Eight Crazy Things People Say About Us

Who really is Street Level Ministries?

People have said crazy things about Street Level Ministries since it started in 1998. That’s what you get when you’re an eclectic group of Jesus lovers that want to serve Him in a way that moves the world. If you’re curious what it looks like to really follow Jesus and live a life of impact, you should join us sometime. But be warned, you might have people try to talk you out of it with these reasons: 

“It’s just another campus ministry.” 

It’s true. There are several campus ministries you could join. Street Level? We’re the S.W.A.T. team. If you’re just looking for an easy place to meet some “nice Christian friends,” we’re not for you. We take our faith seriously, not just on Sundays. Jesus was radical, and we want to be like Him. This means bible study isn’t a once-a-week pit stop that is no different than the secular clubs you’re a part of. If Jesus really died for us, we should give our lives to Him, whatever the cost. We equip our group to be serious, life-long, mature disciples.  

“It’s a cult.” 

If devoting your life to a cause you believe in is considered a cult, then yes. But isn’t that what athletes do? Why is it cultish when Christians devote their lives to serving Jesus at the same caliber? Cults are insular, not knowing or being interested in new ideas. They shut themselves off from the outside world out of self-preservation. That’s not us. We encourage each other to study other beliefs and worldviews, and to experience new cultures and ways of life. We look into all options because we’re searching not for what we want, but for what is true. We’ve just come to a decision on what is and most people don’t like that. 

“They’re all brainwashed.” 

Anytime you don’t think critically, you risk being brainwashed – believing whatever someone else tells you. Most of us recognize the world isn’t as it should be, but why? We aim to be a place where people take a hard look at what our culture is offering and ask if that’s really what they want out of life. We’re after a different way. We use our brains, read the Bible and the news, and think critically. We go to church where the pastor says, “Don’t take my word for it. Look into this for yourself. Eternity is on the line.” 

“We go to church where the pastor says, ‘Don’t take my word for it. Look into this for yourself. Eternity is on the line.’” 

“They take the Bible too literally.” 

Guilty as charged. If we don’t have the Bible as the standard, we would have to trust what another person says. Thank God it’s not so. God has inspired His Word to speak to us clearly, and He never changes. Contrary to popular unexamined belief, the Bible is reliable due to its historical and archaeological corroboration, prophetic accuracy, and manuscript evidence found over time. In a world that changes its mind about things daily, the Bible should be a breath of fresh air for us. Read it and find out. 

“They’re so narrow-minded.” 

This one is a question of objective truth. Does it exist? Of course it does. If I jump off a 100-story skyscraper without a parachute and fall to the ground, I will die. This is the truth. You can’t change it. If we’ve found the truth, we will not apologize for standing for it, even if we run the risk of appearing close-minded. Trust that we aim to let people come to their own conclusions about God. We’re here to provide opportunity for the ones who have and want to live for Him. We also travel domestically and internationally on mission trips to broaden our cultural perspective and see that the rest of the world does not live like us. This shapes us forever in ways that are hard to describe. 

“They need to loosen up.” 

If you only knew! In a lonely world, God has given us more friends than we have time to hang out with. We have lives full of fun, deep community, and adventure beyond anything we could have come up with. We’re talking crazy adventures like conversations with strangers over free coffee on the side of the road. We go camping and on mission trips, stay up late, and get up early. We fill up hard drives of memories that come back to life when we sit around and someone says, “Hey, remember when…” Our purpose in life isn’t to chase the high-paying job, have a bunch of kids, and retire comfortably. We’re the dreamers who have become risk-takers, eager to see what God has for us around the next bend. It’s led us to some pretty crazy places, and we keep coming back for more. 

“It’s all just talk.” 

See all previous paragraphs… Just kidding, let us explain: Some people who call themselves Christians live this way – church on Sundays and nothing more. We say something’s wrong if you do! We don’t want our faith to just be something we say we believe. We believe that real faith in Jesus leads to practical action to make changes in your life. So, we provide ways to serve God tangibly. We outreach to our campuses to get to know and serve our own community. We make coffee, cook meals, and do the dishes for each other. Even this magazine and, in the U.S., a coffeehouse and a radio station, are all ways we can give of our time and do something with the love of Jesus we claim we have. Serving God in these ways shapes us, matures us, and teaches us to lay down our own plans to give to others. And through our efforts (and by God’s grace), people have come to know who God is and had their lives changed by Him. That’s what we’re after. 

“They ask too much of their people.” 

People might say we demand too much time, especially for college students. Shouldn’t school be their priority? We’re not demanding anything of people. God is clear we should have no other gods before Him. Jesus said if you do not give up all you have you cannot be His disciple. We make no apologies here. Matthew 6:33 says to seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you. When you don’t put God first, you’ll never see all that He has for you. We love each other enough to not let each other settle for that, so we challenge each other when we see it. We find that the rest of life (our time in university, our jobs, our relationships) are actually more fulfilling when we let God dictate when, how, and if they happen, and put Him first in all things. 

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If this all sounds intense, good. We take Jesus seriously, because He took us seriously. He’s the reason we are who we are. He took a group of nobodies and gave us purpose, and so we live radically for Him. We hang out, talk Bible and culture, and get out into our community to meet people. We’re Christians who eat together, sing together, and learn together to make the most out of life as we follow Jesus, not the world. 

Living an aimless lonely life? Want to make it count for something? Join us sometime. Open to anyone 18-25 years old. 

U.S.A. – @streetlevelministries 

Philippines – @streetleveministriescebu 

streetlevelministries.com