ON CAMPUS
20 –
SPRING
TRANSFORMING COLLEGE STUDENTS TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD
INSIDE LOOK
R E V I VA L : STEP ONE +
+ THE A F T E R M AT H 1
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revival R E V I VA L I S A W O R D T H A T C R E A T E S L O N G I N G , E S P E C I A L LY A M O N G T H O S E O F U S WHO KNOW ITS ABSENCE.
LORD, REVIVE US ONCE AGAIN. —
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Revival is a word that creates longing, especially among those of us who know its absence.
that pleads to become flesh once more. The Spirit comes—into a stadium, the church on the corner,
In places of apathy and confusion,
our barely audible prayers.
voids of meaning and purpose,
Lord. Have mercy. Revive us once again.
revival—the coming of new life— can seem like wishful thinking. Is it a crowd on its feet, singing praise? Is it a movement of many, a wave of transformation? A world made new? Yes. This is revival. But this is not all of revival. For as the breath of the Creator gave life to each tiny corner of the cosmos, the same wind blows in small spaces.
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CCO students worship at the Jubilee Conference
Jesus re-lifes that which is dead or deadened, every hardened heart
— On campus, there is desperate need for new life. Anxiety grows. Cultural and technological idols make false promises, leaving destruction in their wake. Relentless change is the only constant. And many students are left isolated, without a way to forge the deep relationships and resilient faith they need. And into this void God breathes.
Steady and sure. Giving life for death. Granting revival. Revival, like an inwardly-focused campus fellowship broken open, doubling in size. Revival, like thousands of college students in a convention center, worshiping with bodies, hearts, and minds. Revival, like new life in Christ coming to a Chinese international student— and another, and another—through a responsive campus minister, a steadfast church community, and the curious prayers of a nine-yearold boy. Revival, like a heart—and a world—made new. See how it comes. See Ezekiel 36:26-27, 37:9-10, John 3:4-8, Romans 8:26-27
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A S H L A N D
U N I V ER S I T Y
A S H L A N D, O H
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Christianity. So year after year, Christians in Ashland have the pressing charge—the God-given opportunity—to be the hands and feet of Christ, welcoming each student who shows up at their middle-of-Ohio doorstep and introducing them to the One who meets our every need. “Students always ask me, ‘What is God?’ ‘What is Christianity?’” Dolly explains. “So we have to go slow. They might come from the Buddhist or Taoist culture, but they don’t really know what religion is. So we don’t start with religion. We start with friendship. We start by asking, ‘What is your name? What is your major? What do you need?’”
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Sometimes the seeds of the Gospel are very, very small.
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revival: step one
CCO staff Li "Dolly" Dong on campus at Ashland University
ASHLAND UNIVERSITY
On a small campus in a small town in the middle of Ohio, CCO staff member Li “Dolly” Dong pulls out her cell phone and gets to work. One student needs a microwave, another some help with her English, and others rides to Bible study and the grocery store. Dolly reaches out to her network of volunteers and makes the needed connections, then drives around town, gathering food for the weekly welcome meal for Chinese international students. Dolly coordinates all these pieces with an eye to the big picture. Hundreds of Chinese international students arrive at Ashland University throughout the year, each with many and varied needs. And Dolly estimates that 90-95% of these students know next to nothing about
When Na arrived at Ashland University in the fall of 2019 to pursue a master's degree in education, she was welcomed by the Christians of Ashland, like so many others before her. But Na was unusual in other ways.
She was a bit older, having taught high school English in China for more than a decade. She came with her nine-year-old son, Harold. And Na knew more about Christianity than the average Chinese international student. She had used Bible passages in her English classes, and during a difficult time of life, had even discovered—quite unexpectedly and mysteriously—a book about forgiveness and the Gospels. Still, while Na felt “quite respectful” toward religious people, she didn’t consider herself one of them. “I read the Bible as literature,” she says. “But I didn’t know how Christian people understood it.” When she met Dolly, Na was impressed by her generous spirit and offered her help, coming alongside Dolly to meet basic needs and provide English tutoring for other newcomers. Their friendship grew.
There was no easy answer for that question—Na was on her own journey of faith.
W E D O N ’ T S TA R T WITH RELIGION. W E S TA R T W I T H F R I E N D S H I P. W E S TA R T B Y A S K I N G , W H AT DO YOU NEED? She visited a local Bible study, and was moved by the humility of the other participants, some of whom were seminary professors. She and Harold attended the Chinese worship service at Dolly’s partner church, First Presbyterian Church of Ashland, and were enfolded into the community. And even as Na searched, she also served—continuing to help the other Chinese students and befriending other volunteers.
