Welcome to the Earth’s Edge Perspective!

Welcome!

I know, not much here yet, but there is much on the way.

This blog is dedicated to campus ministry, and, specifically, developing a “mission mindset” among campus ministers, churches, and students.

May God alone be glorified.

I owe a debt of gratitude to a guy who motivated me to start writing more.  Benson Hines!  He recently wrote a book, which a fiercely recommend!  Reaching the Campus Tribes.  And…IT’S FREE!  Download a copy at

http://reachingthecampustribes.com

I was extremely encouraged to see Benson’s book for the first time this past spring. I found out about it when a guy sat down next to me on a flight from Kenya to Amsterdam. He pulled out a 3-ring binder and began reading. My curiosity escalated when I saw the primary words in the title “Campus” and “Tribes.” Of course, a long conversation ensued!

Since reading the book, I have recommended it to literally hundreds of people. My hope is that churches will soon begin to see the great harvest campus ministry will yield with a little focused effort.

I spent 4 years in Kenya as a missionary, God then led me into campus ministry. With missions in my background, it was easy to see the similarities between “cross-cultural” work and campus ministry. However, when I tried to explain the connection to existing supporters, I was, except for a couple of exceptions, shut down, and “shut off.” We lost over half of our support because we were no longer “cross-cultural missionaries” (we’re CAMPUS-cultural missionaries).

Still, underfunded (like 99% of campus ministers across the nation…ok, maybe that is a slight exaggeration…98%), I began doing ministry at Boise State with an eye toward a “missional” approach.

It’s worked! With God in the lead, we’ve established a cooperative relationship with more than a dozen other campus ministries at BSU. Our student group has grown, both numerically and spiritually. We now enter year five at BSU with the realization that we have to continually “remake” ministry according to the cultural context. I’m very excited to see where we’ll be in another year.

Benson has started a conversation that is going to continue to build momentum. We need to “put some legs” on his thoughts and begin to cooperatively develop a missional approach to campus ministry, and to work at educating the church on the importance of this “unreached” segment of our nation. I’m going to devote this coming year to documenting our approach to campus ministry as missions. Working together, we’ll see huge successes!

Great things are in store for campus ministry as we look to a new decade. Well done Benson!

Here’s to the future, to promoting campus ministry as MISSION, to reaping the harvest together, and to viewing campus ministry from a new perspective…at Earth’s Edge!