Bryan Risner
Missionary
BMA Global
Romania
Q: How can youth pastors help students have a heart for the nations?
The best way is to help them see people through the eyes of Jesus right where they are.
Before becoming a missionary in Romania, I served as both a police officer and a student pastor. Today, I continue investing in students and families through missions. While those roles may seem very different, they’ve all taught me the same lesson: You’ll never have genuine compassion for people until you start seeing people through the eyes of Jesus. Around our ministry, we simply call that having “Jesus eyes,” a reminder of Matthew 9:36, where Jesus looked at the crowds and was moved with compassion because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
One of the unique challenges we face in Romania is helping students engage with the Roma people, often called Gypsies, who are among the most marginalized and misunderstood people groups in Europe. Many Romanian teenagers grow up surrounded by the same prejudices they see in the culture around them. One of our goals has been helping them move beyond those barriers and see people the way Christ sees them.
As students began serving in Roma communities through local outreach events, Vacation Bible Schools, and personal relationships, something started to change. They started seeing people instead of just their labels, and that inspired them to want to share the Gospel with them.
Later, some of those same students joined us on a mission trip to Zambia. While they had already been hearing about missions and learning to serve through their local church, the experience of stepping into another culture gave them a new perspective on God’s global mission. What had been a seed of interest grew into genuine passion. Several returned home with a greater desire to serve, share their faith, and become more involved in ministry opportunities around them.
I’ve always believed students don’t have to travel overseas to start living on mission. They can begin in their schools, neighborhoods, teams, and communities today.
No matter the uniform, title, or country, I’ve seen the same truth over and over again: When students begin seeing people through the eyes of Jesus, God expands their vision far beyond what they ever imagined.
