By David Kuhtenia
March 6, 2000

(Editor’s Note: Our November 19, 1999 cover story, The Amazing Potential of Campus Ministry, discussed the possibilities anyone might have if they started a campus ministry at their local college. One reader wrote an impassioned open letter of disagreement to its author, David Kuhtenia. Below is the letter and the reply.)

Dear David,

While I agree in spirit with your premise, I think there are a few points that need specific attention. I want to say that we have tried to start such a program here and it has been difficult to say the least. After just graduating mere months ago, I'd like to point out a few things we all need to realize before any ministry can take root.

Passive advertising will never work. The banquet idea is good in that it gets people together and active. If you really want to advertise successfully, it takes a lot of time and interaction on campus with the students. I saw one gimmick where the coordinator stood in probably the heaviest pedestrian area of the campus and handed out sno-cones and invitations to a general campus meeting AND a one-on-one session to any student interested. It was very common to see him out there two to three times a week during the warmer seasons and a lot of people got to know him. That's what it takes to foster interest.

One thing that made me cringe was when students from the local Bible college would come and try to save the campus. Oftentimes they'd come off as arrogant and ignorant and in the end were laughed off campus.

The point is, you DO need to be able to relate to the students on an intellectual level, and have the ability to converse without condemning. In light of that, I think it makes worlds of differences to have similar-educational backgrounds if for no other reason than to relate to your audience. It lends credibility to you.

Lastly, many college students will not attend a meeting if it isn't directly accessible (walking distance). College-aged classes at the church are fabulous for those who attend regularly, but you'll be hard-pressed to find an interested ""unbeliever"" willing to get up on a Sunday morning to go to a class aimed at them.

The thought of having that Sunday morning class on campus is sacrilegious to some people, but I guarantee the probabilities of interested parties on campus attending increase exponentially. What I'd really like to hear is some specifics on what you'd focus on in your meetings and how you would structure it. Its too easy (and dangerous) to assume everybody knows what we know. Give me a detailed plan of action."

(Signed)
Skeptical Reader

Response:

Dear Skeptical Reader,

Thank you very much for your detailed response to the article about the potential of campus ministry. The perspectives of those who are actually on campus are always welcome and provide helpful insights. Please allow me to provide a few comments on campus ministry in response to your input.

The first truism is that campus ministry, like any other ministry, is ultimately local. Many of us are familiar with the famous quote that "all politics are local," and it seems that outreach is the same way. What do I mean? What works at campus "A" may never work on campus "B," and vice versa.

Several years ago, a few of us who were part of the leadership of a local campus ministry in Ohio would spend hours and hours agonizing over how we should best approach our campus, and eventually developed a successful set of guidelines that worked well in our setting. Feeling pretty good about our technique, we attended a Campus Ministry International (CMI) meeting in St. Louis that involved several groups from across North America to share our expertise. As it turned out, there were groups in attendance who did many things that we would never do in a million years, and these groups were equally as successful as our group. Egad! Lesson learned – Birds of a feather really do flock together, and what clearly mattered most was the equal honesty and dedication that these other groups put into their respective ministries as we did ours.

Our different groups would likely reach a somewhat different demographic on campus, but a soul is a soul, and God will clearly use willing vessels to spread the Good News despite our individual pre-conceptions and biases. As you can probably tell from this brief account, yours truly had to get off his own soapbox on some issues and re-acknowledge that while we should all work hard, sweat the details, and do our best as the Spirit leads, it is ultimately the Spirit that draws every individual into a relationship with Jesus Christ.

As such, one frustration that we have at CMI is that we cannot simply say "to have a successful campus ministry, do a + b + c and all will be well." To that end, materials such as Starting a Campus Ministry provide a matrix of ideas that can be tried, discarded, and/or adapted as needed. These ideas include activities such as starting an on-campus group, give-aways, international student banquets, advertising personal Bible studies, surveys, working with the Office of Student Affairs to help solve campus student social problems, starting a Sunday School class for college students, etc.

As an example of the application of these ideas, you assert that "Passive advertising will never work." Well, I personally know of an individual who lives in Ohio that has a small advertisement from the classified section of the campus newspaper taped in the cover of his Bible, as it was the very thing that brought him to an on-campus meeting that ultimately led to his salvation. Sorry, but in this specific case, passive advertising worked very well.

Having said that, your assertion that "If you really want to advertise successfully, it takes a lot of time and interaction on campus with the students" really gets to the heart of the matter. If any of us think that we can throw the Gospel at a group and get it to stick without "time and interaction," we have probably never actually done any real-world evangelism.

I often like to say that all of the "techniques" that we describe for campus ministry are all a bit of a scam, in that the real goal of any advertising, meetings, concerts, and banquets, is to get individuals into some sort of a personal/individualized/small group Bible study. This is where the real discipleship and winning of souls usually takes place, whether in a dorm room or a jail cell. One person sharing with another person who Jesus Christ is and what He wants to be for every human being on the planet is very powerful. As an example, remember the case of the person with the newspaper classified taped in their Bible? Their appearance at the campus meeting was followed up by being taught a Bible study and getting them involved in the social activities of the group.

One of the more intriguing aspects of campus ministry is the issue that you bring up regarding being "… able to relate to the students on an intellectual level, and have the ability to converse without condemning." Clearly, the "without condemning" aspect of your comment is absolutely true. Also, as pointed out earlier, birds of a feather do tend to flock together, and it is of obvious benefit to be on a similar intellectual level. However, I know of a church in Indiana with a campus ministry where the university students vote on the church "MVP" for that particular academic year. Guess who normally wins? The driver of the van that makes the rounds on Sunday mornings to pick up students for church, who does not even have a high school diploma! Does this imply that we should dispatch the academic underachievers of our churches to "go ye therefore" on-campus? Of course not, but let us all keep in mind that the vast majority of conversions are the result of family and friendship relationships, not on our sole ability to convince someone of their need for Jesus. Would it be best to have an array of Spirit-filled professionals and academics actively reaching out to individuals in their respective fields? Sure, but is that an absolute pre-requisite for successful campus ministry? No.

So then, what should be done on-campus as a detailed plan of action? I would pray and fast, research my campus to see who is there, find out what works for other groups (secular and religious), ask around to see what people might be interested in, and put a plan into action. When things do not happen the way they "should," I would go to Plan B, and then to Plan C.

This sounds sort of vague you say? You are correct! Remember what works on campus "A" may fall flat on its face on campus "B." What does work every time, at every location is when willing laborers (to get King James-ish) keep their focus on relating the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that is honest, sincere, and to the best of their ability. When that is the case, the pressure is off of each of us and onto God. After all, we sow the seed, but He is the one that brings the increase.

Thanks for all of the efforts to reach your campus, and may God bless the work that has been accomplished.

Sincerely,
David Kuhtenia

PS – Your idea of a "sunday morning class on campus" is an excellent one. I have heard people talking about doing this, but know of no Apostolics who have actually gone past the talking phase. Let us know how it goes.

© David G. Kuhtenia, 2000

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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 ever-so-fabulous Michelle Kuhtenia, and Jasmine, who they rescued from doggy death row but might take back if she does not stop perfecting her surface mining technology in the back yard.

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