After their mission trips as a part of Andrews University’s Student Missions in the Center for Faith Engagement (CFE), students Evan Keyes and Seth McKelvey returned to campus inspired. The duo, with the support of CFE and University Chaplain Jonathan Fetrick, has created Project Launch, an initiative that seeks to help finance upcoming student mission trips and encourage more people to contribute in spiritually fulfilling ways to charitable work and the spread of the gospel both domestically and internationally. With support from Andrews leaders and budding partnerships with the Lake Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and their churches, Keyes and McKelvey seek to change the world in 2026 and beyond.
Project Launch was formally announced to the Andrews University community on Nov. 15 at Pioneer Memorial Church, where McKelvey preached for both the morning and mid-day services during a Student Missions-themed Sabbath. Project Launch’s main goal is to get 26 churches to partner with 26 student missionaries during 2026. These partnerships are split up into prayer partners, mission partners and launch partners.
Keyes, a junior religion major, shared that his mission trip as a teacher on the island of Pohnpei in Micronesia was an opportunity for him to benefit spiritually, in addition to offering his own services and care. He shared that a “lack of purpose” and loss of religious identity initially inspired him to pursue going on a mission trip. “After starting college, I had less of a spiritual structure around me, and I was feeling that a lot,” said Keyes.
Leaving the stricter arrangements of daily chapel programs at Great Lakes Adventist Academy (GLAA), where he attended high school, left him looking to reaffirm his faith at Andrews. “I found that [being a student missionary] carried a lot of purpose, and it really changed my life, because even though I was the same person, I found that God was still using me, and I was identifying myself publicly with Him in a new way.”
McKelvey, a theology major who worked as a chaplain at GLAA, shared that he had been interested in being a student missionary for years and was excited to get the opportunity to do so after arriving at Andrews. “The beauty of student missions is that it helps you understand that there’s more to your four years in college than yourself,” he said. “When you take that pause, and you take that break, it really helps you really clarify in [your] mind your relationship with God, your relationship with people [and] your place on the Earth.”
During his sermon, McKelvey asserted that “we are in the final moments of Earth’s history,” making it the most critical time for God’s people to do effective ministry widely. “God is calling His team, His church, His people to get in the ‘game,’” he said. “In the final days of Earth’s history, God has a mission for His remnant church.”
Both Keyes and McKelvey expressed that they were fortunate to have full support from their respective families when they decided to join Student Missions. Keyes’ grandmother, in particular, was “thrilled” with his decision, having also served as a missionary in the Eastern Hemisphere. However, both students recognized that neither familial support nor financial resources is guaranteed for every student who desires to serve as a missionary. With it costing approximately $3,500 per student mission trip, according to McKelvey, Project Launch and its Launch Fund hope to offset most, if not all, of the costs for their 26 missionaries. By removing the financial burden, McKelvey and Keyes hope more students become interested in joining Student Missions.
Having received the support of the Lake Union executive committee, Keyes and McKelvey plan to continue to make special presentations and appeals to churches and academies across the Lake Union in order to continue accruing support for Project Launch. McKelvey shared that over 28 Andrews students have already shared their interest in being a student missionary, doubling the total of missionaries sent out by Student Missions the previous year. Dozens of high school students have also expressed interest in learning more about Student Missions or committing to become a student missionary in the next few years, helping to not only further the efforts of Project Launch, but also serving as a way to recruit students interested in the mission of world changing to enroll at Andrews.
Both Keyes and McKelvey hope that their initiative works to increase awareness of Student Missions and improve its effectiveness in gathering resources and recruiting new student missionaries. For Lake Union churches, Keyes and McKelvey believe that supporting Project Launch will benefit their congregations directly. “When you invest in Student Missions, it is actually investing in the future of Adventism here in the Lake Union Conference,” McKelvey said. Keyes added, “Student Missions produces people who are engaged, who want to be a part of our church, and that’s really something that we see even in the few years that we’ve been here, is the student missionaries that come back are active on this campus, and they’ll be active in the church going forward.”
Any current or incoming Andrews student who is interested in becoming a student missionary and any church or individual who would like to support Project Launch can visit projectlaunchau.com or email Student Missions at sm@andrews.edu.
The original version of this article was first published in the Lake Union Herald.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.