College students, many of you are trying to find the will of God for your life. (I know, because you ask me all the time.) While I cannot fill the role of Holy Spirit in your life, I want to propose to you two things:
A. Make the mission of God a defining reality in your life.
When it comes to calling, there is a myth circulating among Christians that you need a “special call” to leverage your life for the mission of God. But this was part of the call to follow Jesus. The Great Commission was not a special calling for a sacred few, but a mandate for all followers of Jesus.
The question is not whether or not you are called to the mission of God. Instead, the questions is where and how you are to be involved. Not all of you are supposed to go into full-time ministry, but God has given you something to be leveraged for the Great Commission. So my challenge is this: Do what you do well for the glory of God; and do it somewhere strategic for the mission of God.
Many of you need to think about your life differently: not as an opportunity to build your own empire, but as a seed that you sacrifice for the sake of the gospel (John 12:24–25).
B. Avail yourselves of the opportunities the Summit is providing for you in mission.
I want you to consider two opportunities:
1. Give one summer to one of our mission projects.
Last year we had 300 students do summer projects through Summit or local campus ministries, part of our GO NOW Initiative. This year is no different: Many students are choosing to use their summers by partnering with one of our discipleship projects.
These summer projects give you time to take you deeper into theology, train you in apologetics, teach you to lead other people to Christ and to disciple them, and to help you explore your gifts and specific callings in ministry. No matter where you “end up” in life, you need to be able to win and disciple others. And this gives you a season to train you in that.
SummitCollege has two specific programs that have open spots available:
1) “City Project,” which is a 2-month leadership program based here in Raleigh-Durham.
2) “Second City,” which is a 6-8 week missions project, serving at one of our overseas church plants in Serbia, Spain, or India.
2. Spend the first two years after you graduate as a part of one of our church plants.
This year, with our GO NOW Initiative, we’ve had 100 college graduates commit to spending their first two years to local, national, and international missions! Some of you may think that a 2-year commitment is crazy. But you’ve got to get a job somewhere: why not get it where God is doing something strategic for his mission?
Remember what Jesus said: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt 6:33). Think of this as “tithing” your career, giving God the first fruits of your professional life. If God has called you to church planting long-term, this is likely the place that it will happen. Your callings tend to grow out of your experiences.
And if God has not called you to long-term church planting, this will still be a profitable time. You honor God with the first fruits, and he takes care of the rest. A 2-year commitment taken in obedience will do more for you than a head start on your career ever could.
I want you to know that this isn’t just bluster from me. I did both of these things: I took off one year at the beginning of college simply to learn the Bible and apologetics. And shortly after I graduated I spent two years in Southeast Asia. These were two of the best decisions I ever made, and God fulfilled Matt 6:33 in me.
College students, this is one of the only times of your life where you have the freedom to explore your calling and the mission of God in the world! Do not be afraid to give him these years!
APPLICATIONS for summer projects ARE DUE to SUMMIT OFFICES by February 1st. Contact Dave Turner (dturner@summitrdu.com) for more information.
