Tarleton: Questions and answers

As someone who spends most days on a college campus without going to classes, my heart breaks for the students around me who have no realization the God who created the enormities of the universe cares deeply for them and wants to have a relationship with them.

Warren EthridgeHere at Tarleton State University, some students have felt God call them to equip their peers in evangelism, teaching them how to talk about their faith with students on campus. Every Monday night, students gather at the Baptist Student Ministry, spend time in prayer and then are sent out two-by-two on campus.

One particular day, my partner and I had trouble finding any students to talk to, so we decided just to walk the campus and pray for people we saw heading to class. We soon came upon a student looking at one of the campus maps, which is odd in itself since Tarleton is a pretty small campus. We introduced ourselves and asked him what he was looking for.

He was searching for the science building—a building he hadn’t been to in the two years he had been here. Since I spent a majority of my four years as a student there, we volunteered to walk him to the building. We made a little small talk about what he studied—computer science—and where he was from. Then we went into the science building to find his classroom.

Pictures and questions

That Monday, we were using pictures to let people tell them about themselves through questions we ask. We asked if he had a couple of minutes so we could ask him some questions, and he gladly agreed.  We sat down at a table and asked him: (1) What’s a picture that describes your life right now? (2) What’s a picture that you would like to describe your life? (3) What’s a picture that describes who God is to you? (4) What’s a picture you would like to describe who God is to you.

The whole process takes about six minutes or so typically, but 15 minutes into our conversation, we had only gotten past the first question. There were many things going on in this student’s life that he wasn’t sure about and had wanted to talk about it with someone, but he really didn’t have any friends close enough to talk to. So, we continued to walk through the questions and hear more of his story.

It finally came to the questions that were meant to understand where he comes from spiritually. But he “hadn’t really thought of God much.” I asked him how would he describe God, and he really didn’t have an answer. After trying to simplify the question, I finally asked him did he understand how Jesus comes into the equation. He said he had never heard of him! Despite living in the buckle of the bible belt in Stephenville, there are students on the Tarleton State University campus who have never heard who he is.

Realizing my partner and I needed to back way up, I asked if I could explain who Christ is by drawing a diagram showing how Jesus serves as the bridge between God and humanity. As I explained it, he kept asking me to explain certain points, showing that he was paying close attention. After we finished, I asked him what he wanted to do with all of this new information.

He realized the enormity of what we had talked about and asked if he could have some time to digest all of it. Of course, we agreed and concluded our hour-long conversation by exchanging information and setting up a meeting.

What the Bible says

The following Friday, we met and continued talking about all of what the Bible says. We have begun meeting every Friday to talk about these things, and he has started coming to our weekly worship service called 402.

This month at 402, we are talking about common questions people have about God, Jesus, and the Bible and why you can believe it. So, God’s timing is obviously perfectly orchestrated. Please pray for this student and me as we continue to dive into what the Bible says—unpacking his questions and dismantling some of his confusion.

Warren Ethridge is serving with Go Now Missions as a campus missionary intern at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.