Norborn – Pastor Paul List’s favorite place on earth is his 13-acre family farm in the rolling hills just north of Norborne. But he doesn’t keep it all to himself; he uses it for kingdom building whenever he gets the chance. And one of his favorite means of kingdom building is college ministry.
This spring, List, pastor of First Baptist Church in Slater, hosted eight male student leaders from Missouri Valley College’s Bridge College Ministry for a men’s bonding weekend. The eight men invited their friends, and eventually 25 college students gathered, enjoying games, fishing, shotgun shooting and studying the Book of James on List’s beloved farm from April 19-20.
Reverend Paul List
“Everyone said the weekend was really encouraging,” says Marita Aviles, a missionary at Bridge Campus. “This time together allowed them to connect with other men they normally wouldn’t have contact with.” One student, Mason, attended the retreat independently of the small group through Bridge. The weekend helped him understand that “this isn’t about religion, it’s about relationships.”
“It allowed me to get to know my Christian brothers and evaluate where I am in my walk with Christ,” said Luke Clayton, a junior physical education major from Wichita, Kansas.
Dorian Cole, of Moreno Valley, California, who graduated in May with a degree in psychology, said the men’s retreat was “a very God-centered environment filled with fun, connection and intention. A group of young men at different stages of their journey with Christ came together to share their experiences while learning how life with Christ can be joyful and rewarding, living in the world but not of the world.”
For Nelius de Jager, a junior from Upington, South Africa, the men’s retreat was a welcome respite from the demands of college life and work. De Jager is a triple major in Finance, Economics and Agricultural Business with minors in Accounting and Agronomy, a member of the varsity golf team and a student ambassador on campus. “I had a great time on the farm, quiet time with God and fellowship with fellow believers. I can’t wait to go back to the farm with my peers and Pastor Paul!” he said.
A graduate of the Master of Divinity program at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MBTS), List has served as pastor at FBC Slater since 2018 and is in the process of planting Relevant Church in Marshall with the Send Network. He has a love for college students and serves as campus pastor for Missouri Valley and board president for The Bridge.
List became involved with Bridge after meeting Scott Westfall, who started Bridge at MoVal several years ago and has since expanded to the University of Missouri. Westfall invited List to join him on a home-building mission trip to Mexico, and they have remained close friends ever since. List regularly preaches at Bridge’s large group meetings, helps lead mission trips, and disciples several students each week. He is currently completing his DMin in Leadership from MBTS and will write his doctoral dissertation on scaling peer-to-peer discipleship techniques for college students.
The impetus for starting these men’s retreats came from his existing discipleship. Several of the men he meets with regularly had asked him to do something special for them. The farm was the perfect place for them to share in deep prayer, fellowship, fun, and renewal.
List mobilized the students to lead prayers from the Book of James, helped them with the preparation process, and helped them lead their peers in rich hour-long discussions. “Each time they led a prayer, I saw them step out of their comfort zone,” List says. “I saw more hunger and saturation for God’s Word than I’d ever seen before!” They also cleaned, cooked, fished, and pigeon-pigeoned. All participants left spiritually fulfilled and looking forward to the next retreats in the fall and spring.
List said it’s “really a blessing” to see students grow in their faith and knowledge of the Bible by participating in college ministries, and it’s also encouraging as a pastor. “College ministries bring a fresh wave of young people who are actively seeking the Lord to the local church. A lot of students leave their faith during college. It’s a very important time in their lives, and it’s a great opportunity for the local church to reach out to them,” List said.
As a pastor, List acknowledges that college pastoral work can be exhausting, expensive and time-consuming, but he believes it’s “worth the effort and expense to see how hungry and eager our students are for real fellowship, spiritual leadership and a gospel-centered community.”
List encourages other pastors to seek out students in their communities, spend time with them, mentor them and invite them to church and family events.
“Giving my kids the opportunity to catch fish, roast s’mores, and lead Bible studies is the best thing to me!” List says. “The results, which have kids using their time to mentor their peers, are a beautiful example of multiplication as spoken of in the Bible. I can’t imagine life without college ministry being a big part of my work. It’s so addictive!”
