05/18/2026
A total of 113 college students, collegiate ministry leaders and volunteers attended Propel, a student leadership conference, held at Trinity Southern Baptist Church in Casa Grande April 10-11.
“First-time student leaders were trained how to share the gospel through gospel appointments,” said Marc Hill, state director of Christian Challenge. “At a Gospel appointment, the Challenge student hears his peer’s story, shares his [own] gospel story, then shares God’s story and asks for a response. These new leaders were also trained on how to lead missional Challenge communities that are always open to new students and intentionally reach out to a segment of the campus.
“Students who have served before and who will continue in the fall were trained in evangelistic surveys, evangelistic tabling and a one-on-one, peer-to-peer discipleship process.”
Calvin Stepp, a freshman from Central Arizona College, attended Propel as a potential student leader.
“A few weeks after I connected with the Challenge chapter on my campus, I felt pulled to share my story and bring people to Christ,” he said. “At Propel, I learned how to share the gospel with my peers and how to lead Challenge communities.”
Kyle Villa, a Challenge missionary at ASU Polytechnic Campus, said, “The best thing Propel offers new student leaders is perspective on the larger mission of Christian Challenge. Especially for students on smaller campuses like ASU Poly, it can be easy to forget all the leaders around the state pursuing gospel work on other college campuses.”
Scott Winter, a Challenge missionary at South Mountain Community College, said, “Propel is the opportunity for students to buy in and decide if they want to be leaders with Challenge. They get to experience the power of partnership with the church. They learn how Challenge’s mission is rooted in Scripture.”
