{"id":2397,"date":"2024-04-23T14:33:54","date_gmt":"2024-04-23T19:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/collegiatedisciplemaker.com\/?p=2397"},"modified":"2024-04-23T14:33:58","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T19:33:58","slug":"bridging-the-gap-between-campus-and-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegiatedisciplemaker.com\/bridging-the-gap-between-campus-and-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging the Gap Between Campus and Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Editor\u2019s Note: This post is part four of our series on College Ministries and the Local Church examining the relationship between the two. You can read the previous posts here:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t know about you, but lately, all the news consists of hateful ranting of the differing generations. Spitefulness and anger seem to rule the day. Many people complain about the failings, lack of preparedness, and moral degradation of society, and those complaints are coming from people on every side of the political and social environments we find ourselves in. There\u2019s no doubt: our world is in desperate need of Jesus. The college campus is no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This current generation of college students is the driving force of society. Historically, student activism on college campuses<\/a> has had a significant impact on society as a whole. Most major protests leaders and social media influencers are college-aged people. College campuses are incubators for liberal ideologies and cultural change. If we want to reach the next generation and have a meaningful impact on the culture we live in, then we must support college ministries. Why would you complain about the lostness of this generation and do nothing to change that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The good news is, Missouri Baptists are<\/em> doing something to change that by partnering with college ministries on almost 30 campuses. Maybe you don\u2019t need convincing, or maybe you do: college ministry is worth supporting. It\u2019s not just worth it; it\u2019s necessary. Here are six reasons why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We must support college ministries because they are the bridge between the young adult college students and the local church. College campuses are a mission field of their own, and like we send missionaries out to foreign lands to start ministries and churches, so we must send out missionaries to college campuses. That is what a campus missionary is, someone trained to go onto a college campus to engage the culture, meet needs, share the gospel, disciple students, teach the Word of God, and get them in the doors of a local church to further the kingdom of God. College ministries are not trying to take the place of the local church; rather they support the local church by bridging the gap where the church can\u2019t always be, just like missionaries on a mission field.<\/p>\n\n\n"College ministries are not trying to take the place of the local church; rather they support the local church by bridging the gap where the church can't always be, just like missionaries on a missions field." -@christinab017_\u2026 <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n College ministries reach the nations right here in your local college campus by way of international students. Even on my little campus, we have over 30 international students from all over the world: Japan, Panam\u00e1, Dominican Republic, Scotland, Venezuela\u2026the list goes on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This year we had a student from Japan ask to receive Christ as his Savior. In the midst of that conversation, he revealed that there is very little to no religion in his country. He will return to his country a different person equipped to do what we train students to do: spread the gospel in his home country. The same is true with many of my other international students. Larger campuses having even more to influence with gospel, without having to leave the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n College ministries are safe places where students can ask questions, talk about divisive subjects, and hear scriptural truth in an environment they feel understood in. They are safe places where students can connect with others who are in the same stage of life as them. They are safe places where students can wrestle with difficult questions they may not ask or talk about in church due to fear of judgment or a perception that church is only for those who have it all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n College ministries like the one I lead desire to change this perception by being available and creating an environment where students can come as they are, share from where they are, and find teaching, prayer, and instruction that speaks to where they are. We meet them where they are, but we don\u2019t want them to stay where they are\u2014we want them to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This benefits the local church, too. When students come from this environment into local churches, they help make church a place of empathy, challenge, and growth. They serve and lead with that same willingness to meet people where they are at\u2014just like Jesus did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
College ministries are a bridge to the local church<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
College ministries reach the nations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
College students are safe places for seeking students<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n