Long Range Thinking

The PC(USA) needs to do some long range thinking about collegiate ministries.

The last time the denomination addressed any collegiate ministry issue (except the approval of church-related institutions) was in 2001 with the report, “Renewing the Commitment: A Church-wide Mission Strategy for Ministry in Higher Education by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ." There was a subsequent report in 2003 which was initially hoped to be a companion piece to "Renewing the Committment." The report, "Reclaiming the Vision: A Mission Strategy to Strengthen the Partnership Between the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Its Related Schools, Colleges, and Universities" has little meat and no teeth. One proof is that it has no link on the PC(USA) website. I've put it on the PACHEM site so it can be accessed.

Here are a few reasons why we need a new stragety, a long range vision for collegiate ministry:

 - The domination’s headquarters has systematically cut and minimized Collegiate Ministries since 2001. The shuttling of the office and the restructuring of Louisville means that much of the report mentions offices and entities which no longer exist. The economic and political reality of 2010 is much different than in 2010.

 - Long rage thinking is a somewhat new concept for collegiate ministries. Campus ministries after World War II and the eccumenical era assumed that the denomination valued collegiate ministry as a given, so the focus was on year-to-year program funding. Campus Ministry boards allocated funds with church sessions as a model. With reductions in funding from all sources, and with the denomination pulling back from eccumenical collegiate ministry efforts, campus ministries must think long range. Boards need to rethink their purpose from the session model to the non-profit organization model. The church needs to address clearly what the role and goal of collegiate ministry should be in the future.

 - The denomination also needs to rethink its relation to higher education institutions. Few colleges now recieve significant funds (the currency of influence to them) from the denominational structure, yet the denomination has some residual fond paternal notion of the closeness of church-relations. The intellectual resources of the institutions are ignored. And exactly what does being church-related mean? What are the minimum expectations from both parties?

 - How do we use the resources we have most effectively? How do we hold collegiate ministries accountable? Can anyone set up a table on a campus quad and claim to be a PC(USA) campus ministry? How do we hold the burocracy accountable? If we say that collegiate ministry is important and the life of the mind foundational for us, how should that translate into resources?


The General Assemby this summer will address an overture concerning Collegiate Ministry. Overture 102 is unfortunately entitled, "On Reestablishing an Office of Collegiate Ministries as a Vital Part of Ministry and Mission." The second part of the overture is asking for "a strategy for mission in higher education in concert with middle governing bodies, congregations, and, where possible, ecumenical partners." I hope that request will not get lost in the buracratic arguements about separate offices, staff members, and budgets.
The PC(USA) needs to do some serious, thoughtful, long range thinking about collegiate ministries.

Migration Season

The Migration Season for our college age young people has begun. Youth Sundays with recognition of the graduating seniors is the congregation's way of launching them out of the nest. Launched with the unspoken assumption that they will test their wings and eventually return when it is time for them to have children. Sent off with little or no support.

How many times have you collegiate ministers received communication from a congregation informing you that one of their members has enrolled in your institution? For me, in 22 years, less than 10 letters or e-mails! That's neglectful, and pityful.

We wring our hands because our congregations are getting smaller, yet we allow a whole segment to leave by the back door. We forget our vows we made to them when they were baptized.

Chuck Bomar, who blogs at College Ministry Thoughts, is doing good work in thinking about and addressing this area of congregational inaction. He pushes for every congregation to have some intentional strategy for ministry to the college aged, whether that congregation is near an higher education institution or not. And he emphases personal connections over programs.

His new book, The Slow Fade, (written along with a pastor and a recent college graduate) encourages congregations and families to invest in college-aged people, to prevent the "slow fade" from active involvement in faith communities. Investing means connecting students with the full life of the faith community by providing them with nurturing inter-generational relationships and meaningful service. This is not campus ministry, but might overlap into it.

The Slow Fade is a helpfull little book for congregations near your institutions, or for fculty or staff who might be feeling called to be more involved in the spiritual life of students.  It is a plea to understand the twenty somethings and an encouragement for adults in the congregation to be involved in the life of a college student, not just for the well-being of the college student, but for the enrichment of the entire faith community. 

Campus ministry can't do it all.

Preparing for Summer

In the summer I often hear college ministers discussing what they are doing to prepare for the new academic year. I don't think I have ever heard someone say what they were doing to prepare for summer. Not recreationally (that's a typical conversation topic) but professionally. Many collegiate ministers have open / unpaid/ down time during the summer. How can we prepare to make that time effective for our ministries? Suggestions?

Here are a few which come to mind.

Make a reading list.   Pick a few books which will stimulate your reflecting about your ministry. Pick a few which will nurture your spirit. Then get to reading.

Inspire your student leaders. Give them a question or two from them to think about over the summer. Use their responses as part of your leadership retreat before school starts. Maybe you all could start a discussion thread- private for you and the leaders. Specifically contact them in the middle of the summer. Send them a small devotional or article. Thank them for their ministry during the past year and ask them to continue praying for the ministry and for you in preparation for the new year.

Connect with potential students. You probably already have a student who writes to all the prospective students who find your ministry on Face Book. Make certain they are being welcomed already. Are there orientation days where incoming students could indicate interest?

