“And He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for

Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.”

(Matthew 6:33 – The Message)

Mission

            To reach, train, and equip the Christian leaders of today and tomorrow, walking along side them as they wrestle through what it means to seek first God’s Kingdom, trusting Him with all else.

Vision

            That every student we work with would leave Stanford with an understanding of who God is, how He is working in the world around them, who He has designed them to become, and what it looks like for them to seek first His Kingdom.

Our Prayer for the Students

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”

(Colossians 1:10-12)

            We are not only interested in the lives of students during their tenure on campus. It is our prayer that their time at Stanford will serve as the springboard for a lifetime of devotion to Jesus, leading to their experience of the abundant life that He alone can offer. We know they will only understand themselves and the world around them to the degree that they know and understand the one who created it all.  We exist to help them in that pursuit.

An Overview

            Our heart at Kingdom First is that every student on the Stanford campus would encounter Jesus in such a way that their lives are changed forever.  We long to see students become true disciples of Jesus who hold Him as the highest and greatest treasure in their life. While not everyone will have ears to hear the message of salvation, it is our desire to pour into and walk alongside those students who do have ears to hear as they journey with Jesus and begin to live lives of discipleship to Christ.  Our hope is that upon leaving this campus, they would be committed to a life of discipleship as the single most important thing they can do with the time God has given them.  For each of us involved (Steve, Lori, Natalie, and Trent), college was the time where the Lord captivated our hearts and called us to live lives set apart for him.  We recognize and are familiar with the choices students are making during this time in life, and are all here because we see nothing more important than helping them to aim correctly as they establish the trajectory for their lives.

            Not unlike life in the “real world”, living a life of discipleship to Christ on the Stanford campus is met with much opposition.  While students face much overt opposition on an intellectual level from their peers and professors alike, that is but one of the many obstacles they face.  Much more subtle and creeping, one of the greatest obstacles to faith that students face is a world that tells them that in order to “keep up” with those around them they must fall in line with the predominant culture.  As Dallas Willard insinuates in the Divine Conspiracy, even Christian students are so concerned about keeping the plane of their lives in flight that they fail to recognize that they’ve been flying upside down.  The results, more often than not, are defeated, lukewarm Christians who look every bit like the non-believers around them.  In many cases such believers are even less fulfilled than those around them because of their knowledge that there should be more. This is a far cry from the devoted life we find prescribed in Scripture.

Our Strategy

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

(1 Corinthians 1:11)

            We believe that the only kind of leader worth following is one who has first learned to follow Christ.  With the goal of producing Christ following leaders, our strategy for ministry has shifted substantially over the past couple of years.  One of the biggest shifts has been to no longer play the “numbers game” where success is based on the number of people you have crammed into a room.  We would rather have a nearly empty room containing just a handful of people fully in love with and committed to Christ, than a room packed to the brim with lukewarm, fence-sitting “believers”.  Rather than allowing the student’s campus ministry commitments to become just another brick on the already overloaded burden they are carrying, we desire to introduce them to a life with Jesus at the center; with Him as the core from which all other commitments radiate out. If that core is solid and secure, then it will both support and inform every other aspect of their lives.

With most students on campus having already rejected what they believe to be the message of Christ, the most effective form of evangelism is to concentrate on growing the population of transformed people living daily on that campus. Ultimately, it will be the way students live, much more than the things they say that will draw their unbelieving peers to Jesus.  Such transformation does not take place as a result of acquired knowledge alone, but through the application of that knowledge. For most students, their existing knowledge far exceeds their applied knowledge, and hence, the transformation they desire is not primarily from a lack of study or learning.  Knowledge is important, and while we have moved well beyond the surface with our content and teaching (in a sense becoming much more challenging and less “seeker-friendly”), the largest focus has been on helping them to discern where they need to apply that which they already know, and helping them to do so.

            As a result, there has been a decreased emphasis on the large group meeting and an increased emphasis on the smaller groups and one-on-one relationships where it is all about discipleship to Christ.  While the large group will always fill the vital role of introducing people to what we are doing, real growth seems to only happen when people engage with the mirror of God’s Word, wrestle through their sinfulness, and partner with those Christ has placed around them in doing so. Therefore, our vision for each student is that they would grow to understand and experience the four postures of a fully-devoted Christ follower.

The Four Postures of Discipleship

1.      Face down before God in worship. In this posture our hearts are brought into alignment with God’s heart for us and the world. True worshippers are the only thing we are ever told the Father is “seeking” in Scripture. If that is what God is after, that is what we should desire to become. Extending well beyond just singing, worship is our bringing to God that of which He is worthy; ALL OF US.  Worship should permeate our entire being, such that the reflex of our heart is to assume a posture of being prostrate before the One from which our life originates and to whom our life will be called into account (Revelation 4:9-11).

2.      Kneeling before the Cross in surrender.  In this posture we recognize that nothing we have is ours, and surrender it all before the cross.  If we are a believer, then the Holy Spirit has taken up residence in our body.  We are no longer our own to do with what we please.  As such, it is only when we submit all that we are to the Lord that we will find our true identity, discover our true assignment in life, receive the strength to embark on the journey of obedience He has set before us (John 15:5), and interact rightly with those he has placed around us.  Scripture declares that one day every knee will bow before Jesus, proclaiming His supreme lordship (Philippians 2:9-11). Our desire is that students would do so now rather than later.

3.      Seated around a table in the context of community. In this posture we come alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ, spurring them on towards the Lord as they do the same for us.  Just as athletes training for competition are able to achieve far greater heights when surrounded by running mates, so are we better able to attain the heights to which we have been called by our Savior when surrounded by fellowship. This is where we find the courage to live for Christ in the context of our daily lives, ultimately being refined in the process. Fellow travelers serve as a tailwind for our sails, as well as a file for our rough edges (Proverbs 27:17).

4.      On both feet going out in service. In this posture we surrender the things that we hold to be our rights and humble ourselves before others, recognizing them as bearers of the image of our creator.  Only from this posture can we make an impact on the world around us, and fulfill the great “co-mission” as ambassadors for Christ. The world will recognize us by our love and our love is made known through our service (John 13). We hold to the conviction that God is intentional with our lives, and therefore, our lives are meant to be lived intentionally.

Conclusion

            It has been a humbling experience to watch as rooms continue to fill rather than empty, as people are attracted to the powerful, potent, life changing message of Christ’s love for us.  More than just seeking to know what is good, there is a longing to step into the life changing power of Christ and be good. Our investment in the lives of as many students as possible is intended to strengthen their core, and to prepare them for not just a job, but for life as God intended it.