Calling for decisions - Ministry Exchange (MX)

Calling Students to Follow Jesus as Savior and Lord:

Exploring Public Professions of Faith during Chapter Camp Jessica Fick, West Michigan Associate Area director: 1st draft 3/2005, 2nd draft 2/2006, 3rd draft 1/2007

Through the past 50 years of Cedar Campus and InterVarsity camps across the
country the Holy Spirit has moved powerfully as students surrender their
lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Many of us have experienced God’s love
in profound ways as students and staff in InterVarsity. During my past few
years on staff, I’ve observed a few things about the way in which we come
along side the Holy Spirit in his work in student’s lives. I believe that
we can continue to improve the ways in which we help students to think
about faith decisions, primarily through Bible teacher’s invitations of
public profession of faith or “altar calls”, and secondarily through the
preparedness of chapter staff to create space for students to make
decisions for Christ during chapter prayer times. I use the language of
public profession of faith to be more inclusive of what form a public
profession may take during Chapter camping weeks.

The goal of this paper is three-fold; to help Bible teachers and campus
staff members think through and plan for a chapter sensitive call for
commitment, to provide creative ideas for this to be done in a variety of
ways, and to outline ways to clarify a call for commitment for different
types of decisions.

Because of the ethnic and cultural diversity of our ministries, we must
purposefully think through what form a public profession will take. While
having a conversation about this issue last year during a week of chapter
camp with the Bible teacher, the Program director and a few chapter staff
it became clear that a “one size fits all” approach to public professions
is not helpful. When asked about their chapter’s evangelistic background,
a staff member from a large chapter shared that his students responded well
to speakers calling people to stand in front of the group declaring their
decision to follow Jesus. Another staff member piped up in horror saying
that this type of altar call would break trust with his chapter of Asian
students causing them to shrink back from making a decision rather than go
forward, and would decrease the ability to recruit students in future
years. Because of the variety of chapters that simultaneously attend one
particular week, a call for public profession must be sensitive to both the
ethnic and evangelistic background of the students in attendance.

Below I’ve outlined a few ways to help Bible teachers address some of these
issues before and during chapter camp that will hopefully help those who
have been given the awesome responsibility to lead students and staff into
God’s word, as they pray for Holy Spirit filled life change. My hope is
that in planning well, articulating the decision one makes in coming to
Jesus, and being culturally sensitive to the students in attendance that we
will see more fruit in significant decisions in student’s lives. Below
I’ve outlined the primary ways I believe we can move forward in the area of
public profession.

