There were five of us gathered in a small study room in the campus library, launching a new small group built around the Alpha Film Series. I opened the night by asking everyone why they had come. When it was Brandon’s turn, he simply said, “I’m here to support you guys.”
We had met Brandon the previous semester at a ramen party. He was the coordinator for the China House, an unexpected role for a white kid from central Vermont. Early on, we had a few faith conversations, and it was clear he wasn’t particularly interested in God, Jesus, or the Bible. But he genuinely liked our community. We’d sit together and talk about everything under the sun, and whenever I could, I’d gently steer the conversation toward Jesus. He never resisted; he always engaged.
So when he showed up to that small group, I was surprised and touched. By the end of the series, his interest had shifted a little but not dramatically. What he loved most was the respectful, safe environment we created for conversations about faith. In the years that followed, he became one of our ministry’s best evangelists and a dear friend. But he still doesn’t follow Jesus.
Ministry in a Dynamic College World
College ministry is constantly shifting. Students arrive with wildly different backgrounds, questions, and levels of spiritual hunger. Some come ready to meet Jesus, and it’s easy to pour our time and energy into them. Jesus commands us to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:18–20), and we take that seriously.
But what about the students who don’t “pick up the ball and run,” yet keep showing up? The ones who linger on the edges, who aren’t ready to commit but aren’t willing to walk away either?
We love them too, sometimes even more intentionally.
Rooted in the Commands to Love
Jesus came into a broken world because of His great love for us. John reminds us that God “so loved the world” (John 3:16) and that “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). In our ministry, we try to major in that love.
Every week, our student leadership team rehearses a simple four‑question catechism to keep us grounded:
Q. What is the first and greatest commandment?
- To love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, and strength.
Q. What is the second?
- To love my neighbor as myself.
Q. Who is my neighbor?
- Anyone whose life intersects with my own.
Q. How do we fulfill those commandments?
- By making disciples.
Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan teaches that the who matters just as much as the what. Our neighbors aren’t only the eager believers or the spiritually curious. They’re also the Brandons, the long‑haul neighbors who keep showing up even when they say they’re not interested. They may never “buy what we’re selling,” but if they keep walking into the store, we serve them with joy.
Seeds Planted in Love
In Vermont, we’ve had many students like Brandon, students who come but never commit. Ignoring them would mean missing opportunities to grow in Christlike love and to show them the way of Jesus. I still pray for many of them years after they’ve graduated. Why? Because love plants seeds, and God is faithful to water them.
Every so often, Brandon calls us. He’s usually five minutes away and wants to stop by. We’re almost always home, often eating ramen, somehow, and we welcome him in. We talk. I ask where he is with Jesus. He hasn’t crossed the line yet, but he thinks about Christ far more now than when we first met.
One day, I hope he’ll show up with a big announcement. Every salvation on campus is a joy, but that one would be a personal favorite.
“The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” — 2 Peter 3:9
— Shaun Stotyn is director of The Vine Campus Ministry in Burlington, Vt., serving students from the University of Vermont, Champlain College, and St. Michael’s College since 2004. Stotyn and his wife, Monica, have been married for 15 years and have two children, Cadence and Ransom. He also serves as the worship pastor at Daybreak Community Church in Colchester.
