There are pockets in our country and definitely in Canada that have campuses that are not just indifferent but hostile to our presence among their students. This doesn't change the call to fulfill the Great Commission to these places. So, how should we proceed in carrying out the call?
1. See Prayer as the weapon that it really is.
The early believers were born-again into a community that was immediately hostile to their presence. How did they react to this? They prayed. They prayed often (Acts 1:14, 2:42). They prayed first (4:23-24). They prayed because they didn't know what to do. We we pray when we don't know what ELSE to do. The early church's prayers had power (Acts 4:25-31) because they were praying for God to do GOD-sized things. The book of Acts records significant movements of God turning many hearts to Him that were preceded by the faithful prayers of the saints.
How devoted to prayer are you for your campus?
When you face opposition, do you pray first?
What are you asking God to do on your campus that only He can do in His power?
2. Wait
What!? Yes, wait. "But you don't know how much there is to do!" Yes I do. I have 75,000 college students in my metro area. Less than 100 are born-again. The early believers were commanded to wait (Acts 1:4) and nearly the entire known world had not heard the Good News of Jesus. They were to wait on the Spirit of God to move, then they were to respond in faith. The value of waiting is something that I have learned over time in a hostile area. Most of us are familiar with making plans and then asking God to bless them. It is much more effective to wait on the Lord to move and prompt your heart and spirit to partner with Him in the work that He is doing on campus. This is where prayer is again vital. Prayers for a sensitivity to the Spirit and wisdom are common should be common for us.
What am I waiting on exactly?
A. Clarity of vision and direction given by the Spirit. If you don't know how to clearly articulate the purpose of the activity, then you are not ready.
B. Unity among believers filled with the Spirit. You many not have many believers in your ministry but seek unity among local church leaders and believers outside your context as well. You can never have to much unity.
C. Passion and Boldness by the Spirit to move forward regardless of the results. We all long for the day when we hear, "Well done good and FAITHFUL servant." It is faithfulness not effectiveness for which we strive.
Waiting builds dependence on God and not you or others.
Waiting increases sensitivity to the Spirit and wisdom/discernment.
Waiting help us achieve what Christ commands His disciples: "Behold I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16
3. Move in Faith - Going back to Matthew 10:5-42
a. Share the Gospel. The early church in Acts 4 prayed for boldness in continuing to share the Gospel in the midst of persecution. It is illegal, YES ILLEGAL, to proselytize on my campus. What we found is that about 2/3 of the students live within walking distance off campus.. So we share the gospel there. Let the most distinguishing factor of your ministry be the Gospel that we proclaim and live.
b. Highly Intentional Discipleship. Matthew 10 shows us how intentional Jesus was with the disciples. He commands them to spend the most time with those who hear and believe in the Gospel and to stay with them. Why was this not foreign to the disciples? Because this is what Jesus was doing with them. Jesus prepares them for opposition by reminding them of the opposition that He experienced. What are the chosen few that you are taking with you? Who are the ones that are close enough to you to have seen you weep in prayer for your campus? Who have seen first hand the opposition that you face?
4. Build an Army not a Crowd.
This is the culmination of the previous three. Christianity is a movement centered around the message of the Gospel, empowered by the Spirit, fueled by the prayers of the saints. It is not an event. An event indicates a starting and stopping. A movement is continuous. I love my uncle, who is a Marine. I made the mistake )albeit once) to call him a former Marine. He quick to correct me to say, "There is not such thing as a former Marine. Once a Marine, always a Marine." The enemy can scatter a crowd buty they can't stop a movement (Acts 8:4)! In September 2017, campus administrators shut down our weekly Bible study that we held on campus. It had gained to much traction by unbelieving students. The crowd gathered gained the attention of the wrong people and they squashed it. Oh, but to Go's glory, ou believers came to me and immediately began to pray with me for God to give us resolve in continuing to share the Gospel. We prayed, fasted, waited on the Lord to give clarity, unity, and boldness. Now we are connecting, sharing, inviting more students than we ever have before. More seeds of the gospel are being sown than ever and there has been more receptivity than ever. Stop focusing on drawing a crowd and start building an army.
Ben Neiser is the Collegiate Network Coordinator for the Utah/Idaho Southern Baptist Convention. Ben has served in collegiate ministry for 10 years.
Arliss Dickerson is the author of five books on college ministry available for 99 cents each in eBook format at amazon.com. FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is in paperback. He is also a part time consultant for the Collegiate Ministry Office at Lifeway Christian Resources.
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