Christians have been called to engage in the Great Commission from Matthew 28, to go and make disciples of all nations. This is done through mission efforts in this country and throughout the world. College students are at a place in life where they are exploring their calling and who/where God wants them to be. Rural churches are the perfect place for college students to find support as they explore what the Great Commission looks like and how to live it out. Supporting local college students in their mission efforts not only aligns with the Great Commission but also contributes to their spiritual formation. By encouraging their engagement, local church leaders and their congregations can aid college students from their local, rural college in exploring the opportunity to learn how to rely more on the Lord through the fundraising process and the experiences on trips.
Fundraising is a practical way to learn how to trust God. This may be the first time that a college student has had to trust God to provide money and/or resources in this way. The experience of fundraising for mission trips could shape someone’s view of God’s provision more than any other experience. They can learn much about prayer, surrender, and trust as they are waiting for the money to come in. Fundraising is not the only way that mission trips contribute to the college student’s spiritual formation. It is also beneficial for college students to have their worldview expanded and to increase their compassion for those who are in different life situations.
Here are 6 practical ways that church leaders can support the mission efforts of local college students so they can engage in the Great Commission:
1) Start by building relationships with the college students in the church through partnering with their college or university. If the local college has a church or activities fair, there is likely an opportunity to have a table at the fair to let students know that the church is in the area for them to attend. There, the church leaders can meet some students whom they may eventually see in their church. Many schools have mentor programs and are looking for people who would like to be mentors. This is a great way for church leaders to get involved, too. Church leaders could also create/lead a small group that is especially for college students. Starting with this will help church leaders get to know the students who attend their church and which ones are interested in going on mission trips.
If it is a Christian college that the student attends, it is a good idea to reach out to the Spiritual Life staff and learn about how they go about offering mission opportunities to their students and partner with what they are already doing. If it is a public or other non-faith-based institution, a quick search of college clubs can help determine if there are active Gospel communities that church leaders can connect with. A quick search on the website of the local college will also give great information about how they partner with mission trips and churches.
2) Get connected with the mission organizations in the area and partner with them as they lead mission trips with the local college students. Church leaders can even lead a mission trip themselves, through these organizations, with people from the congregation, and include college students as they recruit. These mission organizations will likely already have connections with local Christian colleges, so partnering with them to lead a mission trip and to recruit college students is a good choice. A couple of great mission organizations that regularly offer mission opportunities for college students and are present on a few Christian college campuses are World Gospel Mission and One Mission Society.
3) Take an offering every other month that goes towards financially supporting local college student mission trips. An application could be created for the college students in the church to apply to be on the donation list, or made available through the Spiritual Formation Office or campus ministry staff. Then there could be a page on the church website with the list of those students who have applied for the missions offering, with descriptions of their trips and what the financial need is. In the church services, a slide could be added into the pre-service rotation that advertises the application for financial support of the students’ mission trips. A slide could be added that advertises each of the students who have applied and a description of their trips.
4) Most churches have a special missions or global-focus service, so the church could dedicate one of those to highlighting the stories of the students who have been supported by them and have gone on mission trips because of that support. If an entire church service is not feasible, the church leaders could host a special lunch after the services that day for the students to share about their experiences.
5) Host an event with the young adult ministry in the church to showcase the different mission opportunities that the college students are participating in. Missionaries that the church is already partnering with could also participate in this event alongside the college students, pending availability.
6) And finally, pray for the college students and their trips. This is the foundation and most powerful support for college students’ mission efforts. Knowing the college students in the church and the kind of missions they are interested in will also give church leaders better insight into how to pray for them. The students will also feel more comfortable reaching out to the leaders in the church to ask for specific prayer requests while they are out on the trip. Adding these trips and prayer requests into the regular rhythm of prayer in the church will help the students know they are being fully supported by their local church.
If there is not a local college in the community, or the church does not have connections there, consider following up with recent high school graduates who went off to college to see how the church can continue to encourage and support them in missions efforts.
Rachel VanLaningham is currently the University Chapel Coordinator at Asbury University. She has been involved with mission organizations for many years, with four of those years being employed by World Gospel Mission to mobilize college students to understand their calling of the Great Commission through vision-mission trips and partnering with missionaries.
