CAMPUS LAUNCH PAD

I remember the moment my paradigm shifted. I had turned over the leadership to one of our lunch outreaches to our interns.  I told them, “find a way to make this better.”  They did. I sat and watched how students responded to them and how within a semester more students were coming than ever before.  Then it hit me: I’d been training them to do their role in my ministry and not training them to be effective ministers. The bottle neck wasn’t them and their ability; it was me and my lack of vision. If we are going to reach the world for Christ and have an impact on not just our campus, but every campus, we have to raise up men and women and give them the opportunity to be better than us.  It reminds me of the life of Barnabas in the New Testament. Barnabas was a man who never wrote a single page of the New Testament, but his fingerprints are all over it.  He was a man who humbly knelt at the cross so others could stand on his shoulders to see Jesus better. ...

This isn't rocket science, but it seems like we are always striving to build community.  How do we get these strangers to come together and love each other and get along. With the constant influx of new people its hard to build a culture of family and community. Mike Breen writes about this and uses the the Greek word "oikos" or household. Here are 5 things he says that a household does togther. PLAY TOGETHER Have fun together.  Go to the movies.  Have some hangout time. If it's all business all the time then you won't have each other's backs because it's just a "working relationship" PRAY TOGETHER When you pray together you begin to hear each other's hearts before God and it binds you closer.  Besides, it's harder to have discord with someone after you pray alongside of them and for them. EAT TOGETHER There is something about food that brings people together.  You notice that Jesus eats with his disciples alot?  Break bread...

I remember the first time I tried to share the gospel like it was yesterday.  I had recently become a follower of Jesus and I knew, almost instantly, who I was supposed to share with - someone I’ve known most of my life.  With a lump in my throat, I stuttered and stammered my way through my testimony, the gospel, and asked for a response.  That person looked at me and calmly said, “Get the [explicitive] out of here.  I don’t want your Jesus drug!”  I was a little shaken to say the least! Have you had that kind of response before? We’ve all seen people hear and respond to the gospel, but we’ve also seen many who hear and for whatever reason, choose to reject it.  Are there things we can do to create an environment in order for people to hear and receive the gospel? We’ve noticed on our campus that there are three things that we can do in order to help people come to Christ. SHARE THE RIGHT MESSAGE This is going to sound over-simplistic, but we have go...

Have you ever thought about how similar Jesus’ situation was to the average college minister?  Think about it.  Jesus walked into his ministry knowing he only had about three years with his disciples. We’ve got five, maybe.  He knew that after three years they would be separated from them and so he had to begin knowing his exit strategy and what they needed to know before he left.  Not only that, but Jesus’ disciples didn't come to him as blank slates.  Many of them had emotional, ideological, and theological baggage that had to be stripped away before Jesus could begin to build a sturdy foundation. His disciples came with strengths and passions that needed to be channeled so they could be used for the Kingdom. This is our story! This is college ministry, folks!  This is what we do!  We have a limited time, unlimited potential and immeasurable sending capacity!  I’m struck by Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17.  It’s similar to us as ...

It’s that moment when you sit with your students and look into their eyes and they are done. And I mean done. They’ve pushed through the first of the semester rush. They’ve engaged their campuses with the gospel and they are spent. Like Paul, they would say, “I’ve been poured out as a drink offering.” It’s nearing the end of the semester and they are spent emotionally, physically, and academically. Maybe, if we are honest, we are there too. The underlying question we even whisper in our souls is, “if I kick this thing into neutral is there enough to get me to the end of the semester?” Have you been there? Does this sound familiar? The semester or quarter just seems to be longer than your stamina. So on the midst of being empty and being tired, what does it look like to finish the semester well and help your students stay strong?. REJOICE IN WHAT GOD HAS DONE Chances are, God has done some great things for you, your students, and your ministry this year! The psalmist writes i...

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3-5 ESV “We’re all like a turtle on a fence post. We didn’t get here on our own.” Robert Hooker If you’ve been in college ministry for any amount of time you’ve got partners in the gospel like Paul writes. Or to put it another way for those who are from the sticks like me: If you’ve been in college ministry for long you know you’re like a turtle on a fencepost. Someone, or someones, helped you get to where you are now because you didn’t climb up there by yourself! Those people may be your staff, your adult volunteers; it may be key individuals or key donors. It may be some churches that have come alongside you for a particular ministry or an event. It might be the other campus ministries that are helping you reach your goal of making sure every student on your campus hears t...

Do you spend much time at the doctor’s office? If you haven’t, just wait till you have kids! And, if you are blessed with boys, expect to spend some time at the ER as well. Just saying… I have four kids and three of them are boys and our girl is a tomboy, so I’ve seen a lot of waiting rooms. Waiting rooms are all pretty much the same. They usually have two sections to divide the well from the sick and a variety of things to keep both parties entertained until their time comes to “move on” to the next room. Look around the room. There isn’t much emotion. Each person is biding his/her time until his/her time comes to move on. Now compare that with a launch pad for the space shuttle. The cockpit is swarming with activity. Ground zero is alive with clicking and talking. All parties are frantic to make sure every detail is secure. The ground crew is scurrying about making sure everything is filled up, topped off, and packed. There is an excitement and anticipation. This is a much ...