HARRISONBURG, Va. — Campus outreach events for Baptist collegiate ministries at James Madison University include a variety of different activities, and this year is no exception.
To add to the variety and uniqueness of our organization, however, we have tried to think of events that other organizations have not already done. While we were brainstorming, praying and looking through other resources, we realized that reaching out to students on a college campus doesn’t always mean you have to give them something; it can also involve doing something for them through simple acts of kindness.
Sarah Newlon, sophomore, and Varsha Thomas, freshman, empty trash at one of the dorms on the campus of James Madison University.
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After we pooled our ideas, we tried to think of the menial activities that college students don’t like doing that we could do for them. One of the first things that came to mind was taking out the trash.
Although this may not seem to be a difficult task, college students often wait until their trash cans are overflowing into multiple, huge, black bags before emptying them. So for our first campus outreach event this year, we chose one of the dorms on campus and offered to empty trash for them.
We knocked on all the dorm room dorms and simply explained who we were and what we were offering. People were shocked that we were offering to empty their trash for free. A lot of people questioned us because they thought we would ask them for something in return.
One of the most common questions we received was, “Why are you emptying our trash? That’s a disgusting job!”
We told them about our organization, and explained that we were simply spreading Jesus’ love. Many students wanted to engage in further discussion with us, which was an awesome opportunity to share more about the God we serve. Then, after we emptied their trash, we gave them a flyer explaining the purpose and details of our organization. By the end of the night, we had filled up the entire dumpster; but most importantly, we had shared Jesus’ love with other college students.
Although it was hard work, and a little disgusting, we found joy in remembering Jesus’ servant-like life and his sacrifice on the cross. We are called to be like him, so why can’t we sacrifice some of our time to do a service that most people despise doing? Jesus also calls us to be his disciples and to reach out to people around us who do not have the pleasure of knowing him. Serving God doesn’t always mean doing the “cleanest” jobs. After all, Jesus spent his time washing his disciple’s feet. That was not a pleasant job either, but he did not complain.
Of all the campus outreach events we have done, this event gave us the greatest opportunity to witness and have conversation with students about our relationship with Christ. During this outreach event, I was able to think about the various opportunities Jesus gives us each day to serve him. Sometimes we may want to refuse the open doors that he leaves us to serve others, usually because we feel we are “too good” for the job. As Christians, we have no right to refuse to serve the One who “being in very nature God … made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant ….” (Philippians 2:6-7)
Regardless of the task he calls us to, we must also, in humility, do the work of God to reach out to all the students on James Madison University’s campus.
Sarah Newlon is a sophomore at JMU from Herndon, Va., and is a member at First Baptist Church there.