September 23, 2002
TOGETHER:
Harvest time: Ministry to students
___"What did you do over the Labor Day weekend?" It's the last of the three-day weekends until Thanksgiving, the last chance for time away before the fall semester swings into full speed and catches us in a web of activities and hectic schedules. I trust your Labor Day weekend was all it needed to be for you and your family.
___For one segment of our Texas Baptist family, Labor Day weekend marks the beginning of a new opportunity. College and universityclasses begin the week of Labor Day, so it has a special meaning for students and those who work with them.
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___Labor Day weekend is exactly that for more than 95 Baptist Student Ministry directors--including 15 volunteers--and untold numbers of local church campus ministers who serve our Texas college and university students. It is a "laboring" weekend--not drudgery, but a fast-moving, hard-working weekend of Christian witness and service.
___More than 4,000 college students from all across our state met at the Arlington Convention Center on Labor Day weekend for Focus. This amazing event is sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas' Center for Collegiate Ministry, led by Bruce McGowan and Joyce Ashcraft. It is made possible by the Cooperative Program gifts from your church.
___What did I do over the Labor Day weekend? I attended Focus. For two hours, students sang, praised God and worshipped. I heard many songs I know and some I had not heard before. I was moved by the power of the music led by Chris Tomlin and his band--some loud and some quiet--and the penetrating quality of the lyrics. The students sat thoughtfully as Louie Giglio taught the Scripture. Powerfully, with a deep anointing of God's Spirit, he pressed upon the college students that Christian life is full service and total dedication to God, no matter the cost.
___Did you realize we have nearly 1 million collegiate students in our state? More than 35,000 international students come to our country on short-term visas and then return to their home countries when they have concluded their studies. I am told that more than 50 percent of the students on our Texas campuses are lost, needing to know Jesus Christ in a personal saving way. If we do not reach these students before they leave the college campus, the possibility that they will make a profession of faith in Christ drops significantly.
___We must do all we can to share an effective witness to this generation of college students. For those who may not make a decision for Christ, we want them to leave school having had experiences with Christians that will cause them to appreciate the true nature of our faith and be open to the gospel in the future.
___This Wednesday evening, as you gather for weekly prayer meeting, would you pray for our witness to the college students of Texas? Pray especially for the Baptist student minister on your local campus and college students in your church.
___Remember when Jesus told his disciples that they must pray to the Father to send the laborers for the harvest (Luke 10:2)? Well, the harvest is now. This is such an important time for these students. Most of the major decisions of their lives will be made during these collegiate years. Working and praying together, we can make the difference in the lives of Texas students.
___We are loved.
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