Oversight board development. Is there an article or thought piece you could give them (and maybe even write) which they could use as a summer reflection stimulator. Then use it as a discussion starter at your late summer / early fall Board retreat or meeting.

Attend a professional conference. A good way to get ideas, resources, and encouragement. Summit '10 or NCMA's conferences would be good ones.

What else?
What resources could you share with us?

The Two Week Window

In the rhythm of the semesters, the beginnings are important as students choose how they will spend their time. As the semester progresses, their routines become fixed, and it becomes harder for them to allocate time to a weekly meeting, for instance.

What this means for collegiate ministry is that there is a two week window at the beginning of each semester for students to visit your groups/meetings/programs and decide whether or not to join up. (OK, the window isn't fully shut until a month into the semester, and there are always exceptions: new students might show if a friend brings them, some personal crisis stimulates them to seek spiritual support, etc. But you get my point.)

I was reminded of this seeing a list of things new college students should know.

E-mail or Facebook a Good Idea a Day along with your Bible verse and thought. What really will be helpful to new students.
Have upperclass give a Survival tip  (where can you find the best hotdog, the closest place to get Ramen noodles, cash a check, late night coffee, etc.)
Have a faculty member give the Most Important Single Thing to Succeed in A College Class.

I even tried for a few years to make up a booklet by collecting 30 days of Insights. Each day had a reflection by an upperclass or faculty member, a quotation (usually from Scripture, but I let the authors pick), and a survival tip.  Handy numbers, locations, and contacts were listed so that those pages could be removed and saved.

Communication and contact are the critical components!

Get e-mails by asking your Presbytery and Synod, Orientation events, Activities Fairs, responses to inquiries to your organization's Facebook Page, current student referrals, and anyone who shows up or visits your events.

Collegiate Ministries Overture

Well done to the Campus Ministers and Chaplains of the Synod of Lakes and Prairies! At their meeting this fall they moved beyond complaining and took action. They developed an Overture to the 2010 General Assembly, and Heather Jones Libich, FPC Cedar Falls, brought it to her Presbytery.

At the March 2nd meeting, the Presbytery approved the Overture which:
1. Directs the General Assembly Mission Council to re-establish an Office of Collegiate Ministries.
2. Directs that Office to prepare a strategy for Mission in Higher Education.
3. Directs that the Office present the strategy to the 220th (2012) general Assembly.

I hope other collegiate ministry supports will get their presbyteries to concur with this Overture. The presbyteries will have to postmark their concurrence to the Office of the General Assembly by May 4, 2010. The more presbyteries that concur add weight to to the Overture.

If you've been concerned about the direction of the denomination's inaction concerning collegiate ministry, and if you complained about it, now is the time to take some action!! Get your presbytery on board!!!

Here is a full copy of the Overture. When is officially posted on the GA business site, I will update this link. But this will get you started!!!

Inter-Faith Collegiate Ministry

This week I'm especially appreciative of a subset of collegiate ministers: those who work calls them into serious, on-going, inter-faith dialogue. To be fully present on campus today already means to be engaged in some sort of inter faith work, but I'm thinking specifically of those whose context or job description highlights that activity.

It's what our students face. The Hindu down the hall is a kind, loving, peace-filled person whose life seems to make sense for him or her. Some of the Christians on the hall may try to convert her, a few may be aware of differences and try to understand them, but almost all will "live and let live."

Inter-faith folks try to move beyond tolerance to a place where each person can celebrate and pursue their own faith in a mutually supportive environment. This almost invariably means that the institution supports and encourages the activities of these collegiate ministers. Most congregations or ecumenical funding groups or para-church organizations would not be as open. They might want to be tolerant (civil) towards other faiths, but there is a hierarchical understanding of other faiths inherent in their self-understanding.

Imagine a campus minister asking a congregation for financial support of the ministry, and highlighting activities and lives changed as a result of the ministry. As part of the ministry activities, said campus minister discusses how the efforts to renovate the prayer space and kitchen have invigorated the Muslim students and they have become better organized and vocal on campus - thanks to the past financial support of that particular congregation. So please give us more money next year.

These Directors of Spiritual Life or Directors of Interfaith Campus Ministries learn from experience that their own particular faith is deepened and enriched by open and honest encounters with those of other faiths. And they are also made acutely aware of how most incoming college students have no knowledge of other traditions, and very little knowledge of their own family's faith.

So blessings on those folks in their important work, and a challenge to the rest of us that we can send students to them who know the rudiments of their own tradition. (And yes, I am advocating for a "No Christian Left Behind" educational assessment. George Bush left behind, not Hal Lindsey.)

Evangelism's Step Child

I read that Louisville has hired a new Associate in the Evangelism Area. Since Collegiate Ministries is part of the Evangelism and Church Growth Ministry Area, that got me to thinking about the relationship with Collegiate Ministries and the Ministry Area of which is a part.

