Campus Ministers’ Interview from the Christian Standard.
Last week’s Christian Standard praised the practice of campus ministry, and the centerpiece of the issue was the above group interview with veteran campus ministers.
Given the reflections on campus ministry I posted here some time ago, it does concern me a bit that just about the whole of the interview and the companion piece in the same issue seem to assume, counter to Stackhouse’s recommendations, that campus ministries are themselves congregations, unabashedly segregated by age and privilege, rather than specialized times for teaching college students who are themselves first and foremost members of local, multi-generational congregations.
Such assumptions do not surprise me; I’ve not known many campus ministers, but in the reading I’ve done about the phenomenon of college ministry, many in that business do treat campus ministry as a youth ministry that never has to answer to a senior pastor.? In principle I have no objection to that; after all, many church plants and some megachurches seem to have gotten their starts precisely under those conditions.? The difference is, though, that a church plant at least in theory might sustain itself after a few years’ support from mother/sister congregations, campus ministries, at least the ones with which I’m familiar, make no such effort.
Again, there’s nothing wrong with that in itself: youth ministries as a rule do not support themselves.? But youth ministries, at least as they’re constituted in most places, define themselves as specialized ministries for one part of a larger assembly, and the congregation can generally count on the youth group to do some kind of regular work in the congregation, whether that be helping with grouds cleanup, nursery support, or other kinds of assistance.
So on one hand there’s nothing wrong with a gathering’s establishing itself as independent; church plants do it all the time. And on the other hand there’s nothing wrong with specialized ministries; youth ministers do that all the time.? But I’ll admit that I do wonder about gatherings that are funded like youth ministries but play as minimal a role in the supporting congregations as do church plants. But then again, now that I think of it, that does run parallel to the stereotype about college students themselves: they pretend “independence” when they’re out on Thursday nights, but they live on money from Mom and Dad.? So why is the grumpy English teacher griping so much?? It’s just what I do, I suppose.
As usual, what I say here is hardly the last word; I’d welcome any comments from campus ministers on these observations.
Your link to the Standard was an interesting read. What separates me as a Campus Minister is that the college I serve is a two year school with transfer programs and a large technical focus. I only have 5 years of experience serving in Campus Ministry. I have two years to develop a relationship with students. Two years vs. four years put me in a bit of challenging place. It makes the time that I do have all the more critical ti get to know students. Last fall I started a small Campus Church for the unchurched as an alternative to what we call “thirsty Thursday.” I think the greatest challenge in reaching students is the administrative distraction of fund raising for the financial solvency of my ministry. I could do so much more for students with out the challenge of figuring out how to pay the bills. Hey, anyway…great reading on your blog. I always enjoy your thoughts!
~Jeremy (old oozer)
Thank you for the comment, Jeremy. Out of curiosity, what contact if any does your ministry have with local congregations?
I have casual contact with local churches. I attend citywide ministerial meetings and go out for coffee often w/ local pastors. Most of my support comes from churches as well. We have worked hard to develop collaborative relationships with Pastors. Often its the Youth Pastors that are extremely territorial. But, most of the students I work with are coming out of no religious or spiritual background whatsoever. I endeavor to stand by our ministry name, which is United Campus Ministry. United is not always as easy as I would like it to be but, we seem to do alright.