After being spiritually inspired by their participation in student mission trips, two Andrews University students, Evan Keyes (with mic) and Seth McKelvey, have started an initiative to recruit new student missionaries and garner prayerful and financial support from Lake Union churches for 2026. [Photo by Katie Fellows]
After their mission trips as a part of Andrews University’s Student Missions in the Center for Faith Engagement (CFE), students Evan Keyes (junior, religion) and Seth McKelvey (junior, theology) 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.
Keyes 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. When asked what initially inspired him to join Student Missions, Keyes shared that a “lack of purpose” and loss of religious identity led him to eventually 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 for himself 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, who worked as a domestic student missionary at GLAA as a chaplain, 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 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 and really helps you really clarify in [your] mind your relationship with God, your relationship with people [and] your place on the Earth.”
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 service 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 can be prayer partners, churches who intercede prayerfully for a specific student missionary, mission partners, churches who commit to sending care packages, letters, videos and other forms of tangible support to a designated missionary, and launch partners who financially sponsor a student missionary’s journey.
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,’” said McKelvey. “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, they both recognized that familial support nor financial resources are 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 financial burden from missionaries, 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 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, they 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 for any church or individual who would like to support Project Launch, please visit projectlaunchau.com or email Student Missions at sm@andrews.edu.
Andrew Francis is an undergraduate senior at Andrews University studying communications, public relations, and behavioral science. He currently works in various communication positions within and outside of the Seventh-day Adventist church, predominantly as a freelance journalist.
