Campus Toolbox–Practical Ideas Click Below
- . . .
Dec
29
Campus Toolbox–A Different Way of Thinking
Filed Under Campus Toolbox, Compassion, Emerging Partnerships, salt and light | Leave a Comment
Many of us are wrestling with a new way of thinking. We’ve embraced in the past the fundraising maxim that “within 5 miles of every campus exist the financial resources to reach the campus with the Gospel.”
Marrty Dormish (Staff STINT–Barcelona) suggests reversing the thinking to help our college ministries think of ways to be a blessing, to extend the rule and reign of God on their campus and in their surrounding communities.
Marrty suggests that we start believing that “resources exist on every college campus to help transform, restore and heal the cities and towns in which these institutions of higher learning exist.”
If we see our ministries through a more “externally-focused” grid, we might see new ways of expanding the “passionate proclamation and compassionate demonstration” of the gospel both on the campus and in the surrounding community. For example, our campus movement could help mobilizing the campus and the resources of the campus to transform the slums nearby, to help care for those in need of social work, to build houses, to reclaim run-down property, to teach kids how to read, to help the uninsured get treatment…and on and on. Thanks Marrty.
“
Dec
18
The Campus Toolbox–Bethany Christian Services
Filed Under Campus Toolbox, Emerging Partnerships, Orphan Care, Unexpected Pregnancy | Leave a Comment
Embedded in Brenda’s research about international orphan care partnerships/potential partnerships is a reference to Bethany Christian Services. Larry Stephens and Ruth Rhea within our campus ministry leadership have been in discussions with Bethany about summer project opportunties, etc.
One outcome from this emerging partnerships applies to our day to day work on campus. As we work to be a blessing at our particular campus and to care about the things that Jesus cares about, we often stand shoulder to shoulder with students who find themselves with an unexpected pregnancy and would like info on adoption opportunities.
Bethany has offered their help.
If you’d like to connect students with Bethany, contact Larry first at Larry.Stephens@uscm.org. He’ll help you get connect with the right folks at Bethany.
Dec
17
Orphan Care Resources from Brenda N.
Filed Under Compassion, Emerging Partnerships, Orphan Care | 3 Comments
Brenda Niemeyer has compiled this list of orphan care partners/potential partners. Thanks, Brenda
Orphan Care Resources from Brenda N.
Dec
16
Dare You To Move
Filed Under Compassion | Leave a Comment
Dec
8
The work that needs to be done in many urban neighborhoods seems to be without end. It’s sometimes a question of “Where do we get started that’s going to make any difference?”
The key to working with an inner city neighborhood is to be helpful, but not to come across as patronizing. You’ll find it vital for your Campus Ministry leadership to work hand in hand with neighborhood leaders.
Plan projects with leaders whom residents look up to and you’ll change the perception of the project from a handout to a hand up. Why not invite some friends from the general campus to get their hands dirty with you?
Check out soulsurvivor.com for some inspiring stories of people who have done some great urban renewal projects. (Soul Survivor is a ministry in Great Britain.)
Source:
“101 Ways to Help People in Need” (Steve Sjogren, Janie Sjogren)
Dec
7
Hot:
The “good news good deeds” team is developing partnerships with various Christ-centered, gospel oriented humanitarian organizations. We are currently down the road with a partnership with Compassion, Int’l. (We’re also exploring other partnerships with such agencies as International Justice Mission, Not for Sale, etc as well as other internal CCC efforts like GAIN and Crossroads. We’d like to develop partnerships with secular agencies as well, like One.org.)
We’d love for each of the ten regional conferences to give lift to Compassion (or another emerging partnership) by giving them a place on the conference schedule (2-4 minute video and/or emcee announcement) and a place for their booth during their Christmas/Winter conferences. Because Compassion is ready to both deploy and fund volunteers toward this effort at each conference, we’ll be contacting project/ops directors to get approval for their booth/announcement.
We realize that a place for videos/announcements on the conference schedule is not normally given to vendors (e.g. seminaries, etc.). However, we’d like our regions to see Compassion and these other emerging partnerships not as vendors, but as partners in the current effort to weave a balance between “declaring in words and demonstrating in deeds” the life-changing story of Jesus and his Kingdom rule throughout the Campus Ministry.
