I wrote a couple days ago about how one of Campus Crusade's role is to be a "missionary funnel" that sends students to the world to fulfill the Great Commission.
I filled out the top of the funnel by adding more specific categories:
- Masses: In the campus ministry, it's every student that walks on campus.
- Laborers: Involved in a Campus Crusade movement, serves sporadically, partially aligned to mission, vision, and values.
- Leaders: Exercising authority and influence over other students primarily through spiritual multiplication, and demonstrate to some degree a grasp of eternal perspective and the Great Commission.
I believe if we asked many field staff about this section, many would not even know it exists. I believe that's also why we have a sending crisis on our hands.
I venture to call that group Pre-Missionaries. I believe the wording is important because:
- It assumes their FIRST choice upon graduation is to join staff. It also assumes inequality between the marketplace and the missionary order.
- It underscores to the movement, both directly and indirectly, that THIS CATEGORY is what we are trying to produce and reproduce. Again, widen the funnel and allow for anyone and everyone to consider themselves SENT by CCC, and we lose the power of this category altogether.
- It causes those leading these students to develop them as a missionary, not just a student leader. If you've been in campus ministry you know exactly what I'm talking about here. It's the difference between training them how to apostolically lead and training them on how to be the best bible study leader they can be or give the best possible evangelistic presentation.
