I must admit that I’ve made so many mistakes over the years in both my personal life and in ministry. By the grace of God, I stand here before you in my 12th year doing college ministry, with an even greater burden for college students than I had when I first started reading the Bible on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.
In 2008, I was sitting in my room praying for God to use me and to give me boldness to stand up and speak. I was all alone that day, but I knew I needed to take a stand for Jesus and His Kingdom. After praying that morning, I made the half mile walk to the local campus with my Bible in hand to see what GOD would do that day. The picture above shows me preaching that first year at ASU.
I honestly didn’t know what I was going to say or do that day. But, I knew that the power was in the Book. Even my testimony wasn’t the main focus. I knew that the focus needed to be the Holy Bible because that’s where the power was, in the Word of GOD. Jonathan Edwards said this too, when compared with his own words.
On a college campus, that is one of the first things an atheist or secularist is going to attack, the integrity of the Bible. But, I remember what Charles Spurgeon said long ago…
Now, I’m not saying I don’t share with these students the many things that affirm the credibility of the Bible…the 30,000 archaeological findings supporting it, the 100s of prophecies fulfilled in it, 5000 manuscripts for the new testament alone. I’ve shared all this and more with the students on campus. But, until the skeptic is born again, he will just want to argue with you.
That first year on the college campus, I didn’t have all the answers and didn’t have a perfect plan. I just stepped out in faith and the campus was stirred up to think about the things of God. I was all alone, but God began to put other christians in my path who wanted to join me. It was amazing to see how a team was formed to go out and share the Gospel on the campus and downtown Tempe. So, follow the call of God on your life and He will show you his power!
If I could have change anything that first year looking back, I would have spent more time in prayer, more time studying the bible, more time in fellowship with believers, more time discipling new believers and more time preaching the GOSPEL clearly.
I always want to bring it back to where the power is…THE GOSPEL!