The Many Faces of Campus Ministry

By Roger Charley

So, how do you do campus ministry?” I scratched my head after hearing this question for the third time in one week.

A reporter from an area newspaper asked me the first time. The second inquiry came from a youth minister wanting to reach out to the university students in his town. Then, just the other night, the phone rang and a recent college graduate told me he was considering campus ministry as a career. The bewildered tone in his voice revealed he really wanted to know “how you do this” specialized effort in local missions.

For more than 20 years I”ve grown in my understanding of how this unique ministry, with its challenges and opportunities, can be effectively organized. About the time I think I”ve got it figured out, the Lord reveals a new wineskin to carry the priceless, ageless wine of the gospel.

I”m realizing there may not be a single “right way” to reach out to our university students. In fact, the face of campus ministry changes almost as often as the faces of students we see on campus each new semester.

A Regional Approach

Many campus ministries were born in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They began on a local campus with a regional board of directors. For 20 years, my wife, Nancy, and I served such a ministry at the Christian Campus House at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville.

The blessing and benefits of this type of structure were extraordinary. Area churches and faithful leaders spent time, sweat, and money to realize their vision of reaching the college campus. This energetic ownership caused churches to go out of their way to encourage their kids to plug into their ministry. God blessed that ministry with both growth and vision, and it spread to the Missouri Western campus.

Regional ministry creates a healthy teamwork between the students, ministry staff, and area churches. Students learn the church is more than just the campus ministry as they visit supporting churches. They serve musically, preach sermons, and volunteer with youth groups. After preaching his first sermon, a college freshman recently said, “The people at church are awesome; one family adopted me to be a part of their family.”

Churches are immensely blessed through serving the Lord right in their own backyard. Grandma Doris brings cookies for Tuesday night Bible study, Roy and Jim stop by to cook up hamburgers for the Welcome Back to School Barbecue, and Melvin takes time off on Friday to fix a leaky faucet at the campus ministry building.

Students see these acts of service and are eager to spend time on Sunday morning in worship at the local church. The dynamic link between church and campus ministry in this regional approach develops strong friendships.

A National Approach

“But I don”t really even like Starbucks coffee,” I mentioned to a friend. We were talking about campus ministry opportunities in the Seattle area (home to the famous coffee conglomerate). The most daunting obstacle is there are few Christian churches in the region. Still, in a step of faith, we headed west to serve with Impact Ministries International.

Impact is a national organization that starts campus ministries in new areas, especially in statistically unchurched areas, both in the States and overseas. Teams of sacrificial servants plant ministries in places such as the University of Idaho, the State University of New York-Albany, and at Harvard (don”t miss the article by Tim Hawkins in this issue). Because of national (and international) groups like Impact and Globalscope, many campuses enjoy a gospel presence not previously possible.

Joining forces with a local church in Seattle (Northwest Church of Christ) gave the new ministry added flexibility. Northwest Church is a congregation with a record of strategically reaching out to college students. This partnership with a local congregation bolstered our spirits and encouraged the church family. The realization that so much more could be accomplished by working together inspired even more creative outreach efforts. College students worshiping and serving in a multigenerational setting more naturally transition into a local church family after graduation.

My appreciation of this ministry structure grew while serving in Seattle. While a teamwork attitude flourished in the Missouri churches, the team members in Seattle were considered an integral part of the church staff. In both places the picture of campus ministry held a prominent place in the collage of the church”s outreach.

The apostle Paul thanked God for a faithful partnership in ministry (Philippians 1:3-5). So do I.

Statewide Emphasis

Currently my wife and I serve with Campus Christian Fellowship at the University of Iowa. CCF has many similarities to regional ministries, but it is a statewide ministry structure. Campus ministries at both the University of Iowa and Iowa State work together to minimize administrative costs while creatively encouraging one another with new methods and ideas. Expanding onto other college campuses is a vital part of our strategy.

This statewide approach (such as in Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas) is helping ministries in many states become even more fruitful. While some of the personal contact with supporters of the ministry suffers due to the larger statewide construct, churches still enthusiastically embrace the campus ministry and faithfully partner with the work. Planning Bible studies together, sharing resources, and dividing administrative duties among the multiple staff lighten the load and foster a kindred spirit among the team.

First Corinthians 9:22 says, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” The saving work of God”s grace belongs to him, but the “all possible means” seems to fit us. Church-based, statewide, regional, or a national approach all have potential for effective campus ministry. The important thing is that Christ is proclaimed as we seek new and creative ways to influence one of the most influential places of the world today””the university campus.

 

 

Roger Charley and his wife Nancy serve together in campus ministry at the University of Iowa in Ames, Iowa.