80% of the world’s evangelical Christians live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the last 50 years, God’s church has grown exponentially in these areas.

These regions have tremendous mission sending potential to help bring the gospel to unreached peoples, but they currently send only 20% of the world’s cross-cultural missionaries!

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This infographic provides a visual score for seven data points ranked on a 0 to 100 scale. Faded icons show scores for other countries on the mobilization index. See below for actual scores and country-specific insights.

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As a college minister, I've learned from great collegiate leaders and ministers about how to effectively reach our campus for Christ and mobilize students to fulfill the Great Commission. College campuses are strategically important places to reach and mobilize students. Often, we measure the vibrancy of our ministry by our capacity to send students to win souls for Christ. While this is a significant task, our drive to achieve it can sometimes push other important biblical mandates aside. In this article, I will share one such mandate that, in my humble estimation, should guide us alongside our passion for winning souls for Christ.

Go in Peace, Be Warmed and Filled

&nbsp;&ldquo;...and one of you says to them, &lsquo;Go in peace, be warmed and filled,&rsquo; without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.&rdquo; (James 2:16-17)
College campuses can be deceiving. The large conglomeration of students can make us think that all is well in their lives regarding their physical needs. Students use backpacks, live in dorms or apartments, eat at the cafeteria, and look like average students do in a college setting. This can lull us into thinking that every student is doing ok and has what he or she needs. In my years of serving as a college minister, I've learned this is not true. Not all students are equal; there are poor, hungry, and oppressed students on our campus. There are students boxed in by stereotypes, pushing their real lives underground just to fit in.&nbsp;
Early in my career, I failed to notice this. I was so consumed with mobilizing students to share the Gospel that I forgot those I was mobilizing needed to experience the Gospel fully themselves. James 2:16 is a verse that has often hit close to my heart. I remember taking a student with me to share the Gospel one winter. It was a very cold day. We were walking on campus, and I noticed I was wearing a jacket, but my student was not. He had his hands tucked in his pockets and was shivering. I asked, &ldquo;Hey man, why aren&rsquo;t you wearing a jacket? It&rsquo;s freezing!&rdquo; He tried to brush it off. Upon pressing him, he told me he had lost his only jacket. &ldquo;Well... buy one,&rdquo; I quipped. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have money right now,&rdquo; he replied. I was floored. Here I was, making a student walk with me to share the Gospel, and I hadn't even considered his well-being. I told him we were leaving, got in my car, drove to a store nearby, and bought him a jacket.

All These Things Will Be Added

Experiences like this changed me and my approach to ministry. How can I ask students to share the Gospel if they aren't experiencing its full effect? By full effect, I mean beyond knowing we have eternal life&ndash;experiencing God&rsquo;s provision in their lives. I&rsquo;m talking about Jesus&rsquo;s promises, like &ldquo;But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you&rdquo;(Matthew 6:33). The context is Jesus saying not to worry about these things because God would clothe and feed his children. The church is part of the &ldquo;all things will be added.&rdquo; Therefore, we must care for the needs of those around us.
When we strategize for collegiate ministry, our sessions should go beyond how we will share the Gospel with the greatest number of students or how we will populate our Bible studies. We will serve students well if we also discuss how to assess and meet their needs. Is food insecurity a problem on our campus? Do students have transportation needs? Are their families okay back home? Is there a food bank available to them? Beyond free food at our events, how can we ensure students have what they need? How can we make sure students know about our ministry and feel safe to be open and vulnerable about their spiritual and physical needs?
It is powerful to share with students how Jesus&rsquo; story intersects with their own, bringing abundance and joy. Some students on our campus today wonder if anyone cares or understands what they are going through. This is where your campus ministry can meaningfully minister to students by caring for their needs and pointing them to Jesus.

Practical Steps for Your Ministry

Here are some practical steps to guide your college ministry:
<ul>
<li>Conduct Comprehensive Surveys: When you do surveys on campus, don&rsquo;t just do spiritual surveys. Include questions about students' needs. Find out where your students are and seek to do something about it. Last year we conducted a survey on our campus that asked questions that gave students an opportunity to share about their financial situation and main concerns they had in their daily lives. The answers gave us good insight on how to minister to students better.</li>
<li>Think Individually, Not Just Collectively: Instead of categorizing students into groups like dorm students, athletes, Greeks, or commuters, think about them individually. We had met students who live in the dorms and struggle with the fact that their families back home live in bad conditions. If you think collectively, this will be just a dorm student to you who fits nicely into your dorm ministry strategy where you can win students for Christ and mobilize them. &nbsp;When you think of students as individuals, you are opening a window into their lives where you will be able to show them how God speaks to them and cares for them and their families.</li>
<li>Care and Connect: As you connect with students on your campus and get to know them, develop ways to help meet their needs or connect them to campus and community partners who can help care for them holistically. Are students struggling financially or with food insecurity? Help them connect with the campus, community, and ministry resources to help them. Are students struggling mentally and emotionally? Find partners who can help address those needs.</li>
</ul>
My hope is that this will be a starting point for your ministry to go beyond strategizing how to grow and mobilize students. My hope is that college ministries everywhere become places where students encounter compassionate care and come to know Jesus, who loves them, knows them, and wants them to live meaningful lives.&nbsp;

Caring for Students Before Mobilizing Them

Robert Rueda

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