Street Level Ministries

A COMMUNITY THAT WILL ROW AGAINST THE CURRENT WITH YOU

Do you feel that? It’s that gentle, imperceptible force that is guiding you every moment you take a breath. Pleasant to yield to, yet so difficult to resist. Slowly, gently, you are pulled away from the course you once set your sights upon. Your sails have turned, and you’re drifting. Now, do you feel it?

None of us are safe from the strong yet subtle currents of the rivers of life in which we cast our boats. The course we ride is determined by the current in which we sail – or sail against. Oh, you didn’t think there was another way? Let me enlighten you, young sailor.

To Drift is to Die

I was once in your boat. I was following the current that society charted out for me. College was simply a coordinate that guided me to the next one to accomplish my version of “The American Dream.” In hindsight, it did lead me onward. Yet, at some point, the next coordinate on the map was different than I had planned. Instead of following the current society offered me – career, marriage, family, and retirement – I found a different way. I set my sails against the current, but I didn’t do it alone. I did it with others who also realized that to drift is to die a slow, painful, meaningless death.

“I knew what Jesus saved me from, but I had no idea what He saved me for, until I started serving.”

Street Level Ministries (SLM) is a Christian campus organization that provides students with an alternative to society’s current. It is made up of a group of students and recent graduates who take the Bible seriously, seeking to know who Jesus is and center our lives around Him. We believe Him when He says, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”¹ Do you want an abundant life? To find it, you will have to set your sails in a different direction. You don’t drift into abundant life. It requires a reset of your initial direction. If you’re daring enough to set your course against the current of the rest of the world around you, here’s how SLM can help you do it.

Bible

Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (NKJV). In SLM, we want to live radical lives of faith that are based on hearing, reading, and obeying God’s Word as revealed in the Bible. Each branch of SLM meets every week to take an honest look at what the Bible says and discuss how it applies to our lives. You don’t need to have any background in Christianity to join us. Just come with an open mind and heart to see if what the Bible says is true. Skeptics are welcome. 

Community

College can be such a lonely place. Even though people surround you, you’re out of your comfort zone and navigating unfamiliar territory. It’s a strange time in your life, and the company you keep will either make or break you.² In SLM, you will find a diverse community of once-strangers who were brought together for a straightforward purpose: Jesus. Although we come from various upbringings and have many different interests, we find unity in our love for Jesus. We don’t always agree, but we can look past our differences and embrace them because our friendships run deeper than whether pineapple should be on pizza (which it should). 

Service

Life isn’t about you. Has no one told you that before? Well, I just did. Glad we got that out of the way. Jesus set an example for us. He said, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.”³ Don’t you get it? True life is found when you take your eyes off yourself and put them on others. Even psychologists agree that doing good to others can decrease symptoms of depression and improve one’s emotional well-being.⁴ By volunteering for one of the branches of SLM, you can use your passions, talents, and abilities to serve God and others. Even if you’re not “qualified” (that was one excuse I gave), it doesn’t matter. Jesus will use you if you’re available and willing to learn (and fail…a lot). This was one of the most radical things I experienced as a student in SLM. I knew what Jesus saved me from, but I had no idea what He saved me for until I started serving. 

Calling

Did you know you were created for one singular grand purpose in life?⁵ Your life is not an accident. Why not discover what you were created for, right now, before all the trappings of society weigh you down? Many people think calling is an individual thing, but it has a lot to do with other people. When you become a Christian, you get adopted into the family of God,⁶ you are given gifts to serve others,⁷ and you have a role to play in the body of Christ.⁸ In SLM, we encourage students to connect to a local church where they can live out the purpose that God has created them for. Jesus gave His life up for the Church.⁹ He didn’t die for a campus ministry. So, don’t wait until after college to join a church. If you claim you love Jesus, then you can’t avoid loving His body – the Church.¹⁰

Don’t Drift

Dear college student, please take these words to heart. I was once drifting. I let society dictate who I was and where I was going. Stop and think about where you are right now. Do you want to drift along with the current? Or do you want to turn and fight against it? It’s a matter of life and death. Don’t wait to make your decision. 

“Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” 

– C.T. Studd

• ¹ John 10:10 (ESV)   ²Proverbs 13:20 ³ Matthew 20:26-27   ⁴ psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-cultures/201805/in-helping-others-you-help-yourself ⁵ Ephesians 2:10   ⁶ Ephesians 1:5   ⁷ 1 Peter 4:10   ⁸ 1 Corinthians 12:27   ⁹ Ephesians 5:22-24   ¹⁰ Ephesians 5:29-30