Externally Focused Campus Ministry

My son Andy, who is working in campus ministry in Asia, sent this to me regarding externally focused ministry on campus. These are the principles he and Natalie and their students are attempting to put into practice.

What is a Christian like?
What is a follower of Christ like?
Describe an ambassador, what is his job?

If there were no Christians on your campus, would anybody notice?
Would there be any difference on your campus if there was no Christian fellowship there?
If the school wanted to kick all the Christians off campus would anyone object or come to your defense?

What do these questions do? They help us to evaluate our effectiveness. Do we really want to change our campus and the world? If we really do and we are not, we are doing the wrong things. Some times good things can be wrong because they aren’t helping us accomplish our mission. We need to change the way we spend our time. What kind of things change a campus, a city, a country or the world? Or better, Who can change a campus, a city and the world? Only Jesus. The only way we can participate in these changes is to be like Him, to do the things He is doing.

13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.- Matthew 5:13-16

You are the salt of the earth.
Salt changes things. Salt is a preservative. It helps things last longer. It gives flavor and richness to make everything it touches better. Salt is essential to life and health. Salt brings healing and was an essential part of sacrifice and covenants.
Leviticus 2:13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

God uses salt to change cities and bring life back to land and revive its springs.
2 Kings 2:19-21 The men of the city said to Elisha, "Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive."
"Bring me a new bowl," he said, "and put salt in it." So they brought it to him.
Then he went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying, "This is what the LORD says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.' "

If salt loses it’s saltiness it is worthless and is thrown out. How can salt lose its saltiness? It can’t physically lose its saltiness or lose its chemical properties which make it salt, but salt is only called salty when it is compared to something that is not salty. When salt is surrounded by salt, it is no longer salty. Another interesting thing about salt is that while in moderation it has many different uses and benefits, while it necessary to life, too much salt is death. The most salty places in the world are worthless and devoid of their purpose. The Dead Sea is dead because it is too salty, no fish can live in it. Too much salt is bad for your health. Land covered with salt is useless for growing crops and is just trampled by men.

How do we be salt? Salt is valuable when it is lightly scattered upon non salt. A group of Christians that are involved in their campus and involved with their roommates with the ultimate goal of sharing this good news are salt. If the group is meeting four or five times week then they are not spending time showing their classmates what salt is like. The salt looses its saltiness. It is worthless and dead. Instead of bringing life to the campus, it brings death to those in the group.
You are the light of the world

Light changes things. Light changes darkness. Light promotes life and growth. Light changes people’s attitudes and hearts. Its effects are seen most clearly in the darkest places.
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Isaiah 58:6-12

Being light and salt involves us going to the dark and dead places. It involves proclaiming the gospel with both good news and good deeds.

Acts 13:47For this is what the Lord has commanded us: " 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.' "
If we aren’t regularly sharing, people won’t see the light and become new. There will be no change. We will be useless light, the kind that is hidden under a bowl, bed or bushel.

Luke 8:16"No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.
Hidden light is worthless. How do we show our light?

Isaiah 58:9b-10 "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. –Extend grace to the world that doesn’t deserve it. Sow the seed of the good news through a lifestyle of light-sharing the good news through words and deeds. Who is hurting on your campus? Who are the people that most people avoid? Do you know what is happening on your dorm floor? Can you go and take out each room’s trash one day a week to show them the light within you? Do your teachers know you are a believer? Do they like you? Is there a way that you can serve them? What about the guards at the gate? What are their names? Could you greet them by name every day and give them a bottle of water when it’s hot? What about the workers at the canteen or those who clean the floors and take out the trash? What do they think about you? What are their names and interests? Could you buy them an ice cream or help them with their work? It is amazing what happens when you call someone by name and say thank you.

As you walk in light as he is light, the results are self evident. People come to know the Lord and life springs up where there was no life before. And those new believers who have been changed through the light of your life begin to change the campus and world as well. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 9:2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death [a] a light has dawned.