News > North America

June 26-28, 2014 North America Staff Conference
Message by Dr. Daniel Lee (Shippensburg, PA)

“I AM SENDING YOU”

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” (John 20:21)

Pastor Abraham Kim asked me to prepare a message on campus mission with reference to Stephen Lutz’s book (College Ministry in a Post-Christian Culture) along with my own sense of problems and visions. One motivation to think about this topic is that some of us have asked whether we should continue to make college students as the main focus of our ministry. The UBF is more than 50 years old. We have many young children in our ministries who need our attention. We have many coworkers who are in retirement age, some with no financial nest egg. And it is becoming more and more difficult to reach out to college students in this post-modern society. So it is natural for us to ask what we are doing. And it’s important to note that such question is asked by those who love our ministry. The fact is that some of us have devoted our life to campus mission for 10, 20 or 30 years but with very little to show for (humanly speaking). Like men going through a mid-life crisis, we may be wondering what has happened to our life. With this in mind, I want to think about our identity with you today. What is our identity? Let us think about this using our name, University Bible Fellowship. Why the name? From the Bible, we know that names are very important. God changed Abraham’s name with a vision to bless him to be a father of all nations. Jesus changed Peter’s name to help him to be a man of rock solid faith. Our name is University Bible Fellowship. I believe that this name captures who we are. Let us think about our identity, beginning with our middle name first--Bible.

I. UNIVERITY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

We all agree that the Bible is at the core of our ministry. It is in our DNA. It’s in our bones and marrows. We believe that the word of God leads us to Jesus. It leads us to eternal life in the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (Jn 5:24).

Francis Chan, a pastor in California, said, “If Jesus had a church here (in Simi Valley), mine would be bigger.” What he meant is that Jesus’ preaching would not be very popular today. It’s his critical observation that people today want to hear something that tickles their itching ears. The pure, unadulterated gospel may sound quaint and uninteresting to them. They would rather turn to something new, something more interesting. So some preachers tend to quote a Bible verse or two and then quickly move on to something people want to hear.

As far as we can remember, our UBF ministry has strived to preach the gospel from the very beginning. We come to the Bible again and again to find answers to our personal and ministry problems. We consider 1:1 Bible study as God’s wisdom. Just as God studied with Abraham and Jesus with Nicodemus, we study the word of God personally with students. Economically, this is a very inefficient method of evangelism. But we believe that world mission begins with one person. So whenever we gather together, we study the Bible. We have worship services, weekly fellowship meetings, Bible schools and conferences where the word of God is always the main focus.

In our campus, there is a Christian group that attracts a large gathering each week. I sometimes envy them. Some of our Bible students would leave us to join them, because they can have more fun there and also because they have a better chance of meeting a girlfriend or boyfriend there. On the other hand, only a few students come to our campus fellowship meetings. So again this summer, our student leaders are seeking God’s wisdom on how to reach out to more students. We’ve discussed having games, music, dance, and café after each meeting. But we know that whatever we do, we should always let the word of God be the main focus.

We consider our Bible study ministry so precious because the word of God led each of us to Jesus and eternal life. At the beginning of each semester, I ask my students in my economics classes what their life goal is--what they hope to do after college. A majority of them would say: “to make a lot of money and be happy.” They have no idea on some of the important questions in life, such as “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” and “What will happen when I die?” Instead, their interest is on how to have fun and pleasure. Actually, I was one of these thoughtless students in college. Because of what happened in my childhood, I considered myself a victim of religion. I vowed not to get involved in religion ever. But my shepherd (Msn. Elijah Park) invited me to a summer Bible conference. I reluctantly attended the conference with a swim trunk instead of Bible. But God opened my eyes during the conference. I admitted that there’s a world I didn’t know about. The Bible studies in the UBF led me to Jesus. God even called me to be a lay missionary with a clear meaning and purpose in life. I’m sure all of you have a similar story to tell. In summary, the word of God is the word of life. Bible is our middle name. It is at the core of our identity.

Stephen Lutz also says that missional college ministry must have the Bible as the foundation. Students always look for “fun college life.” He says, “We need to stop merely entertaining…. We must always fight against our tendency to reduce the gospel to less than it is” (p. 28). We often say that Christianity is not a religion but a relationship. But Lutz says neither words are enough. “Both ‘religion’ and ‘relationship’ capture helpful aspects of what Christianity is, but neither word is strong enough to fully encapsulate what Christianity is about. Only ‘gospel’ can do that. … The gospel is about God’s free gift of grace. The gospel alone is what saves; no amount of our religious observance or relational feeling has the power to save” (p. 44). This truth came to us clearly as we studied Galatians together at this conference.

