Walking with God ... On the Beach

By Gretchen Murray
TRAVERSE CITY RECORD EAGLE (TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.)

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. August 01, 2007 11:44 am

— On warm summer evenings people head for the Traverse City beaches. Some go to relax, some to exercise, and some to spread the word of God.
This summer, 29 college students from across the Midwest have hit the town’s beaches in an effort to share their faith and the mission of their organization, Campus Crusade for Christ. Campus Crusade has grown into an international evangelical movement that has spread beyond its original niche as an on-campus Christian club.
With a broader focus on outreach than ever before, the organization is welcoming the unique interactive style of their current foot soldiers. They would be the new generation of 20-somethings recruited from campus involvement.
Since June 9, the young men and women participating in the Traverse Bay Summer Project have been headquartered at Northwestern Michigan College. Most work at summer jobs during the day but use their free time to gather in groups and plan ways to best get the message of their ministry across. Beginning under the leadership of a team from Campus Crusades for the first few weeks, the ministry has been turned over to the students who are expected to see it through to its conclusion on Aug. 4 under their own student directors.
Religious “cold calling” may seem to be a bold endeavor, but not particularly so to this group of mostly college seniors who are part of the new “Millenial” generation born between 1977 and 1998. With their worlds virtually entwined through television and the Internet, it’s no wonder the trend for this generation — statistics estimate to be near 75 million — is to slip the ties to organized religion and a home church and instead, favor outreach as an alternative approach to spiritual growth.
More outgoing then preceding generations, Millenials work well in teams and appreciate group efforts, research shows. Coupled with the fact that Millenials as a whole are more interested in sharing their lives with others, the students seem predisposed to their role as beach evangelists.
The goal is to get out and talk to people, not the easiest thing to do in a town full of vacationers. But the students feel they have made strong headway this summer. When they encounter someone willing to discuss their religious beliefs with them, they often offer to share the “Four Spiritual Laws,” an evangelical Christian tract developed by Campus Crusades founder Bill Bright of UCLA. The one-on-one ministry approach, coined “saturation evangelism,” was developed by Bright as an attempt to reach every person possible.
“We’re out there whenever we have time in the evening,” said Angela Weimer of Brook Park, Ohio, a senior journalism major at Muskingham College.
She explained they divide into groups of men and women, three or four to a group. Ideally, each group meets with someone of the same gender and age.
“That’s not always possible,” Weimer said. But they take a low-key, relaxed approach to their work, asking people if they can spare a few minutes and offering sets of pictures to open discussion points.
“If we can talk to one person a night, that’s great. Two or three — that’s even greater,” she said. “Sometimes we come across tourists who only want to relax. We’ve talked to a lot of locals and that’s fine. We invest our time in people.”
They also found that not everyone appreciates their commitment.
“You find people are not open to talking to you every now and then, but many respect us even if they don’t understand our mission,” said Maria Mihailovich of Akron, Ohio. A senior at Kent State University, she is one of the two student project leaders.
None ever leave the beach discouraged. They say they’re living their faith.
Weimer learned about the Traverse Bay Summer Project during a Campus Crusade Great Lakes Region conference last year in Indiana.
“It presented summer projects and where you can go. For us who are active in Campus Crusades on our school campuses it was an opportunity to grow in our faith and walk with God,” she said.
Her beach buddy Christine Biancardi of St. John, Ind., has come away with a lasting impression of the power of their efforts.
“I came into the project not expecting so many to go out, but saw how willing people are to go out and in their free time, too,” she said. “We’ve presented the gospel over 200 times and so far 16 have accepted Christ, just right here on the beaches.”

Gretchen Murray writes for the Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle.

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