WAU Launches Gideon 300 Initiative, Igniting Missionary Revival Inspired by Historic Photo

TAKOMA PARK, Md. — A recent discovery at Washington Adventist University (WAU) has rekindled a longstanding commitment to student missionary service. Benin Lee, president of the WAU Alumni Association, recently shared an old photograph he found in Weis Library with University Chaplain Dr. Jiwan S. Moon. The photograph depicts former WAU student missionaries Susan Carlson, Dorothy Gates Davis, Tom Ipes, Dan Roberts, and John Watkins, who served in Africa, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, and Jamaica, respectively.

“This discovery is timely and significant,” said Lee. “It reminds us of WAU’s pioneering spirit as the first Adventist university to send students as missionaries, coining the term ‘Student Missionary.’” The photo, according to Moon, symbolizes WAU’s legacy and prophetic mission, which originated when the university was known as Washington Foreign Mission Seminary (1907–1914) and Washington Missionary College (1914–1961). For over 50 years, WAU held the title of “missionary college,” inspiring other institutions to follow suit.

On October 30, WAU celebrated a historic moment as 36 students took the Gideon 300 Missionary Pledge during convocation, dedicating themselves to a life of mission and service. Junior Aguilar, president of the WAU Student Association and a member of Gideon 300, stated, “This convocation service was a historic and special one. I was amazed to see so many students walk onto the stage as part of the Gideon 300 Student Missionary Movement. There were so many that they could hardly fit on the stage.”

The Gideon 300 initiative, comprising Campus Ministries student leaders mentored by university leaders, aims to prepare students as future missionaries for Christ. “It was thrilling to witness these students eager to be ‘trained’ as WAU Campus Ministries Student Leaders,” Moon shared. “We hope that someday soon, many of them will be deployed as WAU Student Missionaries, serving the world as ambassadors and missionaries for Christ on campus, in the church, and in the community.”

The WAU Gideon 300 vision is “to inspire students to become followers of Jesus and empower them to share Christ’s love and the everlasting gospel on campus, in the church, and in the community.” This vision is clearly reflected in the Gideon 300 mission, which is “to transform students into ambassadors and missionaries for Christ and His love in colleges, churches, communities, and the world at large.” Dr. Ralph Johnson, WAU’s Vice President of Student Life, praised the initiative: “The Gideon 300 is a powerful concept. Once fully implemented, it will help transform spirituality on our campus and prepare our students for a lifetime of ministry locally and abroad.”

Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, President of Free Bible Ministry, imparted a powerful charge during the event, urging the Gideon 300 students to lead with unwavering faith. “Dr. Gallagher not only instructed us to continue with this movement but also blessed it,” Aguilar noted. “I have no doubt that this movement will revolutionize the campus of Washington Adventist University.”

Chaplain Moon further explains the Gideon 300 Student Missionary Movement: “The Samaritan woman who met Jesus at Jacob’s Well was thirsty for meaning in her life and wished for her thirst to be quenched by earthly water. Then, she met Jesus, who offered her ‘the living water.’ This Samaritan woman, with a complicated past involving five husbands and a questionable reputation, was transformed from a ‘mission field’ into a ‘missionary,’ becoming the first missionary to the Samaritans.” He continued, “This is the kind of transformation we want to see in the Gideon 300. This is why we chose the following quote by Ellen G. White as the foundational quote for the Gideon 300, a Holy Spirit-laid grassroots missionary movement.” In The Desire of Ages, this transformation is described: “This woman represents the working of a practical faith in Christ. Every true disciple is born into the kingdom of God as a missionary. He who drinks of the living water becomes a fountain of life. The receiver becomes a giver. The grace of Christ in the soul is like a spring in the desert, welling up to refresh all and making those who are ready to perish eager to drink of the water of life” (White, 1898, p. 195).

The revival of WAU’s student missionary program aligns with the university’s motto for the year, “Chosen and appointed for such a time as this.” Reflecting on today’s global needs, Moon added, “We need more modern-day Daniels, Josephs, Esthers, and Gideon and his 300. The Gideon 300 will not only transform the WAU campus but will also ‘turn the world upside down’ for Christ and His soon-to-be-established heavenly kingdom.”

Over the next decade, WAU’s goal, is to inspire, educate, equip, and empower over 300 Gideon 300 missionaries, firmly establishing WAU as the Adventist student missionary university. He extended an invitation, saying, “Do you know any mission-minded high school students preparing to graduate? Trust me, if you send them, we will ‘train’ them to be Christ’s missionaries, empowered to complete the gospel work with the Latter Rain.”

WAU asks for continued prayers and support as WAU’s Gideon 300 strive to reignite the flame of the WAU Student Missionary Movement.

“This is WAU, the Gateway to Service. This is my WAU, the Gateway for Mission, where every student is a missionary for Christ,” Moon stated.

For more information on the Gideon 300 Student Missionary Movement, contact the University Chaplain’s Office at +1 (301) 891-4180 or via email at jmoon@wau.edu.