Freshmen Fusion31-Jul-2010

Come, catch a glimpse of college life through the lens of collegiate ministry. The Freshmen Fusion ..

Background

God's work on college and university campuses is nothing new. From the forming of nations, to the toppling of brutal governments, from history awakenings of the Church, to the radical transformation of the most hardest of people, it is through those in and around the university scene that God has brought about magnificent change in individuals and that change continues today.

On campus around Ohio, students of Ohio Collegiate Ministries (OCM) work to see people come to know and experience God personally. Though imperfect individually and collectively, it is our hearts desire to show others just how incredible and enjoyable a relationship with God can be.

When Crosswalk began in Ohio, our goals were threefold:

      1) To be a home away from home for Southern Baptist (our parent denomination) students.
      2) To equip and send students on mission projects from Ohio to "the ends of the earth."
      3) To share God's love (the gospel message) with students at college.

Our goals have changed a bit since our founding. Where we once were fairly rigid on negotiables, we now are more open to differences in methods. Where we once were more self-focused, we are more outwardly-focused. Simply put, we care about loving and obeying God first, and loving people second.

In light of our changed focus, here are our renewed and freshened priorities:

1) Enjoying God. Life is best understood and most thoroughly enjoyed when a person lives in a close personal relationship with the God who creates and sustains every person. God loves every person deeply, and He wants to show us that love in relationship.

     2) Loving people - As God's creation, we are carefully designed to live in close relationship with Him and with other people. How we treat and respect others is a reflection of our relationship with God. Because God loves us so deeply and forgives us for what we do wrong, we extend that love freely to others. We seek to love and to forgive as God loves and forgives us.

     3) Giving life - The greatest good we can do for any person is share with them how to begin a relationship with God. The way a person comes to know God is through accepting and embracing the gospel message or the "good news" that Jesus shared with the world. Our sharing the gospel (giving life) is not just a verbal activity. The gospel is something both to be lived and to be given. We do both in concert.

     4) Developing leaders - The Bible shows that God often takes ordinary people and develops them into incredible leaders who radically change their spheres of influence. Following Jesus' model, we equip, mentor, and coach individuals to become what God designed them to be. Our formula is simple, we challenge each person to live like Jesus, using their God given talents and abilities to impact the world with God's love.

5) Sending students out to serve others - Jesus explained to His followers that He didn't come into the world to be served, but to serve other people. We embrace this concept robustly. We are created by God for a purpose, and a huge part of that purpose is to serve people--all people Whether it means feeding the less fortunate over Thanksgiving, teaching English to people in other countries over Christmas, translating the Bible into new languages for oral learners on remote islands, or sacrificing our time, energy, and resources in a host of other ways, we are resolved to give the gospel "good news" of Jesus to the world.

6) Planting churches - A church is basically gathered groups of people who have a personal relationship with God. We like this idea. In fact, we are working even now to see more of these gatherings. After all, if we plant (start) more of these gathered groups of loving people (churches)--and those people within them live out what they believe---then the world really will be a better place. So more churches mean more of God's love expressed to more people. Thus, we plant churches in and around college campuses.

Clearly, our priorities have changed a bit. We do, however, remain loyal to our roots. Ohio Collegiate Ministries is an organization sponsored and funded by the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention, the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, and the North American Mission Board. If you're not sure exactly what being Southern Baptist means, take a gander at our core beliefs and see if they resonate with you. If our name stresses you out a little, rest assured knowing that you are not the first nor will you be the last. For some the name is a pro and others a con. What should matter most is you knowing that regardless of your brand, if you don't love God we love you. If you love God, we love you. And if you want to work to see others come to know God personally through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are playing on the same team anyway.

That's our background in a nutshell. Hope you still like us.

Who & What • Mission • Core Values • Core Beliefs • Background • Ministry Locations