If you go to the Evangelism and Church Growth Ministry Area portion of the PC(USA)'s website, you won't find anything connecting Collegiate Ministries to the goals or directions of the Area. There is now a link to "Youth AND Collegiate Ministry." Just a link. On the same line. The same sort of link one can find on the "US and World Missions" page. (There Collegiate Ministries is listed under "Mission Through Education" while ministries to Youth, Men, Women, and Older Adults are listed under Ministry In Your Community.)

While little staffing, money and apparently no connective theology ties collegiate ministry with its parent area, evangelism and church growth, what area of the national church has more efficient evangelism? Most campus ministries are a de facto congregation - a faith community. Within that campus community will be a higher proportion of non-churched, un-churched, disaffected churched, atheists, and agnostics than in ANY established congregation. Maybe even MOST new church developments. Is that not effective evangelism?


The PC(USA)’s evangelism interest translates to spending money and hiring staff to “growth the church deep and wide.” But by all but ignoring collegiate ministries as evangelism and church growth, I’m afraid we’re growing the church shallow and narrow!

To clarify: The reduction in staff and operating budget from the Office of Collegiate Ministries and the increased staff and budget for the Office of Evangelism is all under the same management directorate for budget and control in the GMAC's Evangelism and Church Growth Ministry Area.

A Collegiate Ministry Conference

During the Montreat College Conference, Adrian McMullen, the PC(USA)'s Associate for Collegiate and Young Adult Ministries, hosted a reception for collegiate ministers. Over 35 attended. As part of the event, Adrian asked folks what resources they would like. Most of the ensuing conversation centered around a professional conference, and fleshing out what a helpful conference would be like.

It should be held during the summer, and should contain times for inspiration, relaxation, and skills development. A recognized name should be a keynoter, but most of the education should be led from within the body of practioners. Some identified topics for workshops included board development, financial management, drawing local churches into supporting the ministries, and best practices. There was also a desire to ensure time enough to hear each other's stories.

The result looked amazingly identical to the conference the PACHEM Leadership Board had planned for July 2010 at their last board meeting! Only two members of the board were present at the Montreat reception, and neither of them contributed to this part of the discussions. I think this exercise was a validation of the of the Summit '10 Collegiate Ministry Conference. It has the flow and content desired by collegiate ministry folks, and I'm excited that the PC(USA) collegiate ministry community will be doing this.

In a perfect world, I don't think I would want to schedule a conference on the July 4th weekend. (Summit '10 is scheduled 1-4 July) There must be SOMEONE in Louisville who thought that having General Assembly run July 3-10 was normal (I wonder when the last time a GA met over July 4th?), so that for PACHEM to hope to have some presence at GA, the Summit conference would have to overlap at the beginning. But I hope the need and desire for such a gathering will outweigh the timing, and if it is important that an attendee be home on the 4th, that travelling that day will be acceptable.

Collegiate Ministry as Vanguard

Collegiate ministries are the R&D of the denomination and the cutting edge of higher education’s student affairs. The issues with which CM are engaged in the present are an indication of some of the things the denomination and institutions will be dealing with in the future.


Here are a few examples. In the past, international students had no support systems on campus, so chaplains and campus ministers arranged for host families, especially during holiday breaks. Then congregations and institutions became involved. Now institutions have offices with professional staff concerned about the quality of life of international students. Campus Ministries reacted to Spring Break excesses by developing alternative spring breaks for their constituents. Now most institutions support and initiate alternative spring breaks. Racial equality. Social Justice. GLBT issues. All incubated in campus ministry and then made official parts of the institution or denomination.

So what might be some of the denomination’s issues in the future?

The recent Montreat College Conference, currently the largest annual gathering of Presbyterian collegians, provides some indications.

Interfaith / Multifaith issues. How are Presbyterians to relate to and with other denominations and religious traditions? One of the key speakers, Eboo Patel, was a Muslim, involved in building bridges between faiths.

Thoughtful, challenging Bible Study and Theology. No ready-made check list of answers or beliefs, no simplistic reading of Scripture. Another of the speakers, Cindy Rigby, and the Conference Preacher, Anna Carter-Florence, embodied this.

Sex and Relationships. Moving beyond the simplistic no-no of junior high, how do we equip emerging adults with the skills and the theological underpinning to have healthy interpersonal relationships and not have them reject the institutional church because it ignores the complexity of their relationships after high school? The conference attendees were organized into self-selected focus groups. The largest groups were centered around intimacy, friendship, and sexuality.

What other issues are on the horizon? What is the cutting edge in your campus ministry communities?

The Woman at the Well Must Have Been a Non-Traditional Student

The Samaritan woman who encounters Jesus at the well (John 4:7-12) has many similarities with Presbyterians on college campuses. She comes face-to-face with different faith traditions (who distrust each other). She is eager for theological discussions, raises questions, and won't settle for easy answers. (She has the longest theological discussion in the NT) She comes to know the grace of God and receives the grace of Living Water. Then she shares what she knows- doubts and all. She had the experience of encountering Jesus, the Living Water, and when she went to share it, she knew her vocabulary couldn't do justice to the event (or be correct), so she just described it.  - And the "disciples" were astonished that Jesus would spend time with such a person.


Most Presbyterian College Ministry I know is characterized by theological inquiry in a safe environment which avoids easy answers.

In these