I believe that the focus of our ministry on preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ is pleasing to the Lord. However, there is one point that Steve Lutz makes, which we may need to heed. He describes a campus group known for its strong biblical, doctrinal, and teaching emphasis. Their students know the Scriptures inside and out. The problem, he says, is that they are ill-equipped to have a meaningful conversation with someone who doesn’t know or follow Christ (p. 32). This is serious. Lutz cites statistics that a majority of college students today (85%) identify themselves as non-believers. Some are downright hostile toward God. We need to understand their way of thinking and culture. We need to know their language in order to serve them more effectively. Studying the Bible with them once a week is not enough. This takes us to our last name in our identity—fellowship.

II. UNIVERITY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

The Apostle John uses the Greek word koinonia (κοινωνία) several times in his letter to describe our fellowship with God and with each other. He says, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1Jn 1:6-7). We live out the truth when practice what we learn from our Bible studies. This happens through our fellowship with God and with one another.

Several years ago, one Bible student left our ministry, saying, “This church does not have love.” I was shocked and deeply hurt. We had served him with the word of God and prayer. We also shared many meals with him. But clearly he didn’t feel our love. St. Paul said, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (1Co 13:2). Since then, our church slogan is “To love God and to love each other” based on Jesus’ command. Of course, we realize that slogan doesn’t make a difference until we practice it. Several weeks ago, our church did something unusual. At the end of our Sunday worship service, we gave everyone an envelope with $20. The only request was that we use the money for someone we don’t know well. It was an attempt to help us to think about others and find ways to love them practically. One student used it to pay for a family’s grocery bill. A missionary used it to help a victim of house fire. Of course, we know that the best way to love a person is to help him or her to come to know Christ personally.

The cross of Jesus is made of two beams. The vertical beam symbolizes our fellowship with God. The horizontal beam symbolizes our koinonia with one another. We can truly love one another when we personally know the love of God. Steve Lutz discusses this horizontal relationship extensively in his book. In the context of college mission, this means to cowork with other campus organizations and local churches for the common goal of bringing young people to Christ. We thank God for our UBF leaders who have made a great effort in recent years to connect us with other mission organizations such as NAE, ECFA and Cross Global Link. In addition, the theme of our staff conferences in recent years has been about “building up a healthy Christian community” that is based on the gospel of Jesus. We are making an effort. Still, I believe that this is an area we can pray and do more, especially at the local campus level.

III. UNIVERITY BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

Should we continue to focus on college mission? Well, this is in our name--University. Before we talk about this, let me ask you, “Would you raise your hand if you met Jesus personally while you were in college?” (Most of us!) I think this is one of the powerful reasons why we all love our ministry and want to help college students to come to know Christ. Ever since our early leaders gathered together in college campuses to study the word of God and pray, God has blessed our ministry. He raised up many disciples and sent out many missionaries to all over the world. Just as the Holy Spirit blessed the early churches in the book of Acts, God has blessed our ministries. This is a compelling reason why we should stick to our college mission.

Still, some may argue that God didn’t specifically say we should go to college campuses. Instead, Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creations (Mk 16:15). He said we should go and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28:19). So why limit ourselves to college campuses? This sounds reasonable. But I don’t believe that focusing a particular population group for evangelism is unbiblical either. After all, college students are part of the world and part of God’s creation. Just as God has blessed some ministries focused on prison inmates, entertainers or athletes, God can and has blessed the ministries focused on college students.

Steve Lutz says, “College students are the most strategic ministry people group in the world today” (pp. 15,41). Why? He identifies at least four reasons why college mission is so important.

First, college students are in their formative years. Lutz says, “The college years powerfully shape the lives of men and women, setting the trajectory of their entire lives.” During college years, they make many important decisions about their identity, beliefs, and ethics. They make decisions about what to study and who to marry. And we can help them to make right decisions by studying the world of God with them and praying for them. Each year, many freshmen students come to college with excitement and expectations about future. Soon, however, many of them are swept away by the pleasure-seeking and unbelieving culture of the campus. Without the firm foundation based God’s word, they become like tumble weeds that move around by the wind. They are like sheep without a shepherd. They need someone who can help them to meet Jesus as their Lord. They need the biblical foundation on which they can build their value system.

Second, college students are future leaders of the world. There were about 20.4 million students enrolled in colleges in 2011 according to census figures. This was only about 6.6% of the total U.S. population. “But because these people grow to be leaders in every sphere, the impact they have on the world far exceeds their numbers” (p. 41).

Third, college is a strategic mission field because it is “a place devoted to the exchange of ideas and figuring out what to believe” (p. 42). Lutz says that if St. Paul were here today, he would make the college campus as his main mission field. College campuses are also Satan’s playground. It is the cradle of many liberal ideas. We need to keep the lamp of God burning in college campuses.

