A scared transfer student who got a bad case of syllabus shock and wanted to go home.
When Prof. Greg Trull told this anecdote at the beginning of chapel, he was unexpectedly introducing his former advisee and the chapel speaker, Reid Saunders.
Saunders, a Corban alum, is the founder of the Reid Saunders Association, a ministry that seeks to “take the message of the cross to the ends of the earth,” and to “build up the Body of Christ,” according to reidsaunders.org.
Karen Olson, a woman who’s been involved with the association since 2007, said she loves working with Saunders.
“I love his passion and love for the Lord,” she said.
Olson wasn’t the only one who admired his passion.
In a pamphlet about the RSA, Luis Palau, evangelist and president of Luis Palau Association, said, “Reid Saunders has a heart for reaching the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
Wearing jeans, a white button-down shirt with grey chest pockets and shoulder patches, and black shoes with red shoelaces, Saunders started his chapel lecture by discussing the “reset” movement.
The “reset” movement is a “call to reset our nation,” Saunders said, adding that it’s primarily aimed at calling young people to the Lord. It’s set for 2016 at the mall in D.C.
“We need to dream big dreams for God,” Saunders said. “God will use our lives to pick up the pieces in others’ lives.”
Saunders played another video that was mostly a compilation of pop culture clips with the song “More To Life,” by Stacie Orrico, being played over the clips.
“There’s gotta be more to life,” Saunders said, then transitioning into his main message on the necessity of evangelism.
He started by encouraging those in the audience to take the Acts 1:8 challenge, based on the verse which says, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
“Evangelism is simple,” he said. “It’s the idea that we love God and the gospel so much that we can’t help but tell other people about it.”
Saunders brought up three points regarding the Acts 1:8 challenge, delivering each with the same amount of energy, animated hand movements, and vocal variety.
The first was to “be a witness in our Jerusalem,” which mostly involved praying for the unsaved loved ones in one’s life and knowing one’s evangelistic style. “Be a witness to our Judea and Samaria” was the second point, and this involved showing the difference Jesus made in one’s life and lifestyle, and building relationships with those who are unsaved.
“How can we be the salt and light when we don’t know any unsaved people?” he asked.
The third point related to the Acts 1:8 challenge was to “be a witness to the ends of the earth.” This involved praying for missionaries and being a part of missions. He also said two effective strategies for evangelizing included memorizing Scripture and sharing stories of personal experience with the Lord.
Saunders then returned to the importance of evangelism. “The greatest way you can show your love to someone is by telling them about Christ,” he said.
Saunders, the once-scared Western Baptist transfer, concluded his discussion on evangelism by saying “we should aim to put the spotlight on Jesus, and we should have big dreams for Him.”