By Richard Ross

Students who have seen Jesus high and lifted up tend to shout, Send me! They know arising to join Him in bringing His kingdom on earth will be the greatest adventure of their lives. Increasingly, students awakened to Christ will be open to going to the front lines of kingdom expansion while they still are young.

Envision it becoming normative in your church that almost every student serve full time in domestic or international missions for a summer, semester, or year, around ages 18 or 19.

Working in concert with established missions and missionaries, students on such missions adventures could take the good news of Christ in our lifetime to the last groups of people on earth—both in the U.S. and around the globe. They could have a part in planting indigenous churches that disciple believers and continue to carry the good news of Christ in their cultural context.

Developmentally, eighteen- and nineteen-year-olds crave a grand adventure. They are ready to do the hard thing and go to the hard places. This is the perfect time for an assignment so challenging that it requires all they are and all the Spirit supplies.

Though students need leaders to guide them in strategy, they can be effective in sharing Christ. They tend to share their faith without fear. In almost every region of the world, youth are fascinated with American students and are motivated to talk with them. Even adults find youth far less intimidating than adults who share their faith. The proliferation of students on missions adventures in the U.S. and worldwide could result in immediate increases in people coming to know Christ.

Society increasingly is using the term GAP year to refer to a student who takes time from university studies for an extended trip or some immersive experience. Increasingly, universities are granting admission to high school graduates, but not requiring them to register for classes for one year. That period might easily become an extended missions adventure. Those who name this adventure a GAP Mission Trip can understand GAP to mean Go And Proclaim.

Envision parents opening savings accounts at the birth of babies that eventually will fund these missions adventures. (Envision that for now, parents of all ages of children and youth open accounts).

Currently, students in smaller churches can sell candy in the church lobby or write support letters to fund their ten-day mission trip. Such plans are inadequate for raising the $6,000+ (summer) or $25,000+ (year) that might be needed for missions adventures. Family savings seem to be the only viable plan.

Parents who open a missions savings account at the birth of a child will have no problem saving what is needed over a period of 18 years. And, they may be pleasantly surprised at the number of relatives and friends who want to insure that savings are adequate. Grandfather might say to the family gathered at Christmas: “You know we are going to sell this big house to move into something more manageable. We think there might be some funds left over when we do. For all you children with missions savings accounts, we want to add $1,000 to each so we can be a part of what you do for the kingdom some day.”

Wise pastors can present a small check to parents during family/baby dedication. He might say, “We, your church family, want to be the first to contribute to your son/daughter’s future missions adventure. We invite you to go to your bank tomorrow and use this check to open a savings account for that purpose. Then, as Christ leads, we invite you to contribute monthly to that account for the next 18 years or so. Other relatives and believers likely will make contributions as well. Then, when the Spirit tells your son/daughter it is time to go, all will be in place financially for this grand adventure.”

The funding of students to do full-time missions should measurably increase giving to existing missions offerings. When a church becoming more alive to Christ sends its own members to do direct missions, both their special missions offerings and their regular offerings tend to go up.

Parents who experience the thrill of their own children serving alongside missions organizations will always have more interest in the financial support of those ministries. Also, the students who have seen God at work in North American and international missions always will have a bond with those movements. Those bonds can lead to missions giving for a lifetime.