In my post on Tuesday I asked the question: are we creating “safe havens” for our Christian students to hide away from the world in? I contended that too many of our students are showing up on campus with an untested and ill-equipped faith for the challenges that lay before them. I also suggested that we, as pastors to college students, might be uniquely positioned to help students walk faithfully through some challenging and formative years.

In my post yesterday I began to explore  how we might help students to begin to deconstruct the silos that they tend to keep their faith within. I suggested that it might be as simple as asking some timely, intentional questions that can begin to open students eyes to how their faith has relevance (and significance) in every area of their life.

Today, I’d like to explore the role that our faith plays in the lives of others… and how we help students to see (and understand) that their “personal” faith has ramifications far beyond themselves.

I don’t know that most of our students get this — or believe this.

I think many (if not most) of our students — at least at first blush — believe that faith is a very “personal” thing and that if it has an impact that it’s only on the individual.

But when we read the scriptures, we see very clearly that God never intended for people’s faith to be “private” or just for the individual. In fact, In Genesis 12 we see God’s heart for using faithful individuals in the lives of others when he creates a covenant with Abram. He states:

2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

Blessed to be a blessing.

And as the story of God progresses through the Old and New Testaments alike, we see how God uses the lives of faithful individuals to bless people, to challenge the status quo, to bring about reform and ultimately to transform the world.

Our faith is meant to shape us, change us, transform us — for sure!

But that’s not the end. In fact, it’s just the beginning.

Our faith is meant to inform who we are (and are becoming) and it’s also supposed to shape how we engage other people.

Although the world might tell you that it’s not polite (or politically correct) to share our faith with others, I believe that’s exactly what God expects of us.

Yes… expects.

Consider Jesus final words — to the disciples that he has lived life with for nearly 3 and a half years — before he ascends into heaven:

Matthew 28:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

I think the investment in, and expectation of, Jesus and his disciples over 2000 years ago are the same for us today.

And so one of our tasks — as pastors to this generation of students — must be to help them recognize this truth and then live out a faith that glorifies the Father and that Jesus can use to radically transform the world.

But I recognize this is easier said than done.

So…

How have you challenged your students in this way?

What successes have you experience?

What barriers have you had to overcome?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Please take a moment to share a story in the comment section below.