Looking to start a national movement evangelizing state run college campuses

[Lawrence Andrade]

Hi,

I have a vision and an approach for evangelizing state college campuses. I live near U. Mass Lowell where I have been experimenting with offering students business cards with Christian messages printed on them.

The approach is totally legal and schools can't interfere so long as some simple dos and don'ts
are followed.

Because I am using my First Amendment rights my approach could be duplicated on any state run college campus in USA.

Students do read the cards and in only about 8 to 10 hours on campus - 2 hours each on various days of the week and various hours - I was able to offer about 600 cards that were accepted.

I am looking for people who might like to do this near their home. I am a 70 year old retired person and find the students are respectful and friendly so long as I am.

The approach has potential to reach international students from Communist and Muslim countries.

So there is a world missions focus as well as evangelizing today's American college students.

Looking for people willing to pray and nurture their own relationship with the Lord and willing to go on campus when and as they can or feel lead to.

UML has a small campus ministry or two on it but students and faculty are prevented from actively approaching students by school policy the must adhere to.

I assume this applies to other campuses as well.

My goal is not to build a ministry but to interest students in contacting ongoing campus
ministries. i am trying to augment their efforts.

Interested? let's talk.

Larry A.

 

[Lawrence Andrade]

I was on the U. Mass Lowell campus today ( Wends 10/18/17 ) for about 2 hours today - 3-5PM.

I had a couple of nice conversations with students and about 125 of my cards were accepted.

If you are a Christian reading this please pray for this effort. I do not have any contact info on my webpage - I just offer the cards and trust the students to God. The hope is that they will become interested in Spiritual things and either look at my webpage or contact an on campus student ministry.

For those that are interested my vision comes from a document James Madison wrote called "Memorial and Remonstrance" , which I read as a charter to do evangelism.

https://www.law.gmu.edu/assets/files/academics/founders/Madison'sMemorial.pdf

If you go to the link you will see that the US Supreme Court has used this as an interpretive tool
to forbid many things some Christian would like to see - like prayer in schools.

Originally it was used to argue against the kind of minimal establishment ( tax support ) of churches that some states maintained after the Revolution. Massachusetts , for instance had such and establishment until 1833.

But Madison was representing the "New Lights" in the Virginia of his time and you will see that these folks believed in and practiced evangelism. The reason we don't want an established church is so everyone can argue in public for his own convictions based on reasoned argument. Reasoning from the Scriptures is reasoned argument.

So here we have a solid argument that the founders actually encouraged public evangelism.

And the courts protect that right even today - and on state run college campuses - so long as you don't go into the buildings to offer literature or obstruct the passage of students - or are otherwise not respectful of others rights.

You can quietly go on campus and talk to willing students and offer cards. - but don't place them on parked car windshields.

I don't know what the results of this will be. I just know God wants it done - the founders encouraged it - and the courts protect it.

As long as the school cannot raise a reasonable argument that I am interfering with the educational mission of the school - they cannot prohibit me from doing what i do. I am free to off my cards on sidewalks , grassy areas and patios - but not in the buildings.

But if God wants it done and the founders encouraged it and the courts protect it - why are not Christians interested in doing this???

Does anyone have a good answer?

Larry