One night, when Dolly was visiting Na and Harold’s apartment, it was time for Harold to go to bed. Since arriving in Ashland, he had struggled to fall asleep. He said that he felt afraid. And so, that night, Dolly asked if she could pray for him. Minutes after Dolly finished speaking a gentle request for Jesus’ peace and protection, Harold fell asleep.
At Christmas, surrounded by her new Ashland family and the love of Jesus Christ, Na was baptized. Harold will be baptized at Easter. And every evening, Na and Harold pray before bedtime.
The next night, Dolly received an apologetic phone call from Na—“Could you come to our apartment? Harold says he cannot go to sleep unless you pray for him.”
Many Chinese international students experience the warm welcome of local believers when they arrive in Ashland. Thanks in part to Dolly’s contagious enthusiasm, and also to a shared— and well-organized—commitment to “love the strangers on our doorstep,” help and love and welcome are readily available to newcomers.
For several weeks, Dolly prayed with Harold by his bedside or over the phone. Harold also had a lot of questions about God, and she did her best to answer them simply and faithfully. Then one day, with all the cheek and candor of a nineyear-old boy, Harold asked Na, “Mama, why can’t you pray like Dolly does?”
— Na’s story is both typical and atypical.
What is unusual about Na is the speed at which she came to faith. Both she and Dolly marvel at the seeds God planted, back in China, where Na was trained as a teacher and first encountered the Bible.
A S H L A N D
U N I V ER S I T Y
A S H L A N D, O H
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1 CORINTHIANS 3:7
Ashland University international students with CCO staff Dolly
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SO NEITHER THE ONE WHO PLANTS NOR THE O N E W H O WA T E R S I S A N Y T H I N G , B U T O N LY GOD, WHO MAKES T H I N G S G R O W.
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YOU DON’T H AV E T O G O F A R AWAY T O S P R E A D THE GOSPEL. GOD HAS PUT THESE CHINESE STUDENTS ON O U R D O O R S T E P, SO THE MISSION IS HERE. DOUG MCKIBBON CHURCH VOLUNTEER
Na was able to move to deep friendship, to faith, and then to leadership rather quickly. But most ministry to Chinese international students is a slow and patient work, often without noticeable growth over years of friendship. Many students come to Ashland for only a year. Some are glad for help but are unwilling to go to deeper places. Others politely but firmly refuse. But the Christians in Ashland continue to do their part. Step by step, need by need, meal by meal—and seed by seed. First Presbyterian Church volunteers serve a traditional Chinese meal to students
In a ministry to students who are asking “What is God?” “What is Christianity?” there are many parallels to the early church, but perhaps the most encouraging is this,
adapted from the third chapter of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: What, after all, is Dolly? And what is First Presbyterian Church? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each their task. Church elders planted the seed, members of a Bible study watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.* For today, even as you read these words, hundreds of Chinese international students are sent to a small campus in a small town in the middle of Ohio. Seeds are planted. And God makes new life grow. *See 1 Corinthians 3:5-7
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jubilee 2020
+ The CCO’s annual Jubilee conference calls thousands of college students to serve Jesus Christ in every area of their lives. This year we reached a new milestone—the conference outgrew its previous space! What didn’t change is the big story of Scripture, presented in four mainstage talks— Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. What didn’t change is the host of vocational workshops, latenight conversations, and heart + mind transformations that reach into every corner of God’s world. Because this is revival too. Jubilee-style.
E V E RY T H I N G M AT T E R S
+ WE ARE IMAGE-BEARERS OF AN INFINITELY CREATIVE GOD WHO LOOKS + SAYS: EACH ONE OF YOU BRINGS INTO BEING SOME NEW THING THAT WAS NOT IN THE WORLD BEFORE, + IT’S VERY GOOD. /
ANDY CROUCH
creation
restoration
fall WE SO DESPERATELY WANT TO BE GOD BUT IF WE CAN BE CONTENT WITH OUR POSITION AS A CREATED THING WE CAN LET GO OF ALL THE PRESSURE, ANXIETY, + FEAR THAT COMES WITH TRYING TO BE SOMETHING WE WERE NEVER MEANT TO BE. /
JACKIE HILL PERRY
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REDEMPTION BUYS BACK WHAT WAS LOST + JESUS BOUGHT BACK OUR BIRTHRIGHT AS DAUGHTERS + SONS OF GOD. /
DEAN WEAVER
redemption
SO MUCH OF OUR EXPERIENCE AS HUMAN BEINGS IS LONGING FOR SOMETHING BETTER... GOD DOES NOT WASTE OUR SUFFERING. /
DAVID KINNAMAN
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I T TA K E S A L L O F U S
It took 74 speakers, 70 exhibitors, 125 volunteers, and 300 staff to host over 3,500 attendees at the Jubilee conference.
