USA (MNN) — In college, many young adults begin to plan for the future, to make major life decisions, and to sort out what they believe to be truth. With an environment so ripe with potential, college campuses have become absolutely vital places for ministry.
International Bible Society-Send the Light has partnered with Campus Crusade for Christ to be sure that this age group is reached with the Word of God. For the past ten years, IBS-STL has been helping Campus Crusade with its distribution of Freshman Survival Kits.
The Survival Kits include books, school supplies and a downloadable music card, all packaged in a laundry bag to hand out to incoming freshman. Most importantly, the kits include a copy of the New Testament provided by IBS-STL.
"We created a custom Bible with the audience of college students in mind," says IBS-STL's Rich Blanco. "So it incorporates some material in the front that really draws and connects to college students."
The extra material in the New Testaments is more or less a contemporary version of the Four Spiritual Laws with a few other ministerial articles from Campus Crusade. These are constantly being updated to maintain relevance to college students today and not ten years ago.
So far, the impact of the survival kits has been great. Blanco tells the story of one young student who received the kit and kept the Bible on her shelf for a few years. During a life crisis in her junior year, she finally opened the Bible for the first time, searching for answers in the only place that could truly offer peace.
Beyond personal discovery from students through these New Testaments, the Survival Kits have opened more doors for ministry. "They've used the Freshman Survival Kit as an initiative to launch their ministry on new campuses, because it's a very easy way to launch a ministry when you're giving a gift to students," says Blanco. The presence of the ministry on campus provides innumerably more opportunities to reach out to students with the love of Christ.
This past week marked one million Bibles distributed from IBS-STL through the Survival Kit program. Since Campus Crusade works primarily on secular campuses, the Word of God has been handed to one million students who likely would not have picked up a Bible otherwise. Even if students are attracted initially only by the free gifts, they now have access to the Word of God, which may very well change their lives for eternity.
IBS-STL focuses on Bible distribution worldwide. If you would like to learn more about their initiatives to spread the Word of God, or even help them to do so, click here.
