Namaskara

That is the word for hello in Kannada. This past January I (Lance) was able to go on a 2 week trip to South India. It was truly the trip of a lifetime. I had never been to South Asia before and so I went with eager anticipation and an open heart. I was asked to look for opportunities to reach college students with the Good News. So after 35 hours of travel and 3 plane flights we arrived in our host city, a city that boasts nearly 10 million people.  That part of the world is a crazy mix of technology and poverty. People live in very poor housing, throw their trash on the street, urinate on the side of the highway in full view, and yet they carry $250 cell phones and text like crazy. One night we were worshipping in a house church, in a small house that would have been a slum area in the US, and as we were gathered around in a circle everyone pulled out their camera phones and took pictures of the group.

That being said South Asia is the most densely unreached place in the world. You thought it was Far East Asia, and it used to be but not anymore. Check out this video to see how the world looks today and how it is changing. We have all the stereotypes about the Indian culture in general (NBC show Outsourced), but the truth is there is a very friendly culture of people, 1.4 billion in India alone, that need to hear of the hope of Christ.  My responsibility upon traveling over there was to see if there were ways to reach College Students. We found several places that we could connect with them and share.

I was also able to work with those who were Christians over there and challenge them in their faith. It was interesting, I was expecting to answer questions in a chronological bible storying form and when we got there and began teaching I opened up the session for questions. About the third question in I was asked to explain the Trinity and explain why it is not in the Bible. From that point on I knew that I was going to really be working with some students who had studied the word.

In one of the sessions, a student raised his hand and said what do I do if I don’t want to tell people about Jesus. You see in that country you are born into a family and if you are Hindu, Muslim, or Christian it is what your family is and that is what you are supposed to be all of your life. It is ok to practice your faith over there but it is not ok to try to tell someone and hope they change faiths. This young man living in that culture was asking me if he had to tell about his faith to others. I shared with him that we cannot be ashamed of the work God has done in our lives and how if He has truly transformed our hearts that we will long to make Him known no matter the cost. Then I began to think about us (you and me) living in the west. There are days that sharing my faith is honestly a hard thing. It is simply easier to say: I did not have time, I am sure they have heard the good news, or I will tell them next time, than to be as I called this young man to be. No one will take our life because we tell others and that is a possibility for him. This has called me to be more vigilant about my faith and I pray that his story will make you do the same.

The Lord has put a passion in my heart to help reach this group of people. We will be opening opportunities for groups to go in the coming months. If you have a heart for South Asia and are looking for opportunities please contact me and let’s chat. If you are open to hearing about a place where very little work is being done to reach college students, feel free to contact me as well.

Why is multi-generational connection vital to students lives?

by James Myers

Words cannot describe the relief I found about a year and a half ago when I read Ed Stetzer's Lost and Found, and saw for the first time, the documented recognition of cross-generational relationships as a core value in the lives of young adults (see chapter 7).

Honestly, at the time as a 26-year-old college pastor I thought I was the only one.  Because of the fact that I grew up in a small town, eating breakfast in diners, interacting with older men trading stories had somehow set me apart from other (normal) young adults.

Upon learning that this desire to be mentored also existed in the lives of my students I created a monthly program where we would "grill" church leaders following the Sunday service over a free lunch.  Before you pull out your budget, let me just tell you that it was a flop.  My core students came out of loyalty not a desire to listen to older, more mature believers share their life experiences.

After pulling the plug within 4 months of kicking the program off, I realized where I had gone wrong.  Yes the desire to connect cross-generationally was true of them also, but they weren't looking for impersonal interviews.  They were looking for life-on-life mentoring.  This cannot be planned or programmed, which is why "big brother" programs often fizzle out as well.

What does work however, is when a mature older believer reaches out to a young adult with no agenda, no 13-week  program, and no mandatory book to read and says "Hey, can I take you to breakfast or lunch?"  You may find that it doesn't even feel like mentoring at all.  It might be awkward to even call it mentoring.  The word mentoring is never even mentioned in the Bible, but don't let this alarm you either.  Its principles are found throughout Scriptures.

Paul calls out older believer's and gives them the following marching orders:

Train the young women to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviles.  Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

In a continuation with the blog posted on Tuesday, Ministry Best Practices provides another article relating to visitors to your ministry.  These suggestions are simple but easy for us to forget.  Obviously you want implement gospel presentations throughout each of these suggestions.  This post originally appeared on February 8, 2011.

How do you turn guests from their initial first impressions into lasting connections?   It is important that you keep your eye on these four things your guest is going to need from you - and you are going to need systems in place that will help you accomplish these things.

• Push guests toward regular attendance 
• Make sure they develop deep friendships within the congregation
• Get them in a small group
• Find a volunteer opportunity where they can plug in

Lance came across this article and passed it on to me for our blog.  It gives good pointers on how to show your volunteers that what they do is appreciated by their collegiate leader.  The article was originally posted on Ministery Best Practices on February 9, 2011.

Your volunteers are precious.  They give generously of their time and energy.  They are the backbone of the church and it's mission. Therefore it's important to show your love and appreciation toward those who serve. Here are four practical, yet simple ways to do that:

Visit them: Go to them in their ministry area on Sunday morning or visit them during the time when they are serving, and genuinely thank them for serving.

Call them: Call your volunteers periodically, not to ask them for something, but rather to see how they are doing and to pray for them.  Build relationship with them.

Pray for them: Pray for them and with them. Don't just say you'll pray - do it right then.

Ask them: Ask them what do they need from you to succeed.  Find out from them how to better improve their ministry area - they are in the trenches - your volunteers often know best how things work.