A Great Commission Summer: Thoughts for Students
Brook Hills ContributorA Great Commission Summer: Thoughts for Students
Summers are often seen as the calm eye of the hurricane amid a tumultuous school year. Busy exam weeks become the perfect recipe for drifting off into daydreams of summer freedom. After graduating high school, students typically have four or five summers before transitioning into a full-time work schedule. Yet, throughout college, summers seem to become less and less exciting.
Instead of being filled with pool parties and backyard football like they were during childhood, college summers often become a bidding war for personal and professional progress. Students who grew up taking mission trips and attending Christian youth camps are now repeatedly told that the only way to achieve their professional goals is to fill every empty space on their calendars with jobs and internships. Advisors convince students that a gap in their resume will disqualify them from every desirable job. Professors warn that a summer away from school will cause their brains to deteriorate to a point of no return.
Let me be clear: I am not advocating for a summer of idleness. Instead, I want to suggest that there is a better way to use summers to make Christ known, explore the world, and grow in godliness. That way is summer missions.
When I speak of summer missions, I don’t mean signing up to pick up trash in your city center. I’m talking about partnering with a local church to spend the majority of the summer working alongside a long-term missionary in their ministry. This involves going to another country without the natural comforts of home and sitting under the guidance of a church. For students seeking to mature in their faith, this is one of the greatest ways to grow in humility, learn how to share the gospel, and gain confidence in the face of trials. Taking such a risk to make Jesus known leads to growth personally, professionally, and spiritually.
I had the privilege of spending each of my college summers serving Christ in hands-on ministry in the States and overseas. While every summer may not be possible for everyone, I challenge every student to consider spending at least one summer on mission overseas. The opportunities are endless. I served alongside a team working with an unreached people group in East Asia, interned with a church plant in New York City, completed a discipleship program in South Asia, and worked as a camp counselor in the great nation of Texas. These experiences shaped my character and deepened my love for Christ and His Church. Contrary to common belief, they even propelled my professional career forward.
Here are three ways that giving my summers to Christ shaped my future:
Evangelistic Fervor
Romans 10:14–15
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"
I stepped onto my college campus as a freshman, zealous for sharing Christ after spending the summer in East Asia. Witnessing the hopeless Islamic rituals of the people, God opened my eyes to the depth of lostness in the world. For the entirety of the summer, no one I passed on the street followed Jesus. I had to confront the glaring reality of Heaven, Hell, and eternity every day. How seriously did I believe that Jesus was the only way to the Father? Did I trust God’s Word enough to accept that no level of personal comfort was worth my new friends not knowing Jesus?
Unlike my home, where I passed multiple churches just to attend the one I preferred, I rarely saw a church in East Asia. Even the ones that existed were sanctioned by the government and preached a false gospel. In America, I often assumed that if I didn’t share the gospel, someone else would. In East Asia, I had to accept the harsh reality that if I didn’t share the gospel, no one else would. While I trusted God’s providence, I also felt a healthy responsibility to proclaim Jesus to those He placed in my path. That summer taught me to be on high alert to the Spirit of God and to see divine purpose in every encounter.
This attitude followed me to campus. Within the first week of school, the international student office asked me to lead a group of new students, most of whom were from East Asia. God opened my eyes to see every student in my group and on my campus as someone in need of God’s mercy in Jesus Christ. Thanks to the discipleship I received overseas, I was equipped to share the gospel with confidence and clarity. I wasn’t afraid of being rejected or of the questions they might ask. The spiritual soil on campus felt easy compared to the hard soil in East Asia. But with 22,000 students on campus who weren’t involved in a local church, there was still a deep need for the gospel to be proclaimed. My summer overseas forced me to get out of my comfort zone and grow in not only a willingness, but a joy in proclaiming Christ.
The next summer, my church sent me to intern with a church in New York City. There, I gained a fresh perspective on ministry in a global city. Ministry there looked very similar to ministry on my college campus. The people spoke English, had moved from all over the world, and most had heard of Jesus but weren’t following Him. This was different from East Asia. How do I tell someone about Jesus who already has misconceptions about Him? I learned to trust God to make the seeds grow. I couldn’t save anyone—only proclaim the good news, preach God’s Word, and pray for His Spirit to move.
I had to wrestle with practical dilemmas: how do I prioritize work, build relationships with coworkers, and still make time for ministry? I didn’t always balance it well, but God used that summer to better prepare me to share the gospel back on campus.
Through each of these summers, I saw clearly that God deserved to be worshipped on my campus just as He did in East Asia and New York. The people around me were searching for answers to life’s biggest questions—and I had the answer in Jesus. As an adult, I often look back and am challenged by the evangelistic fervor I had as a freshman in college. The greatest joys of my life have come from investing in those who didn’t know Jesus and proclaiming the gospel to them, even if I only planted a seed.
