More than anything, we want college students to know that the redemption of Jesus is for them; that in Christ, they are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

As our church plant team prayed over Youngstown State University’s campus, the Lord brought the words “redemption,” “revival,” and “restoration” to mind as we anticipated the great harvest before us. Never before had there been a local church planted on this campus, and we knew the Lord was inviting us to partner with Him in the work He was doing in Youngstown. Hosea 1:10-11 says, “in the place where it was said to them ‘You are not my people,’ it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’ And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together.” Once we planted H2O Church on campus in the fall of 2022, we began meeting and gathering together students to proclaim to them the good news of salvation just as it was declared in Hosea. More than anything, we want college students to know that the redemption of Jesus is for them; that in Christ, they are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

This same invitation is what ultimately drew me into the body of Christ during my time in college. In a sea of thousands of college students, I was lost in my sin like a stranger with no home until a friend invited me to taste and see the transforming work of Christ through the church on campus. Once fully surrendered to Christ, the Lord began to break my heart for those who have never heard the good news of Jesus, so I began praying about how the Lord might use me in reaching the lost. I know that Jesus is the most wonderful person ever to walk this earth. Therefore, his church is the most beautiful institution ever to exist –– how can I resist extending the invitation to surrender to Jesus, the Lord, and Savior of your life, to every student on campus?

Our church continues to pray that the students deeply hunger for God that they repent of their sins, trust in Jesus for salvation, and join him in the mighty work of proclaiming God’s Kingdom. Though imperfect, we believe the local church is God’s chosen vessel for His mission, and God’s way is trustworthy and true. So we continue to go forth in “being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22) because in Christ, the stranger finds a home, and the lost are found.