Understanding Contemporary Campus Ministry

Campus ministry is undergoing dramatic changes. The young people of today view the world through different eyes than those of their parents. As ministers of the gospel, we seek to communicate timeless truths, but the methods we use must change as the needs and perceptions of people adjust to the world around them. The goal of campus ministry is the same as it was in the 1970s. Some the specific methods that were successful 30 years ago tend to fail today because the world has changed.

Churches everywhere are searching for a relevant foothold on today's college campus. Several things are becoming clear as we search for the right methods to connect God’s timeless story with young people today.

1. Today’s campus ministry seeks to transform, not just shelter, young people. “Training people to make godly choices” is a great definition for a major aspect of campus ministry. Sheltering people from the evil of today’s world is not our goal. It’s also impossible. A person needs little more than a personal computer to have access to some of the most heinous evil imaginable. We can’t possibly monitor young people or shield them from everything, though we should certainly help all we can. Admittedly, some people need periods of protection and shelter, and we need the capacity to help remove people from dangerous situations, long enough to receive healing and strength. Having said that, though, Jesus didn't call his followers to a life of sheltered exclusivity. Instead, He sent them out into the world to be His light and salt. Our goal in campus ministry is train young people to live in the world (as it is) and to shine God’s glorious light (healthy relationships, peace, contentment, godly wisdom, etc.) in the midst of the darkness (alienation, fear, greed, stress, immorality, etc.). We want to produce young people who can make a difference in the world, not who will retreat into the walls of their dorm rooms or even their church buildings.

2. Evangelism in today’s campus ministry is first relational and then informational. Hasn't this always been true? Information is crucial to evangelism, but a relationship opens the door for an exchange of ideas. From a young age people face a plethora of beliefs and ideas. One of the main values of universities is tolerance of others, no matter what they believe. People therefore learn to let dogma go in one ear and out the other without absorbing its content. People only listen to each other in the context of slowly built relationships. Young people’s ears are open to those with whom they have spent long hours, months and years in relationship. Passing along information in the absence of meaningful relationships is like throwing Velcro-covered balls at a concrete wall – nothing sticks. College students themselves are naturally in the best position to have these types of relationships with other students, so we are heavily dependent on them learning to tell the stories of Jesus to their friends.

3. Integrating young people into Christian communities is vital to their spiritual health. We can no longer assume that Christians will automatically go to church. There is immense skepticism of institutionalized church in our world, even among believers. People like Jesus but hate "the church." Many different streams feed into this torrent of popular dissent, but we would be amiss if we simply rolled with the punches. The church has to actively fight this trend as preachers and teachers everywhere reacquaint the world (and believers!) with this fact: God works through imperfect people and institutions. God even came in the flesh! And He calls us to be in community with one another. The church IS His plan for fighting the despair and depravity so prevalent in our world today. College students have to learn the joy of involvement in a multi-generational community of faith. There is no future for disembodied believers.