We believe that giving lift to such partnerships will help us disciple our students in Christlikeness and help us build movements everywhere.
Shoulder to shoulder,
Jay Lorenzen
Chip Scivicque
PS. If you are a conference director or part of that team and have not already been contacted, pls email me at JayLLL@aol.com for more info.
Dec
7
Lessons from East Asia
Filed Under China, Church History, Holly Sheldon | Leave a Comment
Following are some brief thoughts from Holly Sheldon re: the role of “words and deeds in tandem” in “East Asian” missions history:
Missiologically – the rise of the church in China was always solidly linked to bringing words and deeds in tandem for 1) access to people & 2) durable impact.This is largely true in the rest of Asia as well.
Some of the biggest public impact our own staff have made is working as teachers, flood relief, working in orphanages, campus clean-ups, etc. The GNGD or Black-Red proportion is why during the intensity of post-1949 Mao persecution & Cultural Revolution that the Chinese church actually grew exponentially without missionaries or any fulltime workers and under most dire circumstances.
It is a choice example of a large scale launch of Missional teams!! That is actually what house churches actually have always been. God mercifully forced China to move away from the western organizational model of 18th-19th century Christianity/church in the direction of lean missional teams.
Dec
7
Leslie Newbigin on Deeds and Words
Filed Under Leslie Newbigin, salt and light, the Gospels, whole gospel | Leave a Comment
Leslie Newbigin was a career missionary in India. Upon returning to his native England, he found a different country than he had left. Pluralism and relativism had seeped into the mainstream culture and more and more people thought of Christianity as nice, but certainly not necessary. As he sought to bring the gospel back to his secularized nation this was part of his answer.
Leslie Newbigin points out that the separation experienced between evangelicalism and the so called “social gospel,” is unfortunate and must be reversed.
“If we turn to the Gospels we are bound to note the [undeniable connection] between deeds and words. A very large part of the first three Gospels is occupied with the acts of Jesus – acts of healing, exorcism, of feeding the hungry. And, while in the fourth Godpel there is a larger proportion of teaching, yet most of this teaching is explanatory of something Jesus has done…”
In the Gospels we come upon a new reality. God has shown up in our world. As He is here, he does and says things that represent a new kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. “The presence of that new reality is attested by the mighty works of the Jesus, which in turn calls for the explanation which is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom.”
Dec
7
Preaching Hell in a Tolerant Age — Tim Keller
Filed Under hell | Leave a Comment
The young man in my office was impeccably dressed and articulate. He was an Ivy League MBA, successful in the financial world, and had lived in three countries before age 30. Raised in a family with only the loosest connections to a mainline church, he had little understanding of Christianity.
I was therefore gratified to learn of his intense spiritual interest, recently piqued as he attended our church. He said he was ready to embrace the gospel. But there was a final obstacle.
“You’ve said that if we do not believe in Christ,” he said, “we are lost and condemned. I’m sorry, I just cannot buy that. I work with some fine people who are Muslim, Jewish, or agnostic. I cannot believe they are going to hell just because they don’t believe in Jesus. In fact, I cannot reconcile the very idea of hell with a loving God—even if he is holy too.”
This young man expressed what may be the main objection contemporary secular people make to the Christian message. (A close second, in my experience, is the problem of suffering and evil.) Moderns reject the idea of final judgment and hell. Thus, it’s tempting to avoid such topics in our preaching. But neglecting the unpleasant doctrines of the historic faith will bring about counter-intuitive consequences. There is an ecological balance to scriptural truth that must not be disturbed.
If an area is rid of its predatory or undesirable animals, the balance of that environment may be so upset that the desirable plants and animals are lost—through overbreeding with a limited food supply. The nasty predator that was eliminated actually kept in balance the number of other animals and plants necessary to that particular ecosystem. In the same way, if we play down “bad” or harsh doctrines within the historic Christian faith, we will find, to our shock, that we have gutted all our pleasant and comfortable beliefs, too. The loss of the doctrine of hell and judgment and the holiness of God does irreparable damage to our deepest comforts—our understanding of God’s grace and love and of our human dignity and value to him. To preach the good news, we must preach the bad.
Rest of Article Here
