Today I have the honor of sharing some thoughts on the Wayfarer blog. Here is the start of the post, and if interested, be sure to check out the full post at Wayfarer here
College students are the most experiential people on the planet, which reflects their own developmental stage of life. They fill the streets for political demonstrations, spark racy debates, travel from hostel to hostel, and rush the field to tear down goal posts.
In regards to the church, it should be no surprise that many of the most passionate Christians are college students. The energy they contribute to the faith community is amazing. They often cry out for revival, and they experience God’s presence and work in powerful ways as they seek Him.
This last January, there was a record crowd of over 50,000 college students packed into the Georgia Dome at the Passion Conference to lift up the name of Jesus together. Throughout this conference, various Christian leaders addressed these young adults, inspiring them to follow Jesus and change the world.
On a much smaller scale, we as youth pastors do the same thing at our churches. We cast big vision for our students, proclaiming that they will change the world in Jesus’ name. We say things like, “Your generation is going to be different.” “God is doing something in your generation.” “Revival is going to come through your generation!”
There’s nothing wrong with these declarations. We speak in these ways to our young people all the time, and we truly believe it. However, I do wonder if sometimes we are so busy praising the current students for how great they “will be” that we forget to look at the actual impact of those who have gone before them…continue to full post
Great thoughts, read the entire post at wayfarers. I think we have to start with the question of what happens after college? My personal experience is that time in college is treated almost like a missional experience, but the Church mostly treats missions as something you leave home to do, rather than doing in the community you find yourself after college. So what is it we want to see in the Church, why isn’t it happening, and what can we do to make that happen? I think its important to be specific rather than using general statements like “we want to see revival,” instead in what way do we want to see revival? What do we want to be the impetus for said revival (I believe this plays a large role in the direction the Church will shift – good or bad)? Thoughts?
Matt,
Your push to flesh out “revival” is a great one. What could it look like for these young adults to be salt and light in the workplace and families after college? These are the kinds of convos I want to have more and more! Thx for comment,
Bb