When I first came aboard as state Director of Collegiate Ministry for the Missouri Baptist Convention last year, I addressed our Campus Missionaries at our annual training meeting in July of 2024. I challenged us to live out in our ministries the call of 1 Corinthians 2:2:
“For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
As we get into the full swing of things this spring semester I want to revisit this challenge. Living out this verse for ourselves and our campus ministries involve us centering our life and ministry on Jesus and His redemptive work on the cross. Fundamental, I know, but a necessary reminder. Here are six ways you can live out this call in your college ministry this semester.
Focus on Jesus
Make Jesus the focus of your ministry. Assist your students in cultivating a deep relationship with Jesus through prayer, worship, and studying His Word. Let the ministry be defined by its relationship with Him, not by its achievements or material assets or any other worldly value.
Center on the Gospel
Center your message, in word and deed, on the Gospel. Relentlessly share the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Proclaim the cross boldly. Don’t shy away from the simple, life-transforming truth of the gospel, even when it seems foolish to the world or redundant to those who have heard it. We’re simple creatures. We forget easily. We need constant reminders of the truths and promises of God. Resist the pressure to focus on secondary issues or worldly wisdom. Remember that the Apostle Paul emphasized reliance on the power of the cross rather than human eloquence or knowledge.
Embody Humility and Dependence
As a leader, embody humility and dependence on God. Like Paul, live in dependence on the Holy Spirit rather than your own strength or intellect. Remind your students frequently that salvation and transformation come from God, not from human effort.
Live a Crucified Life
Live a crucified life. Raise the bar and keep it high by calling you students to follow Jesus’ example of self-denial and sacrificial love. Teach and admonish them, if necessary, to put aside personal ambitions in order to live for His glory. Let the cross shape how your ministry serves, forgives, and loves others, even at personal cost.
Glorify Christ Alone
Point others to Christ alone. Seek to glorify Him. Ensure, to the best of your ability, that the words and actions of the ministry direct attention to Christ rather than anything or anyone else. And be relentless (here’s that word again) in equipping your students to know and follow Jesus as the center of their faith and lives.
Rest in Christ’s Work
Lastly, find confidence in Christ’s sufficiency. Rest in His Work. Trust that what Jesus accomplished on the cross is enough—it is.