TO REACH EVERY ONE
It took thousands of financial gifts to enable students to be present, respond to the Gospel, and receive a vision to serve Jesus Christ with their entire lives.
U N I V ER S I T Y
P H I L A D ELP H I A , PA
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CCO student leader Leah McCaskey (left), ACF students engaging in Bible study (right)
They left the room strengthened for whatever came next.
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Arcadia University alumna Abby Grace
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A RCA D I A
the aftermath of revival
ARCADIA UNIVERSITY
Everything began with an email, sent during her junior year of high school. Leah McCaskey was considering Arcadia University, and she knew that she needed Christian community on campus. So she scoured the website, found a Christian group and then an email address for a guy named Greg Sovereign, who worked for something called the CCO. She fired off an email and received a long reply. As she read about the numerous meetings and activities, Leah settled into a sense of peace about Arcadia. As a Christian student, she would not be alone.
But what she didn’t know was that God was about to take her on a journey that would reshape her understanding of Christian community—and remake her desires in the process. — During Leah’s first two years at college, a group of Christian students gathered in a room on campus every Thursday night for Arcadia Christian Fellowship (ACF). They prayed, sang, and studied the Scriptures. They supported one another as each sought to grow in faith.
It was safe. It felt necessary. Arcadia University could be a hard place to follow Jesus. Inclusion and open-mindedness ruled, except when other students found out that you were "religious." Then there was open teasing or subtle exclusion, Oh, you wouldn’t understand. I wouldn’t want to offend someone like you. So ACF became a haven, “a small tight-knit group that loved God and one another,” Leah says. But something was missing. About this time, Greg was joined by another CCO staff person, Devon Bradford, and InterVarsity staff worker Ian Mulreany. As they met students who didn’t know Jesus, it became clear that the Christian students were missing out on a fundamental joy of the Gospel— the joy of inviting others into the Kingdom.
I H AV E N O I D E A W H AT ' S G O I N G TO HAPPEN, BUT I THINK GOD IS ABOUT TO SHAKE THIS P L A C E U P. They began to pray. And they prayed for revival.
They asked God to raise up leaders excited for outreach and for opportunities to cast new vision. They asked church volunteers to join them in regular, specific prayers for Arcadia students. One day, when Devon was prayerwalking on campus, she ran into an alum who said, “I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I think that God is about to shake this place up.” The next semester, the student leaders—including Leah—began openly reaching out to their classmates. As Devon, Greg, and Ian led them on Luke 15, they studied Jesus' heart for the lost. Then, as a team, they thought about people in their circles. There were those who had once attended ACF but didn’t anymore. There were those with no interest in a relationship with God. There were those who didn’t know anything about the Gospel. And they continued to pray. Leah, then a junior, remembers one specific night at Greg’s house. “We sat around a campfire and prayed for people in our circles by name. We asked God to work in their lives. We asked God for boldness to invite them into ACF, Christian community, and a relationship with Jesus. And I think that Jesus probably shouted
‘Finally! I have been waiting to be invited in!’ From that point on, our ministry grew really quickly.”
R E V I VA L , L I K E A B R E AT H O F N E W LIFE, CAME TO ARCADIA. Revival, like a breath of new life, came to Arcadia. Weeks later, the Thursday night meeting grew to forty students. Regular attendance among male students went from two to eleven. Athletes invited their teammates, Greg re-launched a weekly outreach to men, and a few leaders began to pray specifically for international students. “By the spring semester, there wasn’t a single Thursday night meeting without a new face in the crowd,” Greg says. “Even on the very last night, students were still bringing friends who had never come before.” The new growth was exciting and encouraging. Each new person was an answer to prayer. But for the students who had been around from the beginning, there was something else—something they hadn’t expected. Leah puts it this way, “ACF is still a holy place, but it no longer feels safe.”
