Good for the Soul

That's what the last week has been.

Three days at Moody Bible Institute in downtown Chicago does that to a person -- particularly a person who wants nothing more than to see more laborers raised up for the ripe harvest fields around the world. I come away from many missions conferences discouraged because the response is so lukewarm -- sometimes even frosty. But Moody is an exhausting, exhilirating maelstrom of students passionately engaging the community around them and asking how they can make a similar impact across oceans to unreached peoples around the world.

Someone said that fully 70% of Moody students will go into full-time ministry upon graduation. Many of those will choose to serve cross-culturally. My teammates and I had dozens of conversations between Tuesday afternoon and about three hours ago. I started talking to a junior who is interested in Hungary and ended with a couple who have lived many years in Croatia and desire to go back to help grow the church there. The Phone Team and I will be very busy over the next two weeks following up on all the contacts we made (there's quite a stack of inquiry cards we're bringing back with us).

But more than just numbers, it's the students' zeal for God that impressed me. It's the unbridled worship, the surrender and desire for more and more of the Holy Spirit's guidance in their lives. There are still those who seek Him. May they be found all over the U.S. -- in both secular and Christian colleges.