The tagline of the University Christian Mission is “Living Out God’s Mission on Campus”, but as we enter the fourth year of the UCM we have our first crop of students beginning to turn an eye towards what comes next. Over the past few years we’ve learned to live for God at college in some exciting ways—serving the community, sharing faith on campus and reaching out to international students—but how does that carry over to life after college?
This month we spent a weekend talking about what it might look like to live out God’s mission in our careers. God spoke to students during two days of scripture, group discussion, prayer and individual brainstorming. The result was that each person came away with a few tangible ideas of how they could honor God and further His kingdom through their current or future job.
The UCM challenges students to move beyond simply attending Bible studies to actively joining God as He impacts the world around us. This can be tough and not all students accept the challenge, but those who do see their faith come alive in new ways during their college years. Discovering how to challenge students in similar ways with their work was a new experience for everybody involved.
It’s easy to think of ways to serve God by preaching or becoming a missionary. But how can a secretary, lawyer or fire fighter make a real difference for God through their work? In our discussions we talked about the negative views that we often have about work and the struggle to make a job feel like a ministry. As we looked into the character of God and the biblical narrative of God working throughout time, we began to uncover ways that we can live for God in classrooms, offices, restaurants and more.
One huge help for our weekend (and the UCM ministry in general) was the presence of a few older adults who joined us for the weekend. They were able to share some real life experiences and provide a different perspective. The time and love that they shared is a great example of mentoring and discipling for our college students.
It’s always exciting to see what God is doing on campus. And as the first few UCM students begin to graduate, it’s exciting to think about how God is going to use these students out in the world for His glory. There is so much potential for these young disciples to go out and lead in ways that will change the world in the name of Jesus!
Every Monday evening, college students from many different cities/countries and all walks of life come together to not only eat, but to help prepare the meal together. They spend this time in the kitchen laughing good naturedly. Arguing in silly voices about whose recipe is better, or how badly someone botched the “suggested” amount of a certain ingredient. They sit in Dale and Lisa’s dining room, spread out among four plastic tables; catching up on their week, course loads, relationships, families. Sharing life.
Most people tend to spend time with people like themselves and steer clear of people who don’t fit their mold. And when Christians think about sharing Jesus with someone we often imagine a certain type of person – someone fairly stable, with a decent family, who knows some of the Sunday School answers, is living a pretty good life, etc. These are the people many expect to find in college ministries.
One Sunday, Icces went with her UCM friends to a church meeting. She loved the casual atmosphere, style of music, and friendly people. The church was City Collective, Clear Creek’s downtown church plant. Icces continued attending City Collective, growing under the teaching there and her weekly Bible study with UCM students.
The UCM doubled in size this past semester, which makes it difficult to pay attention to each student during our large, weekly meetings. But Discovery Groups provide each student with a sense of belonging, allow them to take real steps towards following Jesus more closely, and also give our ministry a simple way to multiply our impact on campus.