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I remember 8th grade pretty vividly. I had attended a Christian school since kindergarten and would be going to a public high school the next year. Growing up in a Christian school made you very aware of your differences. From being picked on while riding the bus for the khaki pants and polo shirts I wore to comply with the dress code, to feeling gleefully rebellious when you uttered a swear word, it was easy to see why some would consider us strange.
But something strangely amazing happened during that 8th grade year that would be highly unlikely to occur if I had been in public school. I can’t recall exactly how it started, but some of my classmates and I started praying together during recess. As we gathered a hunger for the supernatural began to stir up within us. Eventually more students joined us and our times of prayer grew longer.
These times became more and more powerful to the point where we wouldn’t want to end when it was time for recess to be over. Our teachers recognized that God was moving and made room for us to continue seeking the Lord even when it was time to go back to classwork. From that point on, the Holy Spirit began to move in our classroom in a powerful way.
As we spent time in prayer and worship, sometimes for hours, people were experiencing God in ways they never had before. Students began receiving gifts of the Holy Spirit like speaking in tongues and prophetic words. It was an incredible sight to see as we prayed for, encouraged and declared prophetic words over each other and our teachers.
It wasn’t until years later that I would make the connection that this happened during the time of a movement that would come to be known as the Toronto Blessing in Christian circles. This was a time of significant outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Toronto and the surrounding region during the mid 90’s.
I’m not certain that what happened in my 8th grade class was a direct result of the Toronto Blessing. I’m not sure how anyone could know. But it is interesting to note that many churches were affected across the Northeast U.S. region, with revival services being held late into the night on weekdays.
I look back on those days as a turning point in my personal walk with Christ. God did something throughout those months that forever deepened my relationship with Him and I’m convinced that being filled with the Holy Spirit gave me a boldness and empowered me in ways that enabled me to hold strong to my faith throughout high school and college. It’s why I believe that being filled with the Holy Spirit can strengthen students in their faith during college and why I think we should be praying for it more.
I didn’t choose to write this post to cause any division, but rather to encourage everyone who reads it to unify around a wonderful gift that the Bible says God longs to give us. As Christians, we tend to focus on God the Father and Jesus Christ, but the Holy Spirit is just as important in the Trinity.
Salvation First and Foremost
Before I dive into why I think everyone should pray to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, let me first state something important to avoid any confusion and the hurts that can be caused when people don’t handle this discussion the right way. You don’t need to be baptized in the Holy Spirit to be saved. Likewise, someone who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit is not any less of a Christian.
Salvation is and always will be the defining mark of a Christian. All anyone must do to be saved is confess their sins and believe in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. The Bible is clear on this (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9, Romans 10:13).
Let me be clear on this point too. I wouldn’t look down on anyone who doesn’t have the Holy Spirit or think any less of them. There are plenty of prominent Christian leaders who have done great things, led many to Christ and yet don’t believe it is essential to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But I believe that while there aren’t levels of how Christian someone is (you’re either saved or you’re not), there are varying degrees of empowerment. Jesus even acknowledged this with His disciples.
Jesus Says It’s Important
Before Jesus went back up to heaven He told the disciples to wait for the gift His Father had promised (Luke 24:46-49, Acts 1:4). He called this person, the Helper, and He was speaking of the Holy Spirit. The disciples had already committed their lives to following Christ at this point, but they still needed the power of the Holy Spirit. If they needed the Holy Spirit after walking with Jesus in person for years, then I certainly need Him.
Jesus considered receiving the Holy Spirit so important that He would tell the disciples not to go out and evangelize until they “had been clothed with power from on high.” Now, I don’t believe you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to evangelize, but I do believe that being filled with the Holy Spirit will give you boldness and empower you to share the Gospel more effectively. Just like it did for the disciples. Can you imagine if they had disregarded what Jesus said and tried to go out in their own strength? They most likely would have shared the Gospel with some, but three thousand people could have missed out on receiving the gift of salvation.
If Jesus said that receiving the Holy Spirit and His gifts is important, then I believe it’s important too. And, as I shared with you earlier, I’ve seen its effectiveness in my own life.
The Holy Spirit Isn’t Weird, People Are
The Toronto Blessing and other movements like it have been controversial due to ways people have expressed themselves all in the name of the Holy Spirit. This has been off putting to many, and sadly, discouraged them from seeking the Holy Spirit. But just as we shouldn’t let one radical, Bible thumping Christian speak for all of us, we also shouldn’t let some Christians who have expressed themselves in weird ways scare us away from what God wants to give us.
The Holy Spirit wants to give us gifts (1 Cor. 12:1-11). If God wants to give you a gift, why would you ever turn it down? Furthermore, if Paul tells us that these gifts are given for “the common good,” then why would we choose to reject them and not bless others? Paul even goes so far as to say that we should “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Cor. 12:27-31).
There will always be Christians who are weird, whether they are filled with the Holy Spirit or not. I’m sure you know the people who over spiritualize everything or the woman at church who shouts loudly during worship. While gifts like speaking in tongues aren’t always easy to understand, if they are Biblically based and the Bible also tells us that God is good, then we must trust that these gifts are good for us. Bottom line: the Holy Spirit isn’t weird, people are.
Pray for It On Your Campus
In college ministry I believe that the best place for people to be prayed over to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit is on campus in their BASIC group. This is where students can get the best detailed teaching on the subject, have their questions answered, and receive one on one prayer from people they trust. And even if a student has been baptized in the Holy Spirit before, they can pray for a fresh infilling at any time. Paul says We are to be continually filled with the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, Gal. 5:25).
As we often do, it’s possible that we will give students an opportunity to be baptized in the Holy Spirit at BASICcon. This is a wonderful time celebrating God’s goodness and the gifts He wants to give us, but because of the nature of a meeting this size I think it’s even better to talk with your students and pray together before you come to the conference.
It can be a little harder to do this in your large group meetings as it’s possible you’ll have first time attendees, so I suggest doing it during your small group times or holding a special meeting to give time just for this. But it’s important we make room for this because there are students in your group who are struggling with sin and scared to share their faith. And the Holy Spirit can empower them to overcome sin and to boldly share the Gospel with their friends.
I truly believe that as students are filled with the Holy Spirit, our campuses will see an awakening. It’s my desire that every student in your ministry would be filled with the Holy Spirit, moving in the gifts He has given them so we can see God move in supernatural ways that leads many to Christ!
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