Campus Ministry in California

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I find myself in a land that seems foreign on many counts. I have a twang that identifies me as someone from somewhere else. I don't own a show car. I don't wear sunglasses. My number of map-pins in California is relatively small on my US map compared to the size of the state. I have SO much to learn!

One thing does make me feel at home. (Well, there are actually many things. As an example, the College Church has made us feel like we belong!) I know campus ministry, and Churches of Christ in California have a beautiful heritage of ministry on college campuses. You can read about a legend of California campus ministry, Rick Rowland, at Campus Crosswalk. There used to be many thriving works on college campuses across this great state. Places like Santa Barbara, Chico, Davis, Fresno, and San Luis Obispo were home to churches that effectively brought Jesus into the lives of hundreds of young people. Where would the Church of Christ in California be today without those vibrant works?

Today, campus ministry has sadly vanished from the California landscape with only a couple exceptions. Churches of Christ in California have shifted priorities elsewhere. Some are fighting existential struggles, with little hope of survival. It doesn't help that Church of Christ campus ministry is in an identity crisis on a national level.

I'm grateful to work with a man like Doug Baker here at the College Church of Christ. Doug has rich experience in campus work at Cal State Fresno (Fresno State) & Fresno City College. He lived through the glory days and knows the history quite personally. He also understands the price and sacrifice required to build a campus ministry. He is an invaluable coworker, and I look forward to dreaming with him, along with our elders and many others, about the future of our ministry to college students both in Fresno and across the Golden State.

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