Very helpful post by John Stackhouse on how the church - and by extension, campus ministries - should seek to engage students on the university campus.
From the conclusion:
Much campus ministry over the last century has merely been an
extension the local church work of basic disciple-making onto a nearby
campus. Should it continue? Perhaps it should, especially with
international students and others who might need extra time to
integrate into local churches. But to offer a “spiritual kindergarten,”
I suggest, is not the central mission of campus ministry. It
is the main responsibility of the local church, and campus ministries
instead should do what they are peculiarly situated and, I trust,
equipped to do.
Evangelism on campus? Of course that should continue. That’s “on the
job evangelism,” which every Christian ought to do. And with a special
“people group” in view—namely, university students and professors—one
can tailor apologetical and evangelistic initiatives to their
distinctive needs. When people do respond positively to such
initiatives, then campus ministries must connect them with local
churches and their helpful programs in basic Christian life: with Alpha
programs, small groups, Sunday School classes, and the like.
Without this clear sense of what they are to do versus what the
local church is to do, campus ministries neglect their particular work.
Thus they compound the problem by competing with local churches: “Why
even go to a local church? It’s so much less interesting than this
student group”—which in the nature of the case is tailored to and
includes only this nicely homogeneous demographic! Thus campus
ministries in effect train students in a “non-local-church” paradigm,
which devastates them upon graduation as they must, in fact, make their
way into local churches or flounder alone.
I'm thankful for the students and the campus ministries we're connected to on the University of Georgia campus. We're engaged in some really fruitful discussion about how the church can partner with these ministries to help students grow and thrive as missionaries to the campus, living in community, empowered by the gospel.
Recent Comments