Now is the time to go...(Condensed Version)

One of the biggest misconceptions of the college generation today is that they have plenty of time to do things like mission trips in the future. There’s no rush, no urgency. Unfortunately, that thinking can be a dangerous place to be.

For college students, now is the time to go. Not next year. Not when they’re done with college. In truth, things don’t get easier after college. With every year, responsibilities grow. Things only get more complicated.

Sure, college students may have to work during the summer but it’s still much easier to take time off to serve God on a mission trip than waiting until after college. The responsibilities most have in college are much more flexible than the responsibilities that come after college. So why wait? I can tell you from experience that normally, the people who put it off until later never end up going. By the time they get to next year, something else has come up. It almost always does. Life has a way of doing that.

As Christians in general, we desperately need to develop a new sense of urgency. No more, “I’ll do it next year.” We need to realize that the people God is calling us to reach may not have next year.

The people God is calling us to reach may not even have tomorrow. We may not have tomorrow. I feel like a lot of times, western Christianity has lost our sense of urgency. We are far too comfortable. We have either forgotten or ignored the call on our life to go.

Now, some are reaching people right where they are at and that’s great. We need to be reaching the lost and encouraging the saved. But maybe, God has something more for you. Maybe He’s calling you to not just go reach your community but to reach communities far away.

Years ago when I was in college, I had a plan for my life. I wanted to do youth ministry in America. As I became older and matured ever so slightly, I felt God shifting my focus to college students.

I thought to myself, “My mission field is right here in the States!” I loved overseas missions but they weren’t for me. “America desperately needs Jesus too!” I was perfectly happy and comfortable on the path I was on doing collegiate ministry at Fort Lewis College in Southwest Colorado.

Eventually, God would bring Climbing for Christ into my life. It would change my perspective on reaching the ends of the earth with the Gospel forever. Three C4C trips later, I found myself wanting to take our college students on mission trips overseas. I wanted to give them an opportunity to put their faith into action.

Going on missions trips overseas truly changed the course of my life. I wanted that life changing experience for the students I work with. I wanted to help them get out of their comfort zones and see God grow their faith in a way that rarely happens in the comfort of America.

After a lot of prayer, I felt God leading us to the Philippines. Before we knew it, the mission trip was upon us. We flew to Manila where we joined with C4C Philippines. We were welcomed with open arms.

From there, our team headed north into the mountainous jungles. We hiked and climbed to villages with no roads leading to them, only footpaths. Most didn’t have electricity or running water. These places were remote. With us, we took medical supplies, school supplies and most importantly, Bibles in the local language. These villages hadn’t had a Bible in the local language in thirty years.

With the mission, our C4C team was able to run the Bible outreach, a medical outreach, a women’s outreach, and a kids’ outreach. Our students focused mostly on outreach ministering to the youth of the villages.

As much as our students gave and poured out on the mission trip, they got much more back in return. We all felt so blessed by the people and what God was doing in these villages.

Looking back on the trip, it wasn’t easy. It was humbling. The trip really pushed us to rely on God. In that, we saw prayers answered daily and our faith really grown.

When we left the Philippines, even while still on the plane I thought, “We can’t bring students back soon enough.” It was such an amazing experience.

Meagan, one of our students would say it was even life-changing. When she first arrived home, initially she didn’t feel any different. As time went by, she realized that the perspective she received on the trip had worked its way into every aspect of her life. She realized how much it had changed her. She now tells everyone who will listen that they need to go on a mission trip. She shares about her experience with such a passion and excitement.

In the Bible, Jesus commanded us to go to reach the world with the Gospel. This is for all Christians. It’s a command, not a suggestion. I pray that many others will listen to that command, that calling. That they would feel the urgency to go and not wait. God’s waiting to work through us. We just have to be willing to step up and go.