Session 4

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 Although the examples in this session are set in a college environment, we don't have to be students to embrace the broader themes expressed here. I think you'll agree that the students in the videos can inspire people of any age.  

Over the years, I've noticed that most students need to attend two Jubilee conferences to not only understand why we in the CCO believe it is so important, but also to better grasp how they fit into God's story.  Yet as exciting as Jubilee is, it is even more crucial for them and us to be discipled. 

1) JUBILEE CONFERENCE PROMO VIDEO  2:09.  This is why we hold this conference every February.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC4Av_OYnkk

2) BECKY AND TARA'S STORIES (below)

Back in 2005, I pulled Becky McNutt's story from the CCO’s (Coalition for Christian Outreach) website http://www.ccojubilee.org   Becky worked at Penn State. 

NOTE:  Over the years, God has blessed Waynesburg University and First Pres with nearly seventy CCO campus ministers like her, who felt called by God to vocationally minister to college students. You may not know this, but Shirley and I were the first CCO staff at Waynesburg University, serving for three years as Resident Directors in Martin Hall. Later, our son, Dave and his wife,  Jen (Williams) Baily also worked for the CCO at Waynesburg in Denny Hall, before relocating to Pittsburgh to work with Carnegie Mellon students.

Of course we don’t have to work for the CCO or any other ministry organization to invest in people.  However, if we claim to be followers of Christ, He calls each of us to regularly spend time accomplishing the important Kingdom tasks He has set before us, and to do this with the people He has placed in our lives.  (Having said this, twenty Waynesburg grads have joined the CCO.  If you are a WU student, would you consider being #21?)

(FROM BECKY McNUTT) Why I love my job. 

Transforming college students to transform the world is a bold statement, but one I take seriously. I truly believe the work I’m doing is making a difference in this world.  I meet weekly with Val, a young woman who is trying to figure out the big questions of the meaning of life. College is the time when many young people like Val form their worldviews — their perspectives on life.   

College students are also, literally, the leaders of tomorrow.  About half of the world’s future leaders are in American universities right now, and I have the privilege of counseling, training, and caring for these students. I know that someday these young adults will use their transformational experiences in college to positively affect our world. 

   
I might never teach in a public school, go into other areas of ministry, or know anything about engineering, but my students will. Heather will develop the lives of hundreds of children through her years in elementary education. Ryan will shepherd families as a caring and receptive pastor. Jess will transform bio-engineering in the emerging economy of her home country of Brazil. The CCO is a ministry that multiplies servants for God’s creation, and I am so excited to do just that.

TARA'S STORY
Chuck's friends, ​Steve and Melanie Montgomery, former CCO staff at Westminster College, received this message from Tara, one of their core student leaders from Steve’s outdoor leadership program, “Titan Traverse." Tara writes that her experience in their ministry has transformed her work with kids through her church and beyond. It is a picture of “kingdom economics” – God’s desire to multiply our efforts to do great things!
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​Dear Steve, 

I just had a great talk with Melanie. The CCO vision statement is “transforming college students to transform the world,” and I can truly say that you and Melanie have done this. My years at Westminster seem so short yet so full. I was blessed with amazing friendships, great leadership and accountability.  I was pushed to take risks, to think outside of the box, and to imagine. I was encouraged to believe my life had purpose and that God had great plans for me. I learned this from you. 

As I began my youth ministry position in a church, I kept in mind all I had learned at Westminster. The College's Bible classes came in handy, as well as my education courses, but the biggest impact has come from your Titan Traverse outdoor leadership program and its ministry to me.  The idea of “living a vision, to give a vision, to change the world” has been instrumental in my ministry. 

I want to share my life with people and to share in their lives as well.  I want to encourage people to imagine, to dream. I want to make changes in our world. I want to honor and share Christ. Two years ago I brought my youth to the New Wilmington Missionary Conference with two agendas. One was to share a part of my life, Westminster, with my youth. Second, I hoped to awaken something deep inside of them, to revitalize them, to encourage them.

...Nearly seven years ago, you invested in a young college student, me. That student then invested in a bunch of high school kids. Those kids invested in their church. That church invested in the lives of the people from northeast India.  And those people from India invested in the lives of Burmese Buddhist monks. Today three countries are being touched: the United States, India and Burma. The point is that your ministry IS reaching the world and changing it. 

Thank you for investing in me and keep doing what you do best, loving Christ and loving college students! 

Peace,  

Tara (ca. 2006)

FOOTNOTE:  Steve Montgomery also discipled my son, Mike Baily, along with six of his freshman friends, throughout their four years in college.  
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FROM CHUCK.  Okay reader.  I'm sure you remember playing the game of tag as a kid. Well, Becky and Tara just “tagged” you. Now you’re "it."  God wants to use you too.  

Our approaches and roles will be different. And to remind you again, we don't have to do this alone, but in solid community with a few others.  God will multiply your collective efforts, and you will see fruit as you seek Him and His kingdom first.

REPORTING IN. 

First, a quote from Becky's story above. "I might never teach in a public school, go into other areas of ministry, or know anything about engineering, but my students will." If you are a student reading this, I want to paraphrase her quote. 

You might never teach in a public school either, or know anything about engineering, but YOU are called to make a difference somewhere.  And so are YOUR peers whom you have the opportunity to influence every day.  In addition to your own discipleship strategy, you are called to play a role in the evangelism and discipleship of your peers. The same is true for us older adults!

I'm sure we all know who Billy Graham is, but most likely you've never heard of Mordecai Ham. He's the man who led Billy Graham to Christ.  Of course, God gets the glory, but He sure gave Mordecai an incredible story, right? God wants to give you and me some great stories too.  

Here's what I want to know about you, but first I want to make sure YOU know about you.  What do you really believe?  We Christians say we "believe" a lot of good things. We may even say we have "convictions" about certain things.  But what does it mean when we don't act on what we say we believe. It means we must really believe something else. So, are your actual convictions helping or hindering you in these tasks?  

Assuming you have begun to construct your "Focus of Ministry" sheet, do you understand how you "really see" yourself,  and what you "really believe" about yourself.  More importantly what you really believe about the power of God to transform lives is going to playa big part in what happens next to those people you cared about enough to place on your sheet.  

Please pull it out now and pray for insight about your next steps for some of these people in the coming week. I'd like to be in on this conversation with you too.  Discerning the next steps is not as hard as you might think.