Proclaiming Christ on Campus by Carl Miller, pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in New Braunfels, TX.
On January 23, 2024, men from all over the OPC converged in Gainesville, Florida for the in-person intensive portion of the Winter Session of the OPC Ministerial Training Institute. Of the several courses offered, I was privileged to take the Reformed Evangelism course from Rev. John Shaw and Rev. Dr. Eric Watkins.
The majority of the intensive was lectures given at Redemption OPC, which were focused on biblical doctrine, principles, and the practice of evangelism. The class then mobilized to participate in a ‘practica’, so to speak, on the main campus of the University of Florida. Ten or so men traveled to the campus by van, split up in pairs, and walked around the main plaza sharing the Gospel with students and others we met.
I paired up with Rev. Shaw and we had a handful of great Gospel conversations. Let me share a few of those encounters with you. Walking down the main sidewalk, we first met Amir, sitting on a bench. As we introduced ourselves to him, it was quickly evident that he was open to listening to and talking with us. He shared with us that he was a Muslim. As we talked to him about his understanding of who God is, as well as about the Bible, he was then open to us sharing what we believe about Christ, the Scriptures, and the Gospel. This led to some great questions from Amir about who Christ is and where He is. Our conversation ended with giving him a Gospel tract and inviting him to visit Redemption OPC.
As we continued to walk around the plaza, we met Billy sitting and eating at a picnic table. Having introduced ourselves and him giving us permission to sit with him, we asked him what classes he was taking, and talked about a few other things, including asking him if he attended a church in the area. He said he was nominally Roman Catholic. As we talked more with him about what he believed, he too, was open to hearing what we believe. We gently challenged the Roman Catholic doctrine he brought up and encouraged and comforted him with the truth of Christ. We left him with an invitation to Redemption OPC as well.
The last conversation that I had was with another young man, Paul. He was a gnostic who had a fascination with science, specifically physics. He too was very open to listening and talking with me. He shared with me that he had had many encounters with Christians in the past, but found none of their positions or arguments compelling. He thought many of them were hypocrites, in his opinion. So, his willingness to talk and listen was notable. We talked a lot about creation, science, and God. I challenged some of his views with the truth about the Lord of creation and science. This led to a good Gospel conversation and ended with my encouraging Paul to seriously consider what I shared with him, especially about Christ. He agreed to do so and encouraged me to consider more about the laws of physics.
Every time I go out and about proclaiming the good news of Christ, it’s a blessing to see the Lord’s work and grace, especially in the details of the conversations we have. We need to praise God for clear impact in good conversations. We also need to fight any discouragement that may try to rise within us because the conversation didn’t go or end in the way we hoped or planned. Seeds are planted that we pray the Lord would be pleased to water and bring about glorious fruit in changed hearts and redeemed souls for His glory. In the harvest fields you consider going to, I highly encourage all to not forget the need to proclaim Christ on campus!