It is now officially August and millions of students are going to be starting their Fall semester this month! Some students will be walking onto campus as freshman who are exploring a brand new academic and social life that they have been looking forward to for years. Others will be returning to a campus with hopes of continuing to build what has been started months before.

Each student comes from a different background, but every student has the same need. Among the many needs of college students, the greatest need of every college student that will be stepping onto a college campus this month is  a savior to rescue them from their separation from God caused by sin. Their greatest need is Jesus.

This is what makes college a unique mission field. Each college campus is unique with a certain culture, class structure, dorm layout, and extra-curricular vibe. Students spend more time together than they will after graduation and discussions about all areas of life can easily sprout in this environment.

As a youth pastor, I am reminder of the importance of equipping students to be prepared to serve Christ in this unique mission field. College students can uniquely make disciples of other college students in ways that they will never be able to after graduation.

All of this remind me of my college experience. I started college as a freshman with a schedule that I didn’t pick which included a philosophy class taught by an atheist professor. This wasn’t what I had planned for myself, but I am so glad that God had this planned for me! I was able to be strengthened through this difficult journey and was able to be used by God in a class that was being taught by a professor whose beliefs were very different than mine.

This short video explains my freshman philosophy class experience. May it be an encouragement to college students everywhere to look at their campus as their mission field which God has sent them to be a light in the darkness. Click on the following link for the video: College: A Unique Mission Field.