We think of the campus as a godless place. And, indeed, it can be! What with its secular humanist professors, the drug scene, rave parties, and secular license, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is silent in the lives of so many youthful students.
Yet, historically Jesus Christ has brought renewal again and again from the university.
John Wycliffe, “morning star of the Reformation,” translated the Bible into English and preached the gospel from an English university.
John Huss in the 1400’s came to us from the Charles University in Prague.
Martin Luther was a doctor of New Testament studies at Wittenberg University in Germany in 1517.
The Wesley brothers, John and Charles, grew out of the Holy Club at Oxford University in England in the 18th century.
And from the “Haystack Revival” at Williams College in Massachusetts earlier in American history came the modern student missions movement.
Yes, the good Lord has used the university setting time and again to spawn revival. And I believe He will do it again.
Campus is where future leaders are. They are thinkers, unencumbered with spouses, big mortgages, or jobs. They are in the process of making life decisions, sorting out their worldview. And when they choose Jesus Christ they have the energy and their entire lives to pursue Him in service.
I go to the campus as Paul, looking for his young Timothy. I expect to find the next generation of Huss, Luther, and Wycliffe. The ministers, mayors, mothers and school teachers who will renew the church and society are there waiting to hear, to believe, and to be mentored.
I go to universities to join God in His labors.
Joyfully,
Stephen M. Crotts
