Hungering Students

After a few days of rich conversations with college ministry folks (over 53 at the Montreat College Conference) the image of hunger kept surfacing in two areas, one expected and one not.

Most Presbyterian campus ministries have at least one regularly scheduled meal as a part of their programming.This "ministry of meals" is almost a hallmark of PC(USA) collegiate ministries. (One ice-breaker poster where we were to illustrate our  "typical student" participants had drawn a big heart and an even bigger stomach.) Perhaps a quarter of those feeding ministries had meals where students who might not necessarily be participants in the ministry could drop in, take a meal, and leave.

One of the dirty little secrets of college life is how many students don't get adequate food. They can't afford meal plans, and money for food is often an issue. Some ministers and students talked about students knowing which campus ministries fed on which days so that they could have a few days of good meals.

The other area where hunger kept cropping up was in discussions about students hungering for a welcoming place where they could bring their doubts and questions and be respected. This aspect of hospitality seems to be another one of the hallmarks of PC(USA) collegiate ministry.

How might the ministries with which you are connected be more intentional in responding to these hungers?