Fall is one of the most strategic times of the year for mobilizing students to serve on mission. Students who commit early have the time to pray, prepare, and plan. The college ministries that send the most students do not stumble into success. They build a sending culture that starts early and continues all year.
These are six things that effective college mobilizers know and practice.
1. Students go when leaders lead.
Students are far more likely to go when they go with leaders they already know and trust. While some students are willing to travel across the world to serve, most are more open to going when they go with their friends and leaders who have already modeled what it looks like to serve. Great mobilizers are consistent goers themselves. Their willingness to go gives credibility to the message they teach and courage to the students who follow.
Tips:
Lead at least one team every year. This could be a nearby trip where you fill vans with students or a trip across the ocean with a few key leaders. The key is to lead from the front, not the sidelines.
When students go on longer summer assignments, consider traveling with them for the first week or two. Many missionaries long for students to serve longer than a week, but many leaders have families or responsibilities that prevent long absences. You can still take them, serve with them, and launch them well. This both encourages the students and strengthens your relationship with your mission partners.
2. Students go when they see God’s heart in Scripture.
Mobilizing students is not primarily about logistics. It is about helping them hear God’s voice. God is always calling His people to go, and His heart for every tribe and nation is a thread that runs through the entire Bible. When students see that truth clearly, they begin to respond with obedience.
Tips:
Regularly teach God’s heart for all people in both large and small group settings. The best mobilizers make this a regular part of their teaching, not an occasional topic. Some leaders worry that teaching about going too often may turn away students who are new to faith. In reality, the opposite is true. Students want their faith to make a difference. The more challenging the call, the more likely they are to lean in. Living on mission is not for the spiritually elite. It is the normal life of every believer.
Lift their eyes beyond your campus. It is essential to reach your campus, but that vision alone does not match the heart of God who desires every language, people, and nation to worship Him. When your teaching sets the vision to the level of Jesus’ global mission, your students will reach both their campus and the world.
3. Students go when they believe God will make them able.
A major barrier to mobilizing students is that they feel unready or unworthy to go. Students often believe they do not know enough or that they are too imperfect to be used by God. Their generation often hesitates to step into things unless they are sure they will be good at them. Mobilizers must help students see that God equips those He calls.
Tips:
Teach students the essential truths of the faith and help them become confident in their identity as followers of Jesus. Ask questions that draw out their doubts and help them find real answers. A student who is rooted in what they believe will be ready to share it.
Address the personal struggles that keep them from stepping forward. Many Christians wrestle with what older believers once called “besetting sins.” These are sinful habits and patterns that are difficult to overcome. Students often hold back on serving God because they feel unworthy in light of these struggles. They need to know that every missionary and ministry leader wrestles with sin and imperfection. The heroes of faith were not flawless, but they trusted the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen them in weakness.
4. Students go when they hear from other students who have gone.
Stories move people in ways that teaching cannot. When students hear other students share about how God worked through them, their hearts are stirred to believe that God can use them too. Scripture teaches that the enemy is defeated not only by the work of Christ but also by the word of testimony. That power still holds true today.
Tips:
Make missions testimonies a regular part of your ministry. Let students who have served both near and far share their experiences. Coach them, but do not polish away the realness. Authentic stories, including the struggles, show that mission work is not about perfection but obedience.
Connect your current students with alumni and friends who are serving around the world. Use video calls or recorded interviews to help students see how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary work. When students see someone like themselves follow Jesus into His mission, it makes going seem possible and right.
5. Students go when someone helps them handle the details.
Many students have never planned a trip, raised money, or applied for a passport on their own. Their parents often manage details for them, and when those parents do not support missions, students can quickly become overwhelmed. Mobilizers who walk closely with students can help turn desire into action by guiding them through the practical steps of obedience.
Tips:
Do not assume students know how to plan or prepare. Sit with them and walk through every step, from applications and fundraising to travel and spiritual preparation. Use the need for practical planning as an opportunity to talk about spiritual readiness and faith.
Effective mobilizers schedule time for this kind of guidance. Set aside regular time in your calendar each month to help students take the next step. Many students want to go but simply need someone to show them how.
6. Students go when “going” becomes normal conversation.
Culture is shaped by what we talk about. The words we use create expectations and shape identity. Mobilizing ministries talk about missions often and naturally. They celebrate it, pray about it, and teach about it until it becomes part of who they are. When students hear about going often, they begin to see themselves as people who go.
Tips:
Include missions stories, prayer moments, and teaching on God’s global purpose in every part of your ministry. Whether it is a weekly gathering, a small group, or leadership meetings, keep the conversation alive.
Let your environment reflect your vision. Use your physical and digital spaces to highlight Scripture about going, stories of mission work, and reminders of God’s heart for every nation. What you display and talk about consistently becomes what your students value.
A Final Word
Mobilizing students is about steady habits that reflect the mission of God. These six habits show up in almost every ministry that sends students faithfully year after year. Take time to review your own strategies and plans. Ask where these truths can take deeper root in your ministry. The nations are waiting, and your students are ready to go if you will lead them, teach them, and walk beside them as they take the next step.
The goal of the Baptist Collegiate Network (BCNet) is to bring you content that is helpful to you as you lead college students. For more, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram @collegeministrydotcom.
