Why I chose college ministry....& why i'm staying

You may not have the same story, but let me tell you where I'm coming from.

---

     As a young follower of Christ, getting ready to start my freshman year of college, I had a very important decision to make. A decision that would most definitely determine how I would spend these next four years and who I would spend it with. I was at a crossroads of pursuing a deeper relationship with Christ by getting involved in a ministry and surrounding myself with believers that would hold me accountable, or remaining in the torn up life I had created for myself before I left home.

      As in incoming freshman, I was coming from a broken home. Strained and heavy from watching my own family fall apart, I was ready for a fresh start, and honestly the sound of getting out from under my dad's roof and doing life on my own for a while was refreshing.
I was heartbroken from my own failed relationship. Sparing the details, this had stolen all the enthusiasm for coming to college, and almost anything else I otherwise would usually enjoy.
     I loved Jesus, but I wasn't sure if  I wanted to pursue Him in a college ministry, knowing that I could just continue living my lukewarm Christian life I had been living for years and doing what would have been considered stereotypical "college life."
Whether you relate to me, or nothing I've said so far hits home, bear with me.
I had been very active in my home church throughout high school, and before I went off to college, my pastor kept pushing me and reminding me that I should go visit the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where I was headed to go to school. I wasn't reluctant to visit, I just didn't know if I would fit in or if I would want to make my friends there. I had all sorts of "What if's" in my head, such as…

What if they don't like me?
What if they're a bunch of perfect people who will judge me for what I've done?
What if I can't make any friends?
This is not what I found to be true at all.

     When I moved into my dorm, I took my dad, my brother, and my best friend on a tour of the campus (which is insanely huge). Tired and hot, I told them there was one last place I wanted to take them before they headed home. We walked into the BCM, and the rest is history, as they say. I say the rest was and still is God's Divine Purpose for this stage in my life. When I walked into that building, I was greeted by the friendliest faces I had ever seen on campus. I was very soon introduced to some of my best friends, future roommates, and people who began to share the love of Christ with me in the sweetest way possible. I was given opportunities to serve the college campus and the community around me, and opportunities to share the Gospel across the globe on mission trips. Through all of these attributes, God was and still is shining through this ministry and showing Himself to me in numerous ways.

   Now that you know my backstory, here are my reasons why I am staying involved in college ministry.

• I have been shown by God through college ministry that it is very important to be continuously seeking growth in your relationship with Christ.

I could have walked out of the BCM on my first day of campus and never walked back in. I could've gone on with myself and left Jesus for Sundays. But He was and still is calling you and I into a deeper relationship with Him always. Ephesians 4:15 says this: "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ."
The context of this verse is pertaining to the importance of unity and maturity in the body of Christ. Instead of living lukewarm lives void of true devotion to Christ or a desire to grow a relationship with Him, we are called to grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Whether it is college ministry or a church, or both, the Bible makes it clear in so many ways that we are called to be a part of a body of believers desiring to grow, both together and individually in our own relationships with Christ. My college ministry has put many believers in my path who are all on different levels concerning their relationship with Christ, but one thing that they all have shared with me is their desire to grow in their Faith as they seek the Lord in their daily lives as college students

• College ministry has brought to my attention how huge of a mission field a college campus really is.

It's easy as a Christian in modern-day America to create a clear distinction between being at home and being on the mission field somewhere else. For college students, we have come to school to study and get a degree, and then we'll hop on a plane to share the Gospel in a foreign country, right?
I'm not demeaning the importance of sharing the Gospel with the nations. This is a direct straight forward command from the very lips of Jesus that we should all pursue in some way or another, whether it be going yourself or funding someone to go, praying for the nations, or however else God calls you to do.
But this issue of hidden complacency is blinding us from the gold mine we are sitting on.
For example, at the University of Tennessee, the 40,000 students that grace the grounds of campus do not come from Knoxville alone, but all over the country, and all over the globe. During a time of prayer, one of my mentors gave this prayer of thanksgiving before the BCM's International Coffee and Conversation that absolutely blew my mind:
"Lord, we thank you for bringing the nations here to us at UT"
God brings people from numerous nations that don't know Christ to a majority of college campuses.
Those words from Jesus's lips I was referring to was the Great Commission in Mark 28:18-20
"Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
We can obey this command from Jesus without ever setting foot on a plane. We can do it while we are in class, while we are walking across campus, while we are living among people who are lost without Jesus.
We live among people from all nations, and we are called to share the Gospel with them.
We are called to share the Gospel with everyone, and our campuses are full of those who don't know Christ and are struggling through life in the darkness. From locals to all nations people, we are called to be a light to them if we bear the light of Christ. I can't stress this enough.
My college ministry realizes these things and has given me the opportunity to attempt to fulfill the Great Commission by participating in numerous campus and community outreach activities.

• Leadership opportunities through college ministry prepare you for serving through churches or other organizations in life after college.

The BCM has a leadership team that consist of Bible Study leaders, international coordinators, freshman coordinators, worship service teams and worship leaders, hospitality coordinators, social media coordinators, etc.
My sophomore year I was able to serve as the Freshmen coordinator, and I got the privilege to introduce many freshmen to the BCM and build long-lasting relationships with them, hoping to make them feel welcome on a campus that's so big. I planned weekly meetings called "Freshmen Connection" where they all got to come and hang out, make friends, learn about the BCM, and learn of ways to serve the Lord through the BCM as well as growing in their relationship with Him.
This year I get to serve as the Worship Leader, which will be a completely riveting and exciting, and I'm so excited to see what God does during worship this year.
I know that I have gained some very useful skills that I will be able to use when I go to serve on a more permanent basis in a church once I graduate, and I'm excited to see what is in store for the use of what I've learned.

• Personally, I've had so much fun (probably too much fun actually) being a part of a college ministry.

For me, the BCM is full of college students trying to follow Jesus. I can't think of a better group of people who I would want to try to relate to and build relationships with. From retreats to football games, from game nights to late night runs to Cookout for a milkshake, from staying up all night with friends studying for exams or pop-up worship sessions, I could never imagine doing anything else and having this much fun!
I could seriously ramble on and on about all the fun things we do as a college ministry, and the fun things my friends and I get into. All of it is just a wonderful perk that I've gotten to partake in while doing life with the BCM.
Talk about some sweet memories.

• College ministry has shown me that Jesus is better than any other lifestyle I want to live.

That hanging out with fellow believers who have fun and struggle right along with you is life-giving. That seeking out the lost and inviting them to join up with you and your friends for a Bible study just might make the difference between life in Christ and death in sin for someone, and it's totally worth getting out of your comfort zone to do.
Doing life with those who want the best for your relationship with Christ is far better than people who want only the best for you, or worse, for them.
We are called to go get those people and lead them to Jesus with love, because He is better than anything this world has to offer.
— — --
Please understand that my main point here is Jesus first and foremost. College ministry has just helped me see and serve and know Him better.
So if you're where I was two years ago before starting college and you're trying to make a decision, choose Jesus, because I promise you that He is better. Find out how to make some good friends that are believers and find ways to serve your campus and share the Gospel, and have fun doing it.
I promise you won't regret it. God just might use it to change your life.
God Bless,
-Meghan Russell, UTK '19