The Macy’s on 34^th Street in New York City boasts a bright, glittery, larger-than-life sign that says “Believe”.

Indeed, this is the season for belief, and as people bustle around, making purchases and catching up with family and friends, or taking some well-deserved time off, we invite you to think about this concept of “belief.”

As a student leader on a campus in defense of marriage, the family, and sexual integrity, you have a belief. You believe that these principles are noble, worthy, and beneficial to all persons, regardless of background, race, sex, orientation, or age. You believe that a commitment to the value of marriage, family, and sexual integrity contributes to greater health, happiness, and well-being of people’s lives, and ultimately to a healthier and more stable society as well.

Given that science and philosophy also supports these claims, your beliefs are well-founded. And yet, communicating the basis and merits of your beliefs and commitments is only half of your goal on campus. This half of your vision is intellectual – you want to inform the minds of your peers. But, the other half of your vision is social/ cultural. So many of you express to us your desire to change the hearts and behaviors of your peers. Often, this can be more difficult than winning the intellectual argument. In comparison, believing in the rational basis and merits of your intellectual commitments is not too difficult.

But can we legitimately believe that our culture can change?

We think so. But we also know that to defend this belief – that our generation can do better – you’ll need to not just win the minds of your peers, but also their hearts by addressing their hopes and aspirations at the individual level.

So, as you work to build or contribute to a group on campus, what do you believe about that same group, and what do you believe about the role it can play on campus? What do you want to believe?

As a student leader, you are in many ways the face of the message on your campus. You are the teachers, the role models, and the motivators behind the cultural movement that is beginning to emerge across the country. You are the ones who are able to speak to your campus culture more broadly; through those personal encounters with individuals, touching their hearts and engaging them in a real conversation about the things that matter most to them.

Ghandi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” As you emerge the next leaders for society, you have the great opportunity to discover the unique set of skills and strengths that you can contribute to a better, healthier culture, one more conducive to human flourishing. One person, thoughtful about the role they can play and committed to the authenticity and necessity of their message, can be a powerful motivating force, as evidenced in the rallying phrase, “believe in me” used by Tim Tebow in recent months.

Whatever one might say about Tim Tebow, he is a motivating force behind a team, because of belief. Perhaps your fellow students don’t believe in their ability to join in your effort, or don’t believe in its likelihood of success. You can unlock that in them through your example, through your conversations, or through your personal invitations to events or group meetings.

For example, help them make the connection between their behaviors now and their long-term plans. Build bridges for them between their dreams and their current reality. In the recent State of Our Unions report, 84% of girls desire marriage one day, along with 77% of boys.[1] Yet, studies also show that those who practice abstinence prior to marriage tend to experience greater relationship stability and satisfaction by 22% and 20% roughly.[2] These kinds of statistics may reflect the desires in people’s hearts and conveying these ideas can help lead students in a direction towards achieving their relationship goals.

You and your peers have proven yourselves capable of achievement, whether in the classroom, on the sports field, or in leadership positions. We believe that not only are you students capable of greatness in these areas, but also in your personal lives. Time and again, you students have proven that they are ready, willing, and able to strive for more than the culture would offer in the area of marriage, family, and sexual integrity.

Until you graduate, the campus is your playing field and you students the players; you have the ability to cast the vision to your peers about what this change will look like and how they can bring it about in their own lives.

So, as you prepare to launch into your spring semester, we encourage you to think about what vision you want to cast for your group members. How do you personally want to affect change? And then, what skills and strengths do your fellow students have to bring to this effort? You as students have the ability to make an impact on campus, and sell the message in a way that many can believe in.

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[1] State of Our Unions 2011

[2] Good Things to Come to Couples who Wait

Filed under: College, Dating, Events and Impact, Hook-up, Marriage, Sexual Integrity