Spiritual Discipline
Psalm 77:11–13
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
A church member recently told me that evangelism is the spiritual discipline that drives all the others. This couldn’t be more true in my life. I never pray as faithfully as when I am sharing the gospel. I never read God’s Word as diligently as when I’m searching for answers to a friend’s questions. I never fast more than when I’m longing for a neighbor’s salvation. I never worship more passionately than when I’m reminded of Jesus’ saving power. The mission field has awakened my love for God’s Word and my need for His intervention like nothing else.
In South Asia, God genuinely nourished me through His Word. Early on, that trip was hard. The ministry was difficult. The culture was shocking. The days were exhausting. Sickness was common. Life looked different than I expected, and I struggled. But through my Bible reading plan, God brought me to Psalm 77. As I questioned His plans, He reminded me of all the ways He had provided for me. He reminded me how good He had been to me all of my life. Then a few days later, I came to Psalm 84. I realized nearly all of my frustrations had come from an increased comfort with my home life. I had grown to love my earthly home and this summer had turned all of that upside down. I was mourning the loss of worldly comforts. Through Psalm 84, God made abundantly clear that this Earth is not my home and gave me a genuine longing for my true home in Heaven with Him. God nourished me in His word during the valley and graciously shifted my summer to be fruitful, encouraging, and healing.
In East Asia, I saw the power of prayer firsthand. A team from my home church visited and participated in a cultural exchange program. We were divided into small groups and stayed with high school students learning English. My group’s student spoke very little English, leading to long hours of downtime and disappointment as we struggled to communicate with our host family. Midway through the week, we began using our downtime praying for the other teams. Later that week, we found out that at the exact time we started praying, one group’s host family approached them and asked to hear about Jesus. God answered our prayers. What initially led to our disappointment became the trip’s greatest joy. Even now, that story fuels my prayer life. God is able to do far more than we ask or imagine.
Professional Development
Matthew 6:30, 33
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?... But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
One of my biggest worries about doing summer missions was falling behind professionally. From the moment I graduated high school, everyone—from advisors to mentors—told me that if I didn’t spend my summers working in a hospital, I’d never get into nursing school. But, I knew once I graduated, summer breaks would be gone. The working world doesn’t stop and paid time off is difficult to come by. I knew God was worthy of the few summers I had left. I trusted that serving Him would ultimately be in my best interest. I trusted that the character I’d develop through missions would be more valuable than work experience.
I ended up listing my missions experiences on my resume. That section drew more questions and praise than anything else. Those experiences didn’t hinder my career—they helped launch it. What I had been told would keep me from nursing school became a primary reason I got accepted. A prominent business leader in our church told me that resumes with international experience always go to the top of his pile. Employers value those who take risks, serve others, and work well in teams. Albeit imperfectly, I learned all of those traits by laboring for the gospel with my summer teams.
I know some degrees and careers require internships or work experience. Let us help you partner with one of our marketplace mission partners who use their business to take the gospel around the world. What better way to prepare for life after college than to unite your profession with the proclamation of Jesus?
A Charge for Parents
Tragically, one of the most common reasons Christian students don’t participate in missions is the opposition of their parents. Many students grow up anticipating the day they’ll be sent out, only to be caught up in climbing the ladder of resume-building before ever stepping out in faith. Unfortunately, most students let the fears thrown at them from professors, advisors, and parents prevent them from experiencing the deepest joy of going to another context and telling someone about Jesus who has never even heard his name. Because of this, the nations miss out on the gospel, our missionaries lack support, and our students lose out on life-changing spiritual growth.
Parents, do you believe the gospel is more valuable than the proximity of your children?
Parents, do you believe your child’s faith is more valuable than their professional prestige?
Parents, will you entrust your child into the hands of almighty God for the sake of Christ being known?
A Challenge for Students
Pushing back against the status quo of summer isn’t easy. There will be family trips, friends’ weddings, and job fairs you might miss. But there will be unspeakable joys you wouldn’t trade for anything. You’ll grow in maturity, in discipline, and in your love for Christ Jesus.
Spending a summer in a foreign context won’t always be comfortable. In fact, I guarantee there will be things that frustrate and challenge you. But you will learn to cast your cares on the One who cares for you. I’ve focused this letter on the ways you will grow—but I haven’t even scratched the surface of the blessing you will be to the churches and people you serve. Many overseas church leaders are weary from the demands of the field. Zealous, joy-filled college students often bring encouragement and renewed energy to their ministries.
And even that doesn’t compare to the joy of seeing God open the eyes of the lost to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Students, could you give one of your summers to making Jesus Christ known around the world?