So staff have stepped up to teach student leaders how to disciple others. One senior, Abby Grace, stayed at Arcadia for a year postgraduation, specifically charged to work with freshman outreach and discipleship. And as they all choose to be uncomfortable for
As Paul once wrote to the complicated and messy Christian community in Galatia,“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ... For the one
See Galatians 6:2,8, and Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and Galatians
(Below) ACF students enjoying an evening of fellowship
cultivating revival
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This is, of course, where they’ve been the whole time—from the moment the Campus Ministry staff, church members, and student leaders began to pray, they were wholly dependent on the movement of the Holy Spirit. And they still are.
Maybe this is why God only grants revival as the fruit of prayer—the same posture of dependence is necessary once revival comes.
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In late February, I stood on stage at Jubilee 2020 with Dan Allan, Executive Director of Mission Expansion at Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ). Together we shared with the thousands of students in the convention center how we are praying for revival on campuses across the country. And not only us, but many campus ministries across the country are joining together to pray—because we believe prayer changes students, campuses, and cultures. Revival starts with prayer, and revival happens one prayer, one conversation, and one relationship at a time. Revival begins in a small campus town in Ohio, where Christians from churches across the community join together to welcome international students from China with a smile, a meal, and a few questions: “What is your name? What is your major? What do you need?” Revival continues when one of those Chinese students asks, “What is God? What is Christianity? Will you pray for me?” Revival begins with an email from an incoming college freshman, wondering, “How can I get connected with a Christian group on my new campus?” Revival continues with a group of Christian students wondering, “What would happen if we invited our non-Christian friends to join us for Bible study?” and with some of those students accepting the invitation. Revival begins when thousands of college students gather for a weekend conference in February to be introduced to the message of the Gospel in four chapters—Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. It continues when those students catch a vision for how to serve God with their entire lives, and when they return to their campuses to share that vision with others. Revival starts with prayer and it continues when together we pray, invite, equip, and pray some more. It takes all of us to reach every one. Will you join us in praying for revival on college campuses—and beyond? Vince Burens President & CEO, CCO
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veteran believers and new converts, all in the same space?
“You come to expect that ACF isn’t just about getting your needs met,” Leah concludes. “It’s about looking toward other people’s needs. And that’s really hard, so it makes us really dependent on Jesus.”
who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
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As she helps students adapt and lead, Devon has been meditating on the New Testament letters, and specifically the relationship between the Jewish believers and Gentile converts. What does it mean to be one in Christ, to bear with one another in love, and to grow in the fruit of the Spirit— love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—as one Body of
the sake of others, they are being formed in love.
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The aftermath of revival can be a lot of work.
IT ISN’T ABOUT GETTING YOUR N E E D S M E T, I T ’ S ABOUT LOOKING T O WA R D O T H E R PEOPLE’S NEEDS. AND T H AT M A K E S US DEPENDENT ON JESUS.
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With the influx of new students, the atmosphere and expectations of the group have changed. There are a lot of freshmen. There is more immaturity and silliness. Some members still struggle with sinful patterns. Relationships are complicated, and discipleship feels messy.
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living jubilee I T TA K E S A L L O F U S
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P R AY —
Join us at 9:38 every day in prayer for every student on every campus. A few seconds or a few minutes, wherever you are. Pray over a specific campus, that the Lord would cause revival to break out in the hearts of students and faculty. Log a prayer walk today at everycampus.com.
WANT MORE?
TO REACH EVERY SINGLE ONE
At Jubilee 2020, we premiered four "student story" videos. Watch these stories of transformation at youtube.com/ccojubilee.
S E RVE —
Join the mission to reach every student for Christ by serving or partnering with us. Volunteer, associate, and full-time positions are available at ccojubilee.org/careers.
GIVE —
To reach more students we are in need of new partners. Please prayerfully consider becoming a monthly donor or making a one time gift to be part of transforming students to transform the world for Jesus Christ. Give at ccojubilee.org/donate.
O U R C OM MITME NT TO F I NA NC I AL INTE GRITY The CCO has been awarded four stars: the highest possible rating f rom Charity Navigator eight years in a row. Only 4% of organizations achieve this recognition.
On Campus is produced by the CCO Marketing & Communications team: Peter Chace, Amy Maczuzak, Tyler Marwood, India Jade Orban & Jennifer Pelling | Additional photography courtesy of Caryn Carson, Lindsay Garvin, Will Lucas & Kimber Morgan
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