By Ryan Shaw
Ryan is the international lead facilitator for SVM2 and lives among the unreached.
There are many leaders and those in the emerging generation from many national backgrounds who believe that God is orchestrating a massive propelling of new laborers into His harvest.
As we look around the world we see the felt needs of a world in desperate search of real, lasting and powerful truth. Though darkness seems to be growing in the earth today, we also know that in such circumstances grace abounds all the more.
It is the Lord’s will to bring forth multitudes of spiritually prepared, equipped and anointed Message Bearers to proclaim, through word and deed, His powerful word that will set thousands and even millions free from all bondage and sin.
Since we know that this is something the Lord is doing widespread among His body and that He is doing it in many places, one question that we ought to ask is how to best partner with Him in this process.
What can His body, specifically among the student world, do to produce a greater number of individuals as well as entire ministries who Give, Pray, Go and Mobilize for involvement in His kingdom purposes in this age?
How can we best cooperate to see a truly widespread student mobilization effort realized across the nations? Through much travel, prayer and observation I have come to believe that a primary way to see this realized is through the intentional effort to develop individual National Student Mission Movements across the global spectrum.
These collaborative entities provide a connecting point for ministries across the particular national context to become involved with a student mission emphasis that is bigger than their own ministry.
It is the vehicle that holds the greatest possibility of seeing a widespread, saturating-style student mobilization focus implemented within each national context.
A National Student Mission Movement (NSMM) is a united and collaborative initiative of like-minded students & leaders from churches and organizations serving and facilitating a mission mobilization initiative among the emerging generation in their national context through the widespread implementation of common vision, objectives & goals.
There are several foundational principles related to the purposeful development of such initiatives. Let’s look at some of them briefly.
The Role of the Emerging Generation
The emerging generation is a pivotal piece of God’s end-time missionary army and He is committed to pouring out His Spirit upon young believers in every national church. It is His supreme purpose to emphasize the supremacy of Christ among each emerging generation.
From such an embraced emphasis will spring spiritual awakening which He then uses to stir a fresh vision for serving His purposes in bringing His Kingdom to bear among the forgotten.
The emerging generation of believers that have taken God at His word have always had a tremendous impact on the missionary movement historically. Today’s generation is no different as they are awakened to God’s purposes in them and through them.
They play a critical role in what is coming related to seeing nations transformed with the power of the word of God.
Prevailing and Fervent Prayer Is the Essential Characteristic
Nothing takes place spiritually apart from committed, united, prevailing and corporate prayer and intercession. This point cannot be over-emphasized. Historically, movements have always been sustained only as those involved gave themselves, often tirelessly, to this type of prayer.
Young people have often led these efforts. The prayer movement for the nations needs constant attention and ongoing focus to keep it fueled.
To see National Student Mission Movements developed, empowered and sustained will require a tremendous energy in prayer and intercession over a long period of time. Jesus’ church must come into the place of fully giving herself to mighty and prevailing prayer that transforms nations.
The greatest ministry that He has given to His church is that of powerful prayer and intercession to break down the defenses which the enemy has erected.
We Can Do More Together Than We Can Apart
It seems reasonable to say that we are nearing the glorious return of Christ. As the day nears, it is important to ask ourselves how the Church can be most effective and bring forth the most fruit for Christ’s Kingdom.
For too long Jesus’ body has remained content with divisiveness and the building of our own kingdoms, whether big or small. Jesus’ vision for His church is that they be one. Paul readily calls the Corinthians out of their divisions and to the place of oneness which they are called to function in.
We have one Lord, one body and one purpose as His church. We need more common vision around that purpose while continuing to implement that vision according to our organizational distinctives.
Developing national unifying initiatives with each ministry and organization involved working hard toward the realization of the goals and objectives within their own ministries, is a trend the Holy Spirit is highlighting these days.
It is also a trend that holds the greatest opportunity to true breakthrough and realization of world evangelization. It is a key value of an NSMM.
Accountability and Responsibility Before God
Each national church has had eternity placed in their hearts by the Spirit of God. As a result each is accountable and responsible before Him for the emphasis which they place on wholeheartedness toward Jesus, yielding all to His Lordship and cross-cultural mission among the unreached.
It has been historically documented that a national Church which gives themselves fervently to this reality has received tremendous blessing from the Lord within their national church, while those which looked inward with a preservation outlook slowly deteriorated.
God wants us always looking outward toward who we can bless, even when there is great work to be done within our own national boundaries. God will bless within as we commit to bless outside.
This is His plan and purpose for nations. We have been given a stewardship to be a blessing as Abraham was. The promise of God to him was that he would be “blessed and a blessing to the nations.” May we buy in to the truth that each of us also possesses such a mandate before the Lord!
Spiritual Warfare
Satan is the god of this age and is committed to keeping the emerging generation distracted from their responsibility to the deeper things of God and the fields ready and waiting for harvest.
He is intent on using every means necessary to hold them in bondage and sidelined from the purpose of God of awakening and global proclamation.
It is absolutely critical that we teach the emerging generation regarding the pitfalls of pursuing God with a whole heart, the issues related to going hard after the will of God in a life, the biblical principles related to spiritual warfare and how to persevere even when the going gets extremely hard, as it indeed will.
Jesus has won all victory through the cross and resurrection and is raising up multitudes of those in the emerging generation who take Him at His Word as over- comers.
Yet, this does not happen in a vacuum. Only as there is adequate emphasis placed upon these often left out portions of our discipleship programs, will we see a prepared and readied generation arise as agents of transformation among the unreached.
A National Emphasis Pools Resources
God has given adequate resources of people, finances, materials, teaching, equipping, training, and vision to each national context to develop and sustain such a collaborative initiative. What we tend to do, however, is use them in our immediate ministries alone.
Instead, God is speaking to many of the importance of cross-pollination of such resources for the purpose of spreading them out among all ministries toward common objectives and goals. This is pleasing to the heart of God.
No individual or ministry is ever an island unto itself. God’s will is oneness among us. We are to look out for one another from different organizations and ministries, serving one another in whatever way we can.
Each organization and ministry usually tends to specialize in particular areas of ministry. Each needs to consider how they can bless others with this specialty focus God has given them while also considering what specialty focal points they might need to receive from others.
Involvement In Something Bigger
Human nature seeks to participate in that which is bigger then themselves and their immediate circles of ministry. This is why the idea of the Kingdom of God is so wonderful to us. The body of Christ is an inter-connected group in pursuit of the same values and purpose under the leadership of Jesus.
We need to grow out of identifying ourselves mostly with the particular ministry we affiliate with and more with the reality of our identity as sons and daughters of the Most High God who make up the Kingdom of God.
The emerging generation may even value participation in something bigger then other age brackets. Young people are not as concerned with what group you belong to, but with whom you are following and how your life reflects this.
Our ministries and organizations, pursuing a common mission vision among the generation at a national level, provides such a focus.
Conclusion
National Student Mission Movements by the grace of God, (1) increase a global vision among believing students, (2) call students to devoted prayer for world evangelism, (3) motivate students to give materially to the expanding kingdom, (4) influence multitudes to become God’s Message Bearers following graduation, and (5) develop communities on campuses where mission vision can thrive.
This can take place only as intentionality and clear pursuit is made to lay the foundations of development. Let us join together in a spirit of unity within each national context to pursue the very heart of God to see multitudes raised up for God’s global harvest today.
To receive more information related to developing National Student Mission Movements, please email kelly@svm2.net.
