A tool and an encouragement for those serving Christ in Campus Outreach.
Written by guest blogger Seth Phipps. (www.sethphipps.com)
Doing anything in this world with the title “CHRISTIAN” on your forehead is tough and that will never change, as we see in Scripture. But, on the other hand, the God that you serve, is much bigger than any advisory or roadblock you will face in your ministry. Think about how many times God did the impossible in the Old Testament. There are so many stories and testimonies that account for His power and sovereignty over this world. As long as you have faith, God will be faithful through you. Listen to me carefully.
Never take down the “CHRISTIAN” sign, just move it.
It’s going to be hard for you to make an impact on the Campus your trying to reach if you come bursting through the door yelling, “I’m a Christian! I’m a Christian!” Most likely, you’d be arrested for disturbing the peace. But here is where we have to be careful. Instead of taking the sign down all together, I challenge you to move it. Yep! Keep the sign up, but move it.
What in the world do I mean by that?
Remember those times when you were young and your first dog, the best dog ever ran away? In most cases, what did you and your parents do? You put up “Lost Dog” signs around the areas where the dog most likely ran away to, correct? Now would it have been necessary to put up signs on every street corner in the city? No. Because chances are your dog didn’t go that far and your neighborhood was the only area you were focused on. But if someone around town asked about your dog, you would say, “Yeah he ran away, if you see him let me know”. The same is true with your outreach to that particular school. Your focus, your ministry, is connecting with the students and leading them to Christ. That is God’s mission for you. You only need to make the sign visible to them. They are your neighborhood. Creating relationships with staff, teachers and coaches is important because you have to gain trust, but letting them see the Christian sign too soon and at the wrong time, might hurt you in the long run. Am I saying you lie? No! If they ask you if you’re a Christian, tell them the truth. Tell them who you are and what your about.
Here’s the big question, where do I move the sign?
You don’t want to scare of the students either. I have learned that this part will come as your ministry grows and as you progress through it. Your Christian sign should be found in your actions, in the way you live when you’re around the students. In the things you say and the way you act as your creating relationships with them. In the conversations you have. In the times you spend with them apart from school. Again, don’t run around screaming the Gospel. Be strategic. Jesus was. Peter was. Paul was. Students want to be with someone who they see as socially cool, but once your gain their trust, they open up like a book.
Am I saying you hide your faith? Nope! Just be strategic in the way you present it. I challenge you to press on in your ministry and let God show His power through the Holy Spirit in you. Middle and High School students are at the most vulnerable age and you’re in control of what shapes their beliefs when you’re with them.
