College Missions Philosophy
Our Understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
In love, God sent His Son Jesus to set mankind free from the present and future affects of sin--doing what men and women could never do for themselves. It is the good news that by grace, God has made a way for mankind to enjoy a relationship with Him. Through faith, the penalty of man’s sin can be applied to the death of Jesus on the Cross--resulting in complete forgiveness and new spiritual life as a child of God.
Our Motivation—Locally and Globally:
We do this to gather worshipers for God—and to rescue the perishing; those who do not know that without faith in Jesus, they are condemned by their sin. Therefore, we proclaim the gospel for God’s glory and for their good. We also proclaim the gospel in response to the joy of our own rebirth.
Our Biblical Mandate:
We proclaim the gospel in response to the command of Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20; that we must make disciples of all nations.
Our Understanding of Missions:
Christ-followers live "on mission" at all times; constantly aware of
opportunities to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. On occasion, it is
important to journey to other areas-beyond our Jerusalem, Judea, and
Samaria. Not everyone is called to live overseas in long-term
cross-cultural proclamation of the gospel. Therefore, all
Christ-followers must discover their calling for participating in
missions-whether it is a daily part of their life expressed through
their family and vocation-or whether it is to be their actual vocation
as an official missionary. We validate those who are called to long-term
missions. And we validate those who are called to local relational
evangelism-with frequent involvement in long-term missions; both in
financial contribution and participation in short-term projects.
Locally, we proclaim the gospel of Jesus with friends and strangers and
enemies...the Biblical equivalent of our "neighbors". This is a practice
known as relational evangelism. Relational evangelism seeks to
communicate the need for the gospel of Jesus while communicating the
substance of the gospel of Jesus. All of this is done in a caring,
relational manner. The emphasis is on conversations with individuals,
rather than coldly presenting memorized gospel bullet points. Globally,
we organize and lead several trips each year for college students to
participate in short-term mission projects in Texas, around the country,
and throughout the world. This is done partially for the salvation of
people in other countries, and partially for the development of the
college students who participate.
Our Commitment to Long-Term Missions:
• We lead college students to give financially to long-term mission work.
• We challenge students to evaluate if God is calling them to long-term mission work.
• We lead short-term projects that partner with long-term missionaries.
Our Basis for Creating Short-Term Projects:
We lead short term mission projects because they:
• Invite students to leave the comfort of their own culture—causing them to depend on the Holy Spirit.
• Challenge students to communicate the gospel.
• Reveal God’s love to have a global agenda.
• Afford students the opportunity to see God provide the funds to go on the trip.
• Result in visible fruit that encourages students in their relational evangelism back home.
• Form a link between students and the priority of international missions—leading to future involvement.
Our Criteria for Selecting Short-Term Projects:
• Confirmed through prayer.
• Opportunity for students to openly share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• The trip goals can be accomplished within a time-frame conducive to the university calendar.
• The financial cost of the trip is reasonable in light of the trip length and quality of work.
• Satisfaction that local ministry leaders are in place for adequate discipleship of new Believers.
• Satisfaction that local ministry leaders prepare for our group by arranging projects, housing, etc.
• The opportunity to connect new Believers to an evangelical church.
