Called to College Ministry? Part 1

It’s my deeply held conviction that ministry to, with, and among college students is one of the most strategic things we can be doing, and that college students are the most strategic people-group for the North American church to be reaching right now. An amazing opportunity exists for those willing to step into this unique area of ministry.

That said, opportunity is not the same as calling. So this week, I’ll be discussing calling to campus ministry. This is the time of year when many college seniors are trying to discern whether they will go into vocational ministry post-graduation. It’s also a time when many current college ministry staff are deciding whether to re-up for next year or not.

I’ll be drawing on material I taught at CCO’s Jubilee Conference last month. Today we’ll look at Calling, tomorrow Character, then a day or two on Competencies.

Just because there’s a need or opportunity doesn’t mean you should meet it. Just because you could do something, doesn’t mean you should do it.  Opportunity is not the same as calling. So what is calling?

Calling presupposes that we’re not autonomous. We don’t “call” ourselves. A true call comes from outside of us. True calling always originates with God.

I. Calling and the Gospel

True calling is inherently good news, because calling points us to the Gospel. The Gospel is unique to Christianity. It means that the center of our faith–unlike every other religion–is not what we DO, but what God has DONE for us, in Christ. It is truly gracious. Here’s four ways in which we see the Gospel, DONE-before-DO, worked out in the area of calling.

1. God’s decision precedes your decision.

The pressure’s off! This is God’s decision.  Your job is too follow, to love, trust, and obey. But ultimately, not to DECIDE. Your job is to listen, to discern God’s decision.

Jeremiah 1: 4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

2. God’s grace precedes our works.
Ephesians 2:8-10

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

The knowledge that it is God’s grace that saves us, not our good works, is essential for a life of ministry.  Grace frees us from the endless, vain striving to please God in our own strength. Grace frees us to do good works out of love, gratitude, and joy. Ministry that flows from works-righteousness becomes joyless, crippling, and decidedly unhelpful, even harmful. But ministry flowing from grace-righteousness is transformative in our lives, then in the lives of those we seek to serve.

3. Belief in God precedes anything we do for him.
JOHN 6:28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

This is really an elaboration of the preceding point. But it emphasizes what our first job is as campus ministers. Most of us are young go-getters, ready to take the world by the tail. The Gospel humbles us, and reminds us that EVERY DAY, our first “task” is to believe in Christ, to believe the Gospel yet again. We never move on the Gospel–only deeper and further in.

4. God’s provision precedes our need.

Whatever God calls you to, he will supply what you need.  Notice, I didn’t say what we want, or what we think we need. And in lean days of raising support, you’ll be reminded of that. But God never gives commands or calling without gracious provision and promises. We rest on him to do this work.
1 THES 5:24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

II. Perceiving the Call

There are essentially two ways to perceive the call, and you need both.

1. Internal call

Let me extend the calling metaphor to our ubiquitous cellphones. “Internal call” is the “vibe”–the part of the call only you feel.
It’s unique for each person. Isaiah and Jeremiah are called in very different ways.
What does it look and feel like? Reaching college students should be a burden, a passion, a burning desire for you.
It should get you out of bed in the morning, and keep you up at night.

Do you ache for students? Are you moved with compassion? Do you love them?Can you increasingly not see yourself doing anything else?
Campus ministry should not be “safety school” of your post-grad vocational options. Ministry is hard; you shouldn’t do it if it’s just your backup plan or last resort. Unless you’re confident this is what God wants you to do, you won’t have enough perseverance for when it gets tough. You fall back on calling when circumstances aren’t agreeable.

2. External call

This is the “ringtone”–other people hear your call as well.
Confirmation from those who know you, know campus ministry, and preferably both.
This is important, because occasionally I’ll run into people who are convinced they are called to ministry–but no one else is. Not their parents, not their coworkers, not even the students they’ve allegedly discipled. Usually, this person then claims “but the Holy Spirit laid it on my heart.” Here’s the thing: I have the Holy Spirit too. So do at least some of these other people. And the Holy Spirit loves unity, so if he’s telling you something, he’s going to tell the rest of us too, right? External confirmation of an internal call is extremely important.

Everyone’s “ringtone” is different. Some people get the “lightning bolt,” and others perceive calling through process. Abraham & Moses were called differently. Isaiah & Jeremiah & Ezekiel were different. Peter and Paul were different. So be careful to not compare your calling to another.

Why such a diversity in how we are called? Part of it is that we have different issues related to calling: we fear different idols. For some, its fear of failure, of approval, of money. Or perhaps success & significance idols. Or we have identity issues. We must identify and deal with these defeaters, and for that we need time.

Calling is generally not worked out overnight. It is best to take a lengthy period of discernment to assess calling personally and by listening to the counsel of others. It may be that you’re not called to college ministry as a vocation, but as a passionate volunteer–which we need many more of!

Calling is not enough. You also need character, which we’ll discuss tomorrow.