Updated 2/14/12

I’m not sure what exactly you were expecting to find here… but I’m glad you made it!

Statistics tell us that college students are inundated with sexually explicit images, media items, thoughts, experiences and addictions.

I’m convinced that sexually related vices are one of the biggest stumbling blocks to college students experiencing a dynamic and fully engaged relationship with Jesus. The guilt, shame and lack of grace towards themselves becomes too deep a pit for them to believe they can ever escape.

And the worst thing…

We don’t know how to help them.

At least that’s what the vast majority of our ministries, conversations and programs tell them.

Most of us have have not done a very good job — as The Church and/or as Jesus-centered ministries and leaders — of creating safe spaces for our students to express what they’re thinking, feeling, experiencing, etc.

And if we have, most of us have not done a very good job of communicating that to students.

Three years ago, after 12+ years of ministry with college students, I helped to put on a week of spiritual emphasis designed to help students explore the links between sex, sexuality and faith. Over the past couple of years we’ve seen this week grow to be one of the most popular things on campus that we do.

We’ve brought in some great folks, with powerful stories, that God used to help begin some important conversations on our campus. We talked about things that most Christians feel like they cannot talk to anyone about (and sadly, most ministries choose to ignore)… like: pornography, masturbation, premarital sex, sexuality, LGBTs and faith, what do healthy relationships look like, how far is too far, arranged marriages, shame, guilt, grace, healing, etc., etc., etc….

We’re still trying figure out the best way to assist students during this time (and beyond)… but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the course of these powerful weeks on campus it’s this…

If you’re not talking with your students about sex… YOU NEED TO BE!

And the great folks who helped us through sharing their stories and asking some important questions were:

• Christine Colon
• Joy Eggerich
• Mike Foster
• Anne Jackson
• Michael Johnson
• Andrew Marin
• John Van Epp

I am forever grateful for these folks and the conversations they started…

I’m grateful for the work God is doing in our students lives and the healing and freedom that students are beginning to experience…

And I’m excited about how God will use the ministries of these individuals, and the ministries of folks just like them, in the future to help people in need get help and enslaved people become free!