To the Sidewalks

The Holy Spirit will open up doors through which we can share our faith and He can provide us with creative ideas in order to communicate His truth. Colossians 1 tells us that the saints of God, those who know Christ, have been given an important message - it says:
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Students at Western Kentucky University were inspired to communicate the gospel in a creative way recently.  According to Crosswalk.com:  "A group of Christians at Western Kentucky University recently took the biblical call to spread the gospel to a new level recently, writing the entire book of John in chalk across the campus sidewalks."  

It was organized by three campus ministries and "involved writing all 21 chapters of John’s Gospel in vibrant chalk colors across the pathways where students walk each day. According to the College Heights Herald, the project took approximately two and a half hours to complete."

Around 70 students were involved in this chalk project. The Vice President of Baptist Campus Ministry, Luke Alford, noted: “People look for answers in a lot of different things, and I think it’s really good to have answers right in front of them..."

Crosswalk noted:

The students came together for the project on a cool evening around 9:30 p.m. on March 11 and wrapped up around midnight. They drew the verses on a popular path that extends from Grise Hall to WKU Health Services and the Raymond B. Preston Health & Activities Center, Here Bowling Green reported.

The article included a quote from student Ryan Cantabeni, who had spoken with the Herald, saying: “It’s my goal for the year, to get more connected with God," adding, “It’s really nice to have some kind of sign showing me [to] keep doing this.”

Embedded in the Crosswalk piece was a Facebook post from Christa Frost, who said:

CHECK THIS OUT… last night someone(s) wrote the entire book of John in chalk on the campus of WKU!! Wow!! I want to see it! It stretches from Grise hall all the way down to Preston center. Fall Holy Spirit…You say your Word does not go out and return void! Let fresh oil pour out over this land!! I’m Jesus name, Amen!

Please SHARE!! I made it public…get the WORD out!

She shared a post from a WKU graduate named Graham Martin, who said:

There is a movement spreading across the college campuses of America over the past few months. Where students have been writing the book of John stretched across campuses all over the US. (Mainly towards the end of 2024). A few weeks ago I had the thought on why can’t we do that at the college where I graduated. So late last night with 50-60 people spread across 4-5 campus ministries we came together with $60+ of chalk and spread the 879 verses in the book of John across the campus of WKU in just over 2 hours. The purpose of this is to evangelize and share the true gospel and make Jesus known to all the college students across WKU and be a light to all. It was so much fun to be able to have a part in this opportunity!

There's actually an Instagram page called "gospelchalkmovement," where there are accounts of various campuses where this has been done.  Schools include UAB, N.C. State, Appalachian State, and others. 

Talk about taking the gospel to the streets - literally - on the sidewalks of various college campuses. This illustrates a creative mean that students are using to share their faith.

The question each of us can ask concerns how God is calling us to share our faith.  It may be through a one-on-one conversation, and perhaps the display of the love of Christ with someone in need. We should always be on the alert to the leading of the Holy Spirit into divine encounters.  

In two and a half hours on a campus in Kentucky, dozens of students were intent on making their faith known, and we can be confident that the Word will not return void, as the Bible says.  And, as students walk, literally, on the Word, we can be reminded how we are called to walk according to God's truth.