CCC to Initiate Major Student Movement to Reach the World
Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC), which USA Today tagged as the largest evangelical organization in the United States in 1996, will be launching a major new missions movement next year that “could trigger the fulfillment of the Great Commission."
Some 20,000 students from 100 countries are expected to attend Campus Mission (CM) 2007, the campus ministry's first global student missions conference, in Busan, South Korea, next summer in conjunction with the centennial anniversary of the 1907 Pyongyang Revival, which many say established the base of Korean Christianity. But the historic event is not just about a large student conference, said CCC staff member Micahel Jeberaj from South Asia. Instead, it is "about the purpose of God for the future of our nations."
Hosted by Korea Campus Crusade for Christ (KCCC), the conference will focus on three primary themes: Christ Magnified, calling students to live a life surrendered to Christ; Connected Movements, connecting the hearts and lives of students and staff as a global community of campus movements; and Completing the Mission, unleashing a new generation of spiritual movement builders to strengthen existing movements and launch new movements on the unreached campuses of the world.
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"History has shown that college students have been the center of ‘change’ and ‘reformation’ that has taken place in the societies of the world regardless of race and culture," said Dr. Sung-Min Park, national director of KCCC. "It does not take long when we looked into Christian history to realize what a significant role college students played in deciding the course of the church and the impact they made on the rest of the world."
There are around 25,000 campuses in the world. Currently, ministries or groups with some form of Christian influence are at approximately 2,000 of the world's top 8,000 campuses which are considered to be the most influential. At CM 2007, CCC staff and student leaders will converge to reach the remaining 6,000 campuses, following the vision that the ministry's founder, the late Bill Bright, set over 50 years ago: "Reach the campus today, reach the world tomorrow."
"I believe that as a result of this time, we're going to see unleashed on the nations a new wave of mission probably never seen in such force in the last 100 years," said Andy Atkins, UK national director in a video recording.
"I believe we're going to see one of the greatest things in the body of Christ in the next 10 years," commented Keith Bubalo, U.S. campus ministry WSN (Worldwide Student Network) national director.
The working groups for CM 2007 Missions are currently preparing missions opportunities including several joint project locations along with projects within Korea. And students from each nation are invited to design their own missions project. The student movement is expected to propel Christians forward in a mission to reach every student and eventually every nation.
"I believe that as we get a clear view and a clear understanding of the challenges before us and the places that need to be reached, and as we gather together in partnership, as we work together across the world, ... by God's grace and the power of His Holy Spirit, we really can see every student on the planet reached for Christ, which will spill out to change nations for Christ," said Atkins. "I believe [this] really could trigger the fulfillment of the Great Commission."
