"For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, CSB) Recently when a number of college students were asked to share the gospel, they struggled to do so. These students are leaders of ministries, grounded in their faith, involved in church, and they love Jesus. Their inability to share the story of Jesus clearly and succinctly was astonishing. Some of the students shared about who Jesus was in their lives. Others talked about … [Read more...]
Your Obedience Matters
I don’t love being stretched beyond where I’m comfortable. It’s painful and often hard, but also can be incredibly rewarding. As I was getting ready to teach at a conference last week, I ran across the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch out of Acts 8. It’s a powerful story of obedience. Philip was obedient to follow the instruction of the angel of the Lord to go to the desert, not knowing why he was being sent. The Ethiopian man in this story was of a high class and served in the court of the Queen. He was riding in his … [Read more...]
Try the 21-Day Experiment
Disciples of Jesus know they’re commanded to share their faith. Countless resources exist for evangelism—including tracts of all shapes and sizes. I like some of them and find them to be beneficial in certain circumstances; but they’re not my favorite way to share the gospel. Here are just a couple of reasons why: One, it is difficult to summarize the cost of following Jesus and what responding to the gospel entails in a small booklet. Two, we live in a culture that increasingly does not possess a biblical worldview. Therefore, … [Read more...]
Friday Links
Here are some articles, blogs, and podcasts from this past week that you may find helpful as you work with young adults in your church and community. “Money Doesn’t Have to Be So Stressful” by Ron Blue and Karen Guess Blue and Guess acknowledge that they see many young adults are stressed about money issues. However, they are advocating for young adults to be contentment generation with lives built upon Hebrews 13:5. “If God Loves Me, Why Am I Still Waiting” by Ann Swindell Many young adults “waiting” on something,—whether … [Read more...]
Prayer is to Preaching as Preparing the Soil is to Planting the Seed
My wife and I recently just moved from the great nation of Texas all the way to Ankeny, Iowa to join a church planting network whose aim is to plant next generation churches on every major college campus in the Midwest. Everyday at 10:02 a.m. across the whole network, we stop and pray for God to send out laborers into the harvest. In Luke 10:2 (hence the reason we pray at 10:02), Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his … [Read more...]
Embrace the Urgency
There are some things that call for an urgent response. When the water pipe bursts in your kitchen and water is spewing all over the place, the best response is an urgent dash to shut the water off. If you happen upon a vehicle accident with injuries, the best response is an urgent phone call to 911. When I read the book of Acts and observe the early church’s response to Jesus’ promise that He is coming back, there's an urgency among the followers of Christ. They're intent on making sure others know the message and hope of the … [Read more...]
Making Disciples Who Make Disciples: the University of Oklahoma BCM story
This past week, I was at the Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus, Ohio. All of us here at Lifeway Young Adults are proud of the partnership we have with collegiate ministries all over North America through local churches and campus-based ministries. One highlight of the convention was a video that focused on the importance of making disciples among college students. A hero among many in the collegiate ministry world is Max Barnett, who started at University of Oklahoma Baptist Student Union with a vision of making disciples. The … [Read more...]
It’s official. Spring Break is here!
It's March. For our Threads team, that means one thing—Beach Reach is in full swing! Beach Reach is a collegiate mission trip experience from March 7-20 where servant evangelism takes the form of free van rides and pancakes. Thousands visit Panama City during spring break and many are hurting and searching for meaning. College students provide simple acts of service that open the door to life-changing conversations about the hope and love of Jesus Christ. So, how can you be a part? We're glad you asked. 1. Pray. Thousands of … [Read more...]
3 Easy Ways to Share the Gospel
If you're anything like me, witnessing comes super-easily. It seems I can winsomely turn every conversation I have back to the foundations of the gospel, have people laughing, nodding their head in agreement, crying, and saying, "Amen!" within just a few minutes. I quote a verse, and people cry out, "Please, more truth, Ben!" I sing a hymn while walking down the sidewalk, and people never look at me like I'm a freak … Nay, they begin singing along, raising their hands in worship. I just have to encourage them not to close their eyes … [Read more...]
3 Things to Remember When Sharing the Gospel
I’ve been in reflection mode after spending parts of the past three weeks in Panama City Beach, Fla. helping with Beach Reach 2014 (check out the Facebook page HERE). If you're not familiar with Beach Reach, here's a quick run down of what happens. College students from campus ministries and churches all over the country come to Panama City Beach (one of the hot spot destinations for college spring breakers) to provide free van rides, serve lots of pancakes every day, and genuinely share with the thousands of spring breakers that … [Read more...]