One of my jobs in our 17 state Region of GFM is to help staff be effective in evangelism. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, that takes the form of a strategic ministry plan all 60+ of us staff are reaching for. The strat plan invites staff to engage a basic 3-2-1 strategy with their fellowships on campus: Staff, students and faculty commit to praying for THREE non-Christian friends, campus fellowships commit to hosting at least TWO hospitality events per year that non-Christians are welcomed to attend, and at least ONE appropriate invitation to faith given in an appropriate setting throughout the course of the year.

As the new year is underway groups have been increasing their visibility on campus with outreach events (the hospitality part of 3-2-1). New students are being invited to events and groups. Faculty groups are getting reignited and known new faculty members are being reached out to. Coffee is being drunk by the gallon as staff do lots of one on one follow-up. Many if not most new contacts are with christians looking for fellowship. But the beginning of a new year, the presence of so many new people means that many connections are being made with people who are curious about Christianity, but may not be christians themselves.

3-2-1 Happenings

Here’s a look at our first gathering of 3-2-1 Happenings. The idea you saw me in the last post pitching to our region, is up and running! Each month our Regional Leadership Team and myself will be hosting a regional video call for sharing 3-2-1 stories. 3-2-1 Happenings we hope will become a hub of communication, prayer and enrichment in the area of faculty and grad student evangelism. In our first gathering we had our staff member at Kansas State share from his experience of friendship with a couple of atheistic/agnostic faculty members. Nothing is better fuel for outreach than to talk about actual life on life influence. When you hear about non-believing professors responding to friendship with deeper openness and spiritual curiosity – it leaves you thinking “you know, God IS at work in soil I would have thought would be impenetrable.”

Part of the challenge with Christians, especially in the setting where we do our ministry, is that we assume spiritually open people will just somehow find us! The myth of the seeker is that being far from God doesn’t always result in a posture of seeking. When Christians refer to non-Christians as seekers its a bit of misnomer. In the sweep of scripture’s narrative, God is more often the seeker! In Genesis 1, sin didn’t make Adam a seeker – it made him a hider. God had to seek Adam out. The shepherds of Israel failed to seek people out in care, nurture and healing (Ezek 34). Jesus comes as THE GOOD SHEPHERD who goes after the lost. Graduate Faculty Ministry will live out the seeking passion of Jesus for sheep as we embrace that role and join him in his search. A monthly call to encourage staff in OUR work of searching and seeking can help us attend to people on broader horizons than just trying to find more Christians for our groups! We need a better theology of seeking to put it simply.

Pray for 3-2-1 Happenings to grow. There are about 70 staff in our 17 state region. My vision is that our screen could go from being a tidy 3×3 Brady Bunch to a 4×4. Then a 5×5, and beyond. My hope is that more and more staff will get excited to get on the monthly call and share an outreach HAPPENING from their ministry. Pray for me and my team as we work on ways to be more visible to grad students and faculty members – not just the Christian ones. Pray for us to turn connection into friendship. And friendship into witness!

Thanks so much for your prayers and your giving. Thanks for enabling me to be a part of InterVarsity’s mission in the University.