There is true, fruitful value as a college-attending Christian in living off campus: to have a house or apartment full of like-minded, Christ-loving brothers or sisters, living together in unity is a beautiful, biblically supported housing arrangement.

However, within Western Washington University's Christian communities, there seems to be a desire in upperclassmen to move off campus after their first year: I argue that this desire is not only contagious but detrimental to spreading the message of God. Not entirely detrimental to the point of making it impossible to spread the Gospel and the Love of Jesus on Western's campus, but enough to make an impact.

I am a small group leader and community member with Campus Christian Fellowship (a college ministry that has existed for over 40 years). One of the essential strategies for our ministry, in particular, is encouraging our returning community members to live within the residence halls on campus. In fact, as I type this, I am sitting in my dorm room in Nash Hall, where I also lived last year as a first-year transfer student.

Ultimately, every college-going Christian needs to go beyond what their current mission field is and to understand the importance and need of living within their mission field.

This understanding is actually easy to grasp, as God both lived and taught the message of "living within your mission field." The Gospels are more than the death of Jesus: each Gospel tells us that God came down from Heaven, took on the flesh and blood of a human form, and lived His earthly life among us. The Gospel of John clearly states that "the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14 NIV). Jesus physically dwelled among those He wanted to reach, humbling himself before our very eyes.

The apostle Paul writes to the Christian community in Philippi to replicate this humble character Jesus demonstrated: "Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others" (Philippians 2:3b-4 NIV).

God didn't have to take the form of man and dwell among us so that he could serve and love and teach and bless us. Yet, he chose to: he chose to inhabit His mission field, as he lived among the very people He was trying to reach, out of His search to value us and our best interests. In an odd yet relevant way, through being present where His mission is, Jesus teaches us His expectation for how we, as college Christians, should view campus life.

Choosing to live in the dorms as a returning Christ follower means you are literally following Him in His example, to live among the very people you are trying to serve and love and teach and bless, just as He did.

Sure, moving off campus next year would be very beneficial, especially to yourself: living in downtown Bellingham in an apartment or sharing a large house with fellow Christians provides an excellent, faith-building atmosphere. But how much more, do you think, would it please God to live in the example His Son set for us? How much more would it please God to see you choose to live another year in the residence halls, for you to focus less on how your living environment can bless you, and instead to focus on how you can bless those around you? The amount God could use you to bless both new Christian students looking for community, as well as new non-Christian students heavily increases when you dedicate your year to living among them, to be ever close and present for them, to allow yourself to serve and bless them.

Every returning, Jesus following college student must reflect upon the example the Lord both lived and taught. Our mission field is our campus: if Jesus chose to dwell among those He wanted to reach, why shouldn't we?