The sense with which we are using the term ‘engagement’ has to do (roughly) with
opening up dialogue about the great things of the gospel. It can also mean opening up dialogue about things that underly or provide support for the Christian world-view and the gospel.
That can come about in a myriad of ways, for instance, you may be asked why you get involved in certain social issues on campus like contending for the rights of minority groups or of the disenfranchised. That may open up dialogue about what motivates you and why it’s important to you. Sometimes dialogue about the gospel can come up in discussions about political or even religious matters. These sorts of conversation can offer legitimate grounds for such an engagement. Engagement can come as a result of a (for instance) an invited speaker on campus who raises issues that touch on salient issues related to the gospel. Of course, we believe that engagement should be wisely and carefully entered into, and that almost always involves some homework and gaining background knowledge. The background knowledge that is nice to know, is some of the beliefs and attitudes of those particular people with whom we engage; doing so can allow us to engage more skillfully. This is particularly challenging when it involves discussing issues that are supported (from our point of view) by ideas which are outside the plausibility structure of the listener. So good engagement involves understanding what our audience thinks is plausible (and may need only some support) and what they think is implausible. The latter can be approached, but it is a much more difficult task.
Because there is empirical evidence that the contemporary academic world for the most part is profoundly biased against Christianity--especially towards Evangelicals--it is worthwhile to take your time to understand where a specific colleague is coming from so you can season your speech with salt. (See research under “Audience Analysis” under Communication tab.)
So we’re all about opening up dialogue about the gospel but with sufficient shrewdness to avoid the glaring mis-communications that can come about from background beliefs which distort clear exchange.
We also encourage you to take a look at some of the important (what we call) “geographical” locaters that this site offers. You can do that by looking at all the resources on the Communication tab.