Temple Baptist Church in Ruston, Louisiana, has long carried a heart for missions. So, when GenSend, Send Network’s summer missions experience for college students, launched in 2013, working with the program felt like a natural extension of who they already were.
For Casey Casady, Temple’s college pastor, GenSend wasn’t simply another summer opportunity. It aligned with what Temple was already trying to build in its student ministry.
“Disciples making disciples was some of our core DNA that we were trying to express in our collegiate ministry,” Casady said. “It was a great avenue to equip, empower, and encourage our college students.”
GenSend gave students a new way to imagine their future and discover how God could use their lives after college—potentially moving to a large city to join a church planting team or simply learning to live sent wherever God called them. Since GenSend’s earliest days, the church has consistently sent students to serve alongside Send Network church planters across North America, including 17 students this year alone.
Temple believes students need opportunities to step outside the familiarity of their own communities and experience what God is doing in other places. Through GenSend, students serve in cities they may have never otherwise considered and see God at work in ways that stretch beyond their own understanding.
A Bigger View of God’s Mission
Ruston is home to Louisiana Tech University, where many students are preparing for careers in engineering, technology, architecture, healthcare, and other STEM-related fields. While most of them will pursue careers outside vocational ministry, Temple wants them to understand that their careers are not separate from God’s mission.
Students are challenged to ask different questions about their future. Not simply, “Where can I get a job?” but “Where can God use my life, my skills, and my vocation for the gospel?”
For Mallory Blackmon, that shift began when she arrived at Temple Baptist.
“I had always known about missions, but it’s never been something that I thought was feasible,” Blackmon said. “I never knew missions in the U.S. was a thing or even a need. It wasn’t really talked about.”
That changed quickly.
Temple regularly offers vision trips that give students a glimpse of what serving in a GenSend city could look like. Blackmon participated in a fall vision trip before serving with GenSend Summer in Boston.
For Blackmon, that first summer was difficult, but it became the beginning of something much bigger. She returned to Boston again. Then again. This summer, she is serving as an assistant mobilizer.
“GenSend has completely changed my life and shaped me into who I am,” Blackmon said. “I would not have even been introduced to that if it wasn’t for Temple, so I am forever grateful for that.”
That transformation is part of what Temple Baptist has seen over time.
“It completely changes the way you think,” Blackmon said. “It’s going to affect you. It changes the way you go on mission, the way that you love people, and the way you view the church.”
A Churchwide Impact
Students leave Ruston and serve alongside Send Network church planters in cities where the need for the gospel often looks very different from what they have experienced at home. They return with a broader worldview, a deeper burden for the lost, and stories that encourage the entire church.
“It’s so encouraging for all of the generations to see the Lord moving,” Blackmon said. “You see all these young people who are just on fire for the Lord and so willing to go. That’s something that the whole church can get excited about.”
Church planting is not something the congregation supports from a distance. Students and families come to know the people and places they are praying for.
Casady remembered one GenSend student whose family joined the church mission trip to the city where she was serving. In the end, four generations of the same family were serving together.
What began as a student opportunity became a shared experience for an entire family to see God at work beyond their own community. The impact continued even after they returned home.
“When they’re sitting around at family gatherings and say their prayers, they pray for that missionary and everybody at that table knows exactly who they’re talking about,” Casady said.
Church planting becomes a family mission.
“You’re taking disciples making disciples not only at the individual level, but at the family level,” he said.
Living on Mission
The church isn’t simply sending students away for a summer. It’s helping raise up a generation that understands every follower of Christ has a role to play in God’s kingdom and encouraging students to take their next step of faith.
“Take the chance,” Blackmon said. “Lean in on the Lord and be uncomfortable. Go places. Don’t stay home. Push yourself. Do hard things.”
You don’t have to wait until after college to live on mission.
GenSend helps students grow as disciples, serve alongside Send Network church planters, and discover how God can use their lives wherever He leads them.
Learn more about GenSend Summer and apply today.
Published September 16, 2026