November 19, 1999 - The Amazing Potential of Campus Ministry

Consider This Scenario: Deciding that they want to have a significant impact on the future leadership of a region, a group of Christians analyze how they can focus their message on high impact individuals who will listen to their message. After assessing their options, they discover there is a target arena that has the following characteristics[1]:

■ There are ten times as many people in attendance as are incarcerated in jails and prisons

■ After leaving, the members scatter to every town and city and assume positions of influence and leadership

Influencing Our World: To reach our society with the good news of Jesus Christ, it is obvious that this arena of future leadership must not be excluded. As surely as prisoners and nursing home residents must hear the Gospel, so must those who are attending the college campus near you. Everybody deserves salvation, even those who have the brightest potential.

Campus Population: There are approximately 3,500 colleges and universities in North America. Ranging from local two-year technical colleges to major research universities, they represent a concentrated group of people who are eager to learn, willing to listen, and generally trying to establish the best way to live the rest of their lives. The majority of these students is between the ages of 18 - 25, and is in that unique period of their lives where making major decisions almost seems routine. To most of us, changing jobs or careers and doing something completely different is a difficult process. Students, on the other hand, may change their major field of study, and therefore the shape of their future, numerous times in only two or three years. As a result, they have a built-in flexibility to make significant changes in their spiritual values as well¾one need only consider the success fringe religions such as the Moonies have had on campus to appreciate this. As such, the campus population represents one of today’s most exciting opportunities to share the gospel!

Does It Work?: Consider this case of a student from DePaul University in Chicago. “ I always wanted to live for Jesus, but didn’t know how. In school I got heavily involved in the ‘club’ scene and began experimenting with lots of drugs. Eventually this became a habit. I was really just looking for a friend, but was destroying myself in the process. I met someone in school who invited me to church, and I accepted. When I walked in I could feel the presence of God all around me, and I felt dirty. I didn’t believe there was any way Jesus could forgive me for all the wrong that I’d done, but He did. I was filled with the Holy Ghost and baptized in Jesus name, and my life has been completely changed ever since. I finally have the power to live for Jesus!”

Outreach and Strengthening: Closely linked with campus outreach is strengthening the spiritual lives of those students who already know Jesus Christ. Like many other settings, the campus culture can prove to be a challenge to the spiritual strength of a student, especially if they feel isolated. One of the best ways to stay strong in the Lord is to be an active participant in reaching others and seeing lives transformed by God. Additionally, staying in touch with students of like belief and becoming part of a local church can provide the vital support necessary to remain strong in the spirit.

International Students: Not only does effective campus ministry have the potential to affect our society, but it can also affect societies world-wide. If you desire to reach the world with the gospel, there may be no better way to begin than by befriending an international student and sharing the good news. After completing their degrees, most of these individuals will be returning home to assume positions of responsibility. Could it be that God has brought them to your nearby campus to learn about Jesus Christ?

Consider this example: a student who was reached while at West Virginia University and went on to become the Director of Investment Promotion for an African country[2] after his graduation. International missions really can be done at your local campus.

Special Requirements?:
While the campus setting does represent a unique culture, and should be approached as such, having multiple degrees, exotic training, or a type of unusual intellect is not a requirement for effective outreach. Everybody on campus specializes in their particular field of study, and is not likely to know much about other areas. Just as a student majoring in theatre is not expected to know anything about microbiology, your outreach effort is only expected to specialize in what you are representing. We represent the on-campus specialists in our field of expertise - Jesus Christ.

Where To Start: Whether there are numerous college students from your church attending a campus near you, or there are none, an effective campus outreach can be developed. As always, the first step is prayer and fasting for the students in your area, along with making sure your pastor approves of, and supports, your plans.

If there is an existing group of students already present on your local campus, get them together, share your vision for reaching the campus, and get started.

If there are no students that you know of with whom to get started, this should not hamper your efforts. There are all sorts of ways to come into contact with students who are interested in what you have to say. Simply advertising the availability of personal Bible studies on flyers hung around campus and in the campus newspaper, or hosting a banquet for international students, will bring you into contact with many on campus. As these individuals develop a relationship with the Lord, effective campus ministry is already well under way.

Each campus and church combination is unique and will dictate the best approach to your particular setting. Your approach may include starting an on-campus organization, establishing a college-oriented Sunday School class at your church, advertising the availability of personal Bible studies in the school paper, or any other function that brings you in contact with individuals interested in God. What all successful approaches have in common is a core of individuals interested in the lives of local students.

A good starter kit for reaching students is a publication entitled Starting A Campus Ministry. This is a product of Campus Ministry International (CMI), which was formed nine years ago to facilitate the efforts of local churches to reach their campus population with the gospel. CMI, with approximately 40 local chapters, serves as a clearinghouse for the sharing of ideas, training, and on-campus promotional tools to aid campus ministry efforts nationwide. (Feel free to contact CMI at gyouth8855@aol.com.)

“Go Ye Therefore…”(Matthew 28:19): Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s work together to reach our colleges and universities for the Kingdom!

David Kuhtenia is the North American Coordinator for Campus Ministry International by evening, and is a consulting engineer to the nuclear power industry by day. He resides in the Columbus, Ohio area with his wife, the fabulous Michelle Kuhtenia, and their newest addition to the family, the four-footed chewingest pooch in the Midwest, Jasmine.

[1] Data taken from the following sources: U.S. Data – US Census Bureau, USA Statistics in Brief (a supplement to the Statistical Abstract of the United States); Canadian Data – Provided by staff of Campus Crusade of Canada; International Student Data – Columbus Dispatch, December 1998, and Annual Census of Foreign Students, provided by Friendship International.

[2] The Dominion Post, August 29, 1994 (“WVU grad sells homeland to the world”)

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