By Mark A. Taylor
As parents of 3 million college freshmen send them off to school this year, it seems they have plenty to worry about.
How will we pay for it? College costs are increasing by almost 8 percent per year, more than 6 times the rate of inflation. Many of today”s graduates are facing the job market deep in debt (an average of $26,100 for the 65 percent of grads from nonprofit private colleges last year who had student loans).
Will it be worth it? The New York Times reported this spring that only half the jobs taken by new college graduates even require a degree. Median starting salaries for students graduating from four-year colleges were down 10 percent from 2006. And a new book, The Faculty Lounges, claims that the practice of granting academic tenure is undercutting the quality of university education today.
What will they learn outside of class? The old saw advises, “Don”t let your studies get in the way of your education.” But too many of today”s students are learning lessons outside of class with drastic consequences for the rest of their lives.
One report shows that at least one in four college women will be the victim of sexual assault during her academic career. Another says one in four college students will contract a sexually transmitted disease before graduating. One study estimates that 44 percent of students in four-year colleges are binge drinkers. And another reports that almost half of college freshmen who drink alcohol spend more time each week drinking (10.2 hours) than preparing for class (8.4 hours).
But parents and students alike can be encouraged by the presence of Christian campus ministries at hundreds of universities. Even without today”s financial and social pressures, these ministries would serve a vital role. Obviously students do far more at college than preparing for a career. Many of them are forming a foundation of values and habits to last a lifetime. It”s difficult to imagine a more important population for disciple-making.
With that in mind, for some time we”ve been dedicating one issue yearly to campus ministry sponsored and led by members of Christian churches and churches of Christ. Our annual directory can be an invaluable resource.
It”s a good thing when Christian teenagers who are serious about their faith choose a Christian college. But secular schools can also provide a fertile framework for the adventure of seeking and seeing God”s will. And no other initiative makes this more possible than the ministries we”ve listed here.
Mark, thank you and your staff for this emphasis annually on the value and potential impact of our campus ministries. May God multiply the number of ministries and staff around the world.
It is good to note that our Churches in the United States are so sensitive enough in supporting Campus Ministry. In my country, considering that the presence of our American Missionaries here ( I am referring to our American Missionaries of the Christian Churches/Churches Of Christ) traced as early as1901, Campus Ministry was not given an attention. Say, in this northern part of my country, I can not remember even one organized Campus Ministry that had been started since the Christian Churches/Churches Of Christ started making misions in the area when in fact there are number of colleges and universities here.
I believe of the lasting effect a Campus Ministry may do in the lives of the young ones in campuses whom may be potential leaders in their respective area of specialization. This conviction led me to start one in my area, the Quirino Christian Students Organization catering one state college and two high school campuses but due to my limited financial means, I could hardly sustain the ministry.
Mark, I am reading your editorial for 9/11. You probably do not know that Louisa County, Va., where the earthquake occurred a couple of weeks ago(and about every other day since) has quite a number of Christian Churches Disciples of Christ. Three of those churches were rendered unusable by the earthquake. The Gilboa Christian Church in particular, which dates to 1832, is likely the church from which W. K. Pendleton came. Pendleton, who married Alexander Campbell’s daughter, came from the family of a continuing line of medical doctors. The house where he likely grew up, less than a mile away, was also seriously damaged that Pendleton’s retired great great grand niece, Dr. Jane Pendleton Wooten, probably can no longer live there until it is repaired.