I spent the last two evenings on a college campus. My church had an outreach on a major university in our city. We had free food and gave raffle tickets to those who came. They got an additional raffle ticket for every guest they brought the second night.
The second night (last night) our church’s worship team provided live music, followed by a dynamic speaker who preached the Gospel in a very relevant, non-religious message that really hit home. After the message, we raffled off an iPad.
On both nights we met the students, began building relationships with them and encouraged them to get in a Bible study with our campus minister. What we were doing was very strategic and very Kingdom.
First, 95% of all people who become Christians do so by the age of 25. So, we are fishing where the fish are. My wife and I give monthly financial support to a number of campus ministers around the country. We do so because we want to get the most bang for our buck in seeing lives changed and the kingdom of God grow, which leads to point #2.
Second, nearly all of tomorrow’s leaders are on the college campus today. Whether it be leaders in business, government, the arts, media or professional athletics, most of them come through the college system. We want to reach them before their worldviews are set in stone and their hearts are too hard to receive the Gospel.
Third, the international students who are on American campuses are likely to become leaders in their own countries. Good luck trying to reach them with the Gospel once they become the king or prime minster of the country. We reach them now.
In short, we believe if we can change the campus we will change the world.
If you are a Kingdom person, a world-changer for King Jesus, consider the college campus. GS