Campus Ministry: A Beacon of Light

By Lee Snyder

Every fall, I watch them arrive.

In the last days of August, parents come to leave their son or daughter in our tender care, part of new crop of freshmen at our university. Eager to explore their new world, they meet roommates, check out the gym, and find the local coffeeshops.

Mom and Dad may shed tears when they leave the parking lot and see the university dormitory in the rearview mirror. They know a secret: they are saying good-bye forever to their child. Twelve weeks later, the boy or girl who comes home at Thanksgiving will be someone new, a semiadult who is a little more sophisticated than before, a little more grown up.

These parents would feel happier about driving home alone if they knew what I have learned over many years: their college is blessed with a strong campus ministry. As a professor in a state university, I see what the campus ministry does for students.

It”s a Saltshaker

If all Christian influence disappeared from the university campus, it would be a dismal place. University professors and administrators are just like plumbers and taxi drivers. They are no better nor worse than other people, and certainly no more religious. I”m grateful that a few Christian students are courageous enough to provide a salty influence to the academy.

One recent student had a gentle but persistent way of witnessing in every course he took. His teachers even invited him to discuss his faith with them.

Many courageous students get confidence for such bold witnessing from their campus ministry. Their worship and Bible studies teach them an important truth””they serve the King of kings and they need never be ashamed. Even a freshman can pray truly, “I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes” (Psalm 119:99).

It”s an Emergency Room

A senior at our university learned his graduation was not possible and would be delayed for another term. The disappointment was too much, and, in a season of overwhelming disappointment, he took his own life.

Since that suicide, I warn students each semester that nothing about their education is worth the loss of their health, family, morality, or life. I tell them if they need help, the university provides counselors for them, their professors care about them, and the university”s various campus ministries welcome students of every religion, and no religion.

Campus ministers may feel inadequate as they discuss physics homework, career options, relationships, financial matters, car repairs, and most important, spiritual truth with these students. But I see them as nothing less than God”s ambassadors in the emergency room of life for thousands of college students today.

Basic Bible Institute

I overheard a student telling about a sermon she”d heard: “The preacher told about this guy who visited Jesus at night””you know, Nicodermus [sic]. I guess he wanted Jesus to help him stop smoking.”

The days are long past when even atheists needed to know the Bible in order to be well-educated. I sense a growing hunger, yes, even a passion to know the Word of God among today”s students. Campus ministries are no substitute for Bible college, but the students who participate do learn a great deal of the Bible, maybe even by heart, and they always focus on living what they learn.

I know of a campus ministry in which a dozen or so students committed to memorizing the entire book of Philippians as a group. Their desire was to grow deeper in abundant joy and know the Lord more intimately. They did and they do.

Temporary Employment Agency

Students now in college are well acquainted with service learning projects. Many participated in these projects in high school. This next generation of students is even more involved in community service, especially in the field of short-term missions. Campus ministries channel the enthusiasm of students into projects that minister both to bodies and souls. Many of these mission efforts are local, but an increasing number of them are international.

My wife, Vicki, and I enjoy meeting them as they return from their mission trips, seeing them exhausted, ecstatic, but permanently changed. Like Moses descending from the mountain, we sense a “glow” in them. Their faces shine. Though the university offers a number of courses in cultural diversity, none can compare to the short-term mission trip experience.

“Hearing” Aides

Driven by economic concerns, universities promote large class sizes and distance learning (courses offered by Internet or satellite). This means a growing number of students may seldom have face-to-face contact with a professor.

Meanwhile, my students start calling friends on their cell phones and turning on iPods before they even leave the room after class (hopefully not during class). They are more comfortable instant messaging friends than talking to them in person! Students sign up for cell phone plans that include more than 1,000 text messages per month and find themselves paying additional fees for exceeding the limit.

Campus ministries help them stay “human.” The campus ministers I know go above and beyond to take time just to listen, to share a cup of coffee, and to play a game of racquetball.

Students who check out campus ministries rediscover that genuine fellowship beats electronic relationships. They laugh and sing together, and then kneel before the throne as one body. They realize that HiSpace is so much better than MySpace.

A Harvest Field

As a professor who is a Christian, I”m limited in what I can do or say in the classroom. I practice what Frances Schaeffer called “pre-evangelism.” In my class in logic, for example, I encourage students to rationally examine their political, religious, and ethical habits. When talking about communication as a human art, I explain that spiritual hunger is an important part of human culture.

I pray for my students but not usually with them. When I”ve done everything I can as a professor, the students are still seeking. I prayerfully hope to plant seed of Truth in their lives, then other students and staff in campus ministries cultivate and guide empty hearts the rest of the way to the One who fulfills them.

In 1 Corinthians 3:7 Paul spoke of some who planted the seed while others watered. At the end of the day only God makes things grow. I”m so thankful we serve the Lord of the harvest.

Finding God

In a few months, parents will bring us the next family of freshmen. The drive home for Mom and Dad may seem long and lonesome. Still, when this family is reunited at Thanksgiving, I hope they will see evidence that the best, truest teachings they gave their child at home still persist, that their cool, smart, educated kid loves them as much as ever, and that there is something good in them that has not changed and never will. I hope the parents will join me in giving thanks that a campus ministry helped their child remain faithful while the winds of change blew into every area of their lives.

A book written a few years ago entitled Finding God at Harvard (by Kelly Monroe) offered an encouraging look at the fruitful work of the Lord in the academic world. I”m thrilled to add a hearty “amen” to her words and say that college students are finding God on campuses throughout the nation and in universities throughout the world.

May faithful Christians remember to diligently pray for these vital workers as they carry a message of hope to such an influential place in our culture.

 

 

Dr. Lee Snyder is professor of speech communication at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.