s poorest places and our students are eager to work with them," said Sharon Pittman, director of the Global Community Development program.

In addition to meeting with faculty and staff privately, ADRA leaders held an open forum for both students and community members on Wednesday evening. The meeting featured an update of the nonprofit’s goals and vision, and included a question-and-answer session regarding the organization and potential career opportunities with them.

"Though their team is quite busy, ADRA took the time to prioritize a visit to Southern," Pittman said. "This gave us a chance to exchange creative vision and pray together about unique opportunities that we have to serve the Lord together."