Fourth, “The college campus is also significant from a global missions perspective.” Many international students from all over the world come to the U.S. (about 820,000 students in 2012) to get their education (and many to Canada as well). Students from nearly every nation of the world are among us for a few crucial years. We can reach out to the whole world by helping them to come to know Christ while they are here. We can even reach out to the Muslim world by studying the word of God with students who come to study here.

Some time ago, one of our coworkers asked me why we always see every Bible student as a potential disciple. The implication is that we could simply help students to be an ordinary Christian, especially when they resist the idea of being trained as a spiritual leader. It’s true that not everyone can be a leader. But Lutz says every Christian should be a disciple of Jesus. Not only that, every disciple should be a disciple-maker. In his high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, “Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world” (Jn 17:18, NLT). Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (Jn 20:21). Lutz mentions several times missio Dei, the mission of God. God sent Jesus as a missionary. He did this because of his love for sinners like us. He saved us from our sin and death by letting his one and only Son die for us. He recreated us in Christ “to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10). And we believe the good works include raising college students to be spiritual leaders for God’s mission for our nation and beyond. The Risen Christ knew that his disciples were fearful. They couldn’t even take care of themselves. Still, he said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” I pray that God may help us to know the broken shepherd’s heart of our Lord Jesus. May we hear personally his voice telling us, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you”!

Indeed, throughout history God has blessed many peoples and nations through campus evangelism. In the 1700s, a group of young men gathered together to study the Bible and to pray on the campus of Oxford University in England. Among them were George Whitefield and John Wesley. God used them greatly to expand his kingdom in Europe and America. In August 1806, five students from Williams College in Massachusetts including Samuel J. Mills, Jr. got together to pray for a spiritual revival of their campus. A sudden thunderstorm forced them to take shelter in a haystack. This “Haystack Prayer Meeting” inspired many missionary movements. Historians believe that it was a beginning of the Second Great Awakening. It also led to the “Student Volunteer Movement” (SVM) that sent out 20,000 college students as missionaries with the vision, “the evangelization of the world in this generation.” Our Mother Barry said she signed a missionary pledge through the SVM. These are only a few examples of how God has used college ministries to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. In our generation, God is working through the UBF Bible study ministries to change the world, one person at a time. There is great work of God going on in places like El Camino, UIC, Lincoln Park, and many other small campuses.

Of course, the reality is that it’s becoming more and more difficult to do campus evangelism in our post-Christian society. Many students are suspicious and skeptical toward Christianity (M3). Some are antagonistic (M4). Others are apathetic (M2). They couldn’t care less. They would say things like, “The Bible cannot be trusted,” “God would never allow suffering,” and “Christians are intolerant bigots.” Even some Bible students may say, “But, I’m only in college,” meaning they should have some fun rather than make a full commitment to the mission of God. In this situation, we may be tempted to find another direction than focusing on discipleship ministry in college campuses, such as some service-oriented evangelism. Being a good person, doing acts of service, or being socially conscious is admirable. But this is not the essence of the gospel work. Lutz says, “If I gave blood, recycle, feed the homeless, and collect money for disaster relief, people will assume I’m a good person. That’s not the gospel” (p. 79). We should do these things, but all in the context of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We cannot change even one student with our own ability. But the gospel we preach is “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Ro 1:16). As long as we share the pure gospel with students, God will use us to expand his kingdom among young people.

What makes campus mission difficult is that it takes a long time to raise a disciple of Jesus. Most college students do not expect to be longer than 4 years on campus. They want to move on. This makes small town ministries especially difficult. What I personally learned early on is that we should help students with the gospel of Jesus whether they stay in the ministry or not. If they move on to another city, we are sorry to see them go, but the word of God planted in them will stay with them. We need a long term approach. Lutz says, “Campus ministry can’t be concerned only with programs, events or activities that are happening next week. We must focus on the spiritual formation of students for the missio Dei, a lifetime of following Jesus and joining him in his mission, making our goal to make disciples for the mission of God. After all, wasn’t that Jesus’s primary goal?” (p. 104)

About 10 years ago, a freshman named Nate Turnock began to study the word of God with us. After graduating from Shippensburg, he went back home to Philadelphia. There, under the loving care of Dr. Moses Noah, he has been growing in faith continually. Recently God blessed him to make a decision to establish a house church with a woman of faith from Chicago UBF. We thank God and pray that they may be a source of blessing to many young people of our time.

In conclusion, God has used our Bible study ministry to raise up disciples of Jesus from among college students. Thank God for blessing the sacrifices and prayers of our precious coworkers. We have many challenges ahead. But we believe that God will continue to bless our campus ministries as we take care of young students with God’s words and prayers, out of our love for Jesus. May God help us to hear Jesus when he says to us, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you”!