1. Preparing as an expositor for a call for commitment:

Do your homework: know the evangelistic background of the chapters that will be attending chapter camp during the week you will be speaking. By sending a quick email to the chapter staff and asking them a question like “What have been the ways that speakers have called for faith decisions in your chapter? How have students demonstrated a response?” This can provide the Bible teacher with insight into the most helpful way to call students to a decision for Christ. Below are some methods of calling for commitment that signify decisions for Christ. You may even include this list in your email so staff can quickly respond. a. Going forward to the front or stage b. Standing up c. Raising their hands d. Praying silently or aloud e. Filling out a card indicating their decision f. Telling a friend or chapter after the decision has been made. g. Using symbols to represent their decision (ie, walking through a door, a thumbprint on a cross, lighting a candle) Keeping in mind that Jesus called people to follow him publicly, a call for commitment should be sensitive to different types of chapters, yet not give the impression that their decision is somehow secret. We know that following Christ involves radical life change and means serving as his messenger. Keeping both of these things in mind, I hope this will help Bible teachers to be both sensitive to students in preparation for what type of call for commitment will be made at the end of the week while remaining faithful to call students to radical discipleship. 1. Give time and space for the Holy Spirit to work. Over the years we have learned that it is helpful to prepare students to give to the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) offering by asking them to consider how much and if they will give throughout the course of the week. In calling students to decisions, we need to take the adequate measures to prepare them for the decision of their life; not just giving their money but giving their whole lives to Jesus. Paul instructs us that “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men” (2 Cor. 5:11). In Going Public with the Gospel, Mark Anderson and Lon Allison write that “because we are persuading, it is important early in the evangelism event to let the listeners know that you are asking them to consider Christ today.We often tell the audience two or three times during the message that an invitation is coming at the end of the message.” Allison and Anderson go on to explain that while this may feel redundant to the speaker, our audiences are typically on information overload, and may not have heard it the first time. By preparing the audience throughout the message this both helps them understand what is coming and affirms their right to choose. “It helps them prepare throughout the message. It also helps prevent us from being labeled with the M word: manipulative. No one wants to be tricked or emotionally forced into a decision for Christ.[1]” Without preparation and prayer, calling for students to commit to Christ can often be an awkward time for both the students and the speaker if students haven’t been prepared to make a decision. The minutes after making a call for commitment can feel like an eternity as you stand in front of a room with everyone’s eyes on you wondering if anyone will respond. When a student does respond, there is a rush of relief as we quickly move onto a prayer time. However, in our nervousness and anticipation to move on, we may not be allowing for sufficient time for other students to respond. To tarry, or persist is appropriate during this time. Because it may take longer for some students to respond than others, we need to give appropriate space for the Holy Spirit to compel students to respond to his work in their lives. Over the years I have heard students make comments such as “I wanted to go forward but the speaker moved on so quickly, I felt weird going up after the invitation had passed.” How tragic! 2. Continuing to make space during chapter prayer While we can trust that a person can make a decision for Christ without initially displaying any public expression of such, it is appropriate to support students to share this decision with others. We know that the spirit has been working in student’s lives all week and during the last night of the exposition there needs to be a space created for students to process what God is calling them to commit to. This is where the preparedness of chapter staff during prayer times can also be helpful. Chapter staff can create an environment during chapter prayer that can encourage further reflection on the Spirit’s work in their lives. For the students who wanted to respond yet chose not to during a call for commitment, chapter prayer time can be a place where students feel more comfortable making a public decision for Christ and praying with people they know. Here are a few of the ways that you can promote this: i. Ask students to corporately spend some time in silence and invite the Spirit to show them how God is inviting them to respond to Him. ii. Reiterate what the expositor has shared in their call to commitment and outline the responses a person might make. iii. Invite them to share corporately or in small groups the decision Christ is calling them to. iv. Celebrate what God has done in your midst! Affirm students who are making first time or recommitments to Christ and pray for them. This work is similar to what we do at the end of every conference; share what God has been doing and what we are going to commit to. However the difference is that we are specifically focusing on where they will commit to God in specific areas- first time decisions for Christ, recommitment or Lordship decisions, and confession of areas of sin. When God has chosen to call students to himself during these prayer times in the Grand Valley State University chapter, we have seen his power displayed in incredible ways. Students have confessed areas of sexual addiction, brokenness and pride and have been set free. Students have also chosen to surrender their lives and invite Jesus to be the leader of their lives. 3. Creatively engage the heart, imagination and emotions during the call for a decision. A few years ago at Chapter Camp Mark Slaughter, regional evangelist for Great Lakes West used a creative method in calling for commitment when he projected an image on the screen accompanied with a contemplative song to help students reflect on what Christ was calling them to before he invited them to make a decision. Not only did this draw more of the senses into worship and surrender, it also gave space before Mark formally called for a decision. There are many ways to do this that connect well with students who may value images and music above speaking and words. Here are a few other ideas: i. Live or recorded music or thought provoking images projected through PowerPoint. ii. If there are students in attendance who are gifted at interpretive dance, this could also be a powerful way for students to reflect on what God has been doing in their lives during the week. iii. York Moore, the regional evangelist for Great Lakes East has used visual tools such as a piece of bread or a cup of sand, having students empty a cup of sand into a wheelbarrow to signify their choice to choose Christ over the meaningless stuff or “sand” we fill our cups with. iv. Using lighting or sound as students enter the room to change the feel and attitude of how students enter into the text. Using the contrast of light and darkness can be a simple yet powerful tool. West Michigan staff member Dave Biskie used these methods at our winter conference & students responded well to this. v. Having a student give a testimony of surrender to Christ or an area of sin at some point during your week of Bible teaching. Students value the stories of others and hearing from another person about the decision they are contemplating may help them to identify with others and feel that they are not alone in areas of brokenness or sin. 4. Be clear what type of decision you are asking students to make- lordship, first time, confession of sin, commitment to missions, etc. Typically at the beginning of chapter camp, we find out how many non- Christians are in attendance. We pray for the students, care for them during their tracks and plenary sessions and stay on the alert for what God is doing in their life. While this attention to non- Christians is necessary, there are many other students who attend chapter camp who have led moral lives, yet haven’t made a significant surrender to Jesus. This is similar to the disciples Paul encountered in Acts 19:1-7. They had received John’s baptism, a baptism of repentance yet they hadn’t been baptized in the name of Jesus. Many of our students have understood a false Gospel such as a works based or prosperity Gospel and may need to make a Lordship decision or a recommitment to Christ. For some students, this may have been the first time they’ve understood the true Gospel and it’s implications for their lives. While we celebrate conversions of students who profess not to follow Jesus, we shouldn’t discount Lordship decisions as being less significant than a conversion from an “officially lost” person. These types of decisions are important for the expositor and campus staff to clarify. While the most important thing is that Jesus is moving in the lives of students, it is helpful for us to know what type of decisions students are making in order for staff to follow up with the student, celebrate the decision, evaluate what kinds of decisions students are making and gauge our evangelistic fruitfulness during camping weeks. Here are a few ways to articulate the different types of decisions to help students understand what type of commitment you are calling them to make: 1. 1st time decision, for those who have never accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord. 2. Lordship decision, for those who may have prayed a prayer of salvation at some point in their lives but haven’t committed to following Jesus as Lord or leader of their lives. 3. Recommitment to Christ, for those who have strayed from following Jesus as Savior and Lord. 4. Surrender decision, for those who God wants to deliver from sin, heal, or call them to greater obedience and dependence, perhaps in the areas of vocation or relationships. As we articulate the different types of decisions, students and staff are able to clarify what God has been doing in their lives as it culminates in the form of a decision. Under section 1 I outlined a variety of methods to call for a decision. Hopefully some of these methods will be useful as you articulate what type of commitment you are calling students to make. Conclusion My hope is that as we continue to be faithful to proclaim God’s word during Chapter Camp, we will fully join the Holy Spirit in his work as Christ calls students to greater surrender and commitment. While this paper is not comprehensive, I hope it serves as a resource to Bible teachers and campus staff as they pray and prepare to preach the word of God. I appreciate any feedback, as I hope to revise this paper and provide it as a resource to Bible teachers in the future. Please feel free to send any comments to jessicafick@gmail.com. God bless your preparation and camping season!———————————-
[1] Allison, Lon, and Mark Anderson. Going Public with the Gospel. Downers
Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003