Don’t Wait Until Graduation to Get Involved in Missions

Carter was young, zealous, and relatively inexperienced. During our conversation, he said he believed God had called him to missions, but he didn’t know what to do next. He wasn’t connected to a local church and he’d never really been outside the United States, but he was convinced that God wanted to use his life to make Jesus known everywhere. 

In the past few months, I’ve had this conversation dozens of times with college students who are wrestling with how they join in God’s global missions to reach the nations. If you’re a college student struggling through how you get involved in missions during college, here’s where you can start.

START BY JOINING A LOCAL CHURCH

If the mission of the church is to establish and strengthen churches that make Jesus known in Word and deed, then your membership in a local church is vitally important. Church membership doesn’t just help you follow Jesus personally and corporately, it also shapes your ministry philosophy. 

The church is central to the missionary task, and if we miss this, then we’ve started off on the wrong foot. Most college students spend at least nine months out of the year in their college town. Don’t wait until graduation to join a local church. Jump right in and find ways to serve and be known by your church.

SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH THE NATIONS ON CAMPUS

College is full of programs and opportunities you can fill your schedule with. Those aren’t bad things, but don’t let a program keep you from sharing the gospel on campus. College campuses give you unusual access to people from different nations, backgrounds, and perspectives. Take off your AirPods and engage with the people around you. Get to know people from different backgrounds and worldviews and share Jesus with them.

Consider how you can get to know international students on your campus who have come from faraway places. In my city, hundreds of students move from unreached places into our city. If you want to participate in God’s global mission, you don’t need to sign up for another program or club, just consider how you can show hospitality, build relationships, and share the gospel with those you meet in the hobbies you already have. (In my experience, playing pickleball and going to the gym have been excellent ways to connect with people from different backgrounds.)

GO VISIT YOUR CHURCH’S MISSIONARIES ON SHORT-TERM TRIPS 

Ask your pastors if there are any opportunities to go visit your church’s missionaries on a short-term trip. When I was in college, I went on three short-term trips with my church, and it was incredibly formative for me to visit different countries. 

These trips will be healthiest when they’re born out of long-term partnerships and focused on building mutually transformative relationships. Remember that these trips are an opportunity to join in long-term work that will continue long after you leave.

SPEND A SUMMER OVERSEAS INTERNING WITH MISSIONS PARTNERS

I regularly encourage college students to spend a summer overseas with trusted missions partners. Last year, we had college students spend their summer among the unreached in North Africa, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. Each of them served under long-term missionaries who were deeply connected to their local church. These trips were transformative for the students who participated and genuinely encouraging for the long-term work happening on the ground.

It’ll never be as easy to go spend a summer overseas as it is during college, and it can be a great way to learn what God is doing through his church around the world.

College isn’t just a time to dream about participating in missions. You can join a healthy church, make disciples among the nations, visit missionaries, and gain cross-cultural experience now.

You may never become a missionary, and that’s totally fine. The reality is that every Christian has a role to play in the Great Commission, and most people won’t be missionaries. But these steps will help you form a link to the nations, so don’t wait until you graduate to get involved in global missions.