“The Lost Frontier”
by Wes
Reagan
Originally presented at the 1965
Later reprinted as a feature in the September, 1967 issue of 20th Century Christian.
From
any perspective, the college campus is one of the most urgent mission challenges
of our day. The American campus alone embraces a population large enough and
potent enough that no man who takes the Great Commission seriously can take the
campus population lightly.
Among
the college students of our country are so many thousands of international
students that if we were able to convert even one of a thousand to Jesus Christ,
we would produce 100 influential missionaries annually. Many of these will
return to their own countries as government, educational, cultural, and medical
leaders. They will have the advantage of intellect and training. These would
face no language, custom, or cultural barriers. They would have no nationalistic
bias to overcome. The mission impact of such a program would be cumulative and
would soon exceed the impact of all the mission work we are now
doing.
From
the viewpoint of potential influence for Christ, the church cannot afford to
neglect the campus. Future world leaders are there. No other segment of society
has a higher concentration of people who will shape the thought patterns and
value structures of tomorrow. If we want to convert those who will be nationally
and internationally articulate, we must reach the college
student.
From
the vantage point of a strategic period of life, the campus population is
important. College years are often definitive in establishing value concepts and
lifetime goals. In the June 13, 1967, Look magazine Jack Shepherd, senior
editor, describes the questions college students are asking. “Who am I? What
will I become? What am I in college? What about the draft? What do I value? What
are my morals?” These questions must be answered in the context of an excellent
presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. During college years students are
seeking new knowledge and understanding. They will soon be less receptive and
more guarded.
From
the perspective of the student’s need for Christ, the college years are
critically important. He is experiencing pressures from exams, grades, the draft
and dozens of other crosscurrents in waters that, to him, are uncharted. He is
deeply challenged intellectually, morally, and religiously. He experiences
maximum temptations at a time of minimum spiritual
guidance.
Time
is past due for the church to explore, chart, and conquer the vast frontier of
the campus. It is not enough to diagnose and lament collegiate ills. Our
challenge is to take Christ to the campus. Our Bible chairs serve 80 colleges.
Our efforts are virtually nil on the remaining 2,120 campuses in the