KANSAS CITY, Mo. (MBTS) – Friends, family, and faculty of 13 missionary teams celebrated a summer of faithfulness to the Great Commission in Midwestern Seminary’s chapel on July 5 during the 2025 Fusion Commitment Ceremony.
The teams, commissioned in April, served in 13 countries across Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and the Middle East—each location presenting unique cultural contexts and gospel opportunities.
“We are extremely proud of the men and women seated before us,” said President Jason Allen. “It is a sweet thing to see God use these students throughout the summer and to see the gospel impact that they are making on people around the world in urgent gospel need.”
Erik Odegard, director of Fusion, explained the dual purpose of the ceremony: “The first is to celebrate the significant accomplishments of our students. The second is to commission—to take the lessons that they’ve learned and to put those into practice for whatever lies ahead.”
These purposes are commemorated in unique tokens that each Fusion student receives during the ceremony. Fusion Impact teams receive the national flag of the country in which they served. Fusion and Fusion Master’s students receive a coin representing the three phases of the Fusion program: training, global missions, and the Great Commission.
Students from each program level—high school, college, and master’s—signified their commitment by reciting the Fusion Creed, a declaration that has become a hallmark of the program:
As a follower of Christ: I am called not to comfort or success but to obedience. Consequently, my life is to be defined not by what I do but by who I am.
Henceforth: I will proclaim His name without fear, follow Him without regret, and serve Him without compromise.
Thus: To obey is my objective, to suffer is expected, His glory is my reward.
Therefore: To Christ alone be all power, all honor, and all glory, that the world may know. Amen!
Following the presentations, Fusion staff offered an overview of the program’s training and deployment phases, highlighting the students’ faithfulness and obedience displayed during their time in the program.
Joe M. Allen III, assistant professor of missions, delivered the Charge to Faithfulness from Psalm 23.
Drawing from the imagery of the Good Shepherd, he encouraged students to remain spiritually alert in their season of recovery.
“God, the Lord, is our Shepherd,” Allen shared. “That means we’re sheep.”
He reminded students, friends, and family members alike to lean into being sheep under the Good Shepherd, relying on Him for preparation, sustaining, and restoration.
Allen urged students to recognize that both pride and despair can threaten faithfulness, and that true restoration comes from resting in the presence and protection of the Good Shepherd.
He concluded by pointing his listeners to Jesus: “Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we can confidently say with David, ‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’”
The ceremony concluded with the presentation of tokens to all Fusion teams, followed by a closing prayer led by Todd Chipman, associate professor of biblical studies and dean of graduate studies. For more information about Fusion or to apply to the program, please visit Fusion at Spurgeon College.