I called it the great operation. It was the first day of class and about 20 some of our leaders came alongside of us for an all day affair. We started in the morning by distributing nearly 2000 preloaded jump drives. Each drive came loaded with gospel materials (articles, videos, links, etc) and ways to get in touch with us. We asked if students had a minute to fill out their info. That day, 957 students gave us their basic info. Around 1 in the afternoon, we headed back to Jeff's house and put the information into a database. With about a dozen students working on it, it didn't take all that long. We just typed away. Once that was complete, we called each student, starting with freshman, to invite them to an event that night. The event that night was an investigative 'what is Crusade and what does the Bible say' kind of gathering. We had free pizza, Target card giveaways and the like. We had about 60 students come! That led into our Freshman Bible Study for the year, as we met there for the next three weeks.
Well, one of the students we handed a jump drive to that day was a girl named....Taylor. I want to tell you her story as it continues to pierce my heart.
Taylor's story is no different than most. She grew up in the heart of the Bible belt. She has a God fearing mother who seems to love the Lord. She went to a public high school and had opportunities galore, yet Taylor had never heard the gospel. She read all the material on the jump drive and by the time we got to together to meet at the Ferg, she was deeply confused. She help the drive in her hand and said 'this is all new to me.' I mean, what do I, a campus minister do with that?? Shouldn't everyone have heard by now? Especially down here? Thats what I like to believe sometimes, but thats far from the truth!!
Taylor is not the exception to the rule. She is in a large group of students who are often afraid to speak up in fear that Christians might laugh at their ignorance. I'm thankful she wasn't afraid. Or maybe she was hungry enough that fear just didn't matter.
We went on to have a great conversation, one with many rabbit trails. I finally asked her if I could tell her the 4 main points of the Bible. She was so excited that it could be summed up so simply, and I went on.
I told her that God wanted a relationship with her, man was self centered/sinful, Jesus came to pay our penalty, we must choose who will pay our penalty. Each point is explained through scripture and discussion.
Taylor was moved and began to get choked up when we talked about Jesus paid our penalty. She continued to tell me she hadn't ever heard this before. We talked about what would be some examples of what would hinder us, and it as refreshing for me to hear someone explore what sin is for the first time. In the Bible belt, we've become so judgmental, but with Taylor it was Biblical and real.
That day, Taylor didn't receive Jesus into her life. To this day, I don't think she had either. But here is the thing. She is still willing to meet with me and talk about Jesus. Something is appealing to her. She asked me recently for a Bible, because we talk about it so much she wants to be able to read it. Pray for this sweet girl. May her heart be open to awakening Gospel that is Christ Jesus.
Blessings,
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