"Baker's Dozen of Important Items Learned in 43 Years of Collegiate Ministry" by Bruce McGowan

Bruce McGowan is retiring this month following 43 years in college ministry.  For the last several years, he has served as the leader of the Baptist Student Ministries (BSM) on 114 campuses in Texas.  Following are notes from an address he gave recently.

1.  VISION - Jesus is Lord and we proclaim Him!  Col 1:28-29  This vision determines why you are on a campus.

2.  TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN:  Discipleship and Evangelism!  A campus ministry will never see kingdom growth if the focus is on believers only.  Jesus came to "Seek and save the lost".  Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 10:35

3.  SERVANT LEADERSHIP:  Your role of leadership is not for personal gain but to empower others to serve.  John 13

4.  95%:  Target is the 95%, not the 5%.  One will never grow a group fighting over the 5%.  Lots of leaders are just not believers yet!  Luke 10:2

5.  PRAY for "Laborers for the Harvest"both in Texas and throughout North America.  Luke 10:2; John  4:35; Luke 18.  God has never failed to provide!

6.  LEADERSHIP:  We should never have to beg or coerce leaders!  If you are leading students to "hide God's word in their hearts" and listen to God in prayer, they will hear from Him when asked to serve.  Ask God often but God does the calling!  Build a culture of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit through God's word and prayer.  Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:18; Hebrews 12:4

7.  HARVEST PRINCIPLE:  Sow broadly, reap broadly, sow sparingly, reap sparingly.  Hoping for a big harvest whle planting in a tiny field is foolishness.  All things are possible with God!  The push is always outward, consistently, constant, compassionate.  Easy to adopt the cultural value that everything is about me!  The cure for complacent Christianity is involvement with lostness.  Luke 10:2

8.  SERVE CAMPUS:  The over arching philosophy on most campuses is looking after self.  Mark 10:35

9.  INCARNATIONAL MINISTRY:  John 1:13-14, We cannot push back the darkness when you expect people to come to you.  BCM Directors are not chaplains or counselors but rather Apostolic leaders intentionally engaging the lost, teaching others to do the same.  Part of MISSIONAL DNA (Alan Hirsch, "The Forgotten Ways")

10. PERSONAL SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT is your responsibility in cooperation with God's Spirit!  Philippians 2:16-17

11. THE BLAME GAME:  Blaming others for a lack of student response is a sure indicator of loss of vision and personal awareness.  If they are not responding, the problem is with you!

12. GIFTEDNESS MATTERS:  Campus Ministers must have elements of giftedness from the leadership gifts found in Ephesians 4:11-13.  A-apostle; P-prophet; E-evangelist; S-shepherd; T-teacher.  Let's keep our hearts open to those with Apostolic, Prophet, and Evangelistic gifting among students.  They often are ignored because they can be pushy! (LOL)

13. GOD'S NOT SURPRISED WITH CHANGES:  God will continue involvement on campuses of the world!  The question is will Baptists want to be a part of one of the most exciting mission opportunities presented to the church in history?  In order to stay involved we must adapt our structures to fit the mission.  I am thankful for the Cooperative Program and I believe there still is a place in Baptist life for this approach.  However, CP dollars will never match the opportunity and need in reaching the campus....it is incomprehensible why we would limit our BSM staffs to just the money going into CP.  If we do, we will continue to see shrinking staffs in mainline states.  Absolutely no reason for that to happen!  Book of Acts!

The Forgotten Ways

The Fuel and the Flame

Spiritually Healthy Leader

Mission determines structure, not structure dictating mission.