Staying on Mission

The mission of BSM Montgomery is to, "Walk with students as they take their first steps or next step of their faith journey."

Last May I diligently planned a "Big Sketch" of what the of the upcoming 2019-2020 ministry year would look like. A rough sketch from Free Lunch topics, to leaders meetings dates, a Monthly Bible Reading Challenge, a small group focusing on the Christian Classic: The Celebration of Discipline, and the dates of our student planned events on campus.

While my plans were well meaning, as the fall semester drew closer I realized that I might have been over zealous in my planning and under appreciative of the time it would require of me to prepare for each event as a part-time missionary on campus. I evaluated what would allow us to achieve our "mission" and what of the ideas were "extra" yet & very do able - if I was full time.

Obviously, Free Lunch is necessary as the front door to the ministry, which allows many students the opportunity to take the first steps along their faith journey:  investigating spiritual things, asking questions, and relationship with those who know Jesus.

Through the "winnowing" process my desire and prayer was that God would use BSM to "host" ministry on campus that would  draw students into the "next step on their faith journey." As I prayed what shape the "next step" would take, I kept being drawn back to "just let them meditate on scripture." Since early 2019 I've been growing in my own experience of Christian mediation and if there's one thing I want students to know how to do when they move onto their next chapter it is to be able to spend time in scripture and listen to God.  So, this semester BSM will host a BYOLunch Meeting God in Scripture (based on a book by the same name by my new favorite author Jan Johnson) on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. NO FREE FOOD will be offered at these meetings in order to attract students serious about taking the "next step" along their journey together.

At our first meeting today, I introduced our journey of Christian meditation together by having the 10 students present listen to most of a 30 min podcast with Jan Johnson where she is interviewed, gives a brief overview, and then leads listeners through a guided mediation of a portion of Luke. GUEST WHAT? The students were blown away! They LOVED how easy it is to listen to scripture and hear from God. Several students expressed how amazing it was that we all listened to the same passage, yet God met each of us where we were individually and spoke directly and differently to each involved. All expressed and eagerness for our next time meditating together.

PRAY that students would not only learn the basics of meditation and be able to do so throughout their life, but also truly hear from God and be challenged to "take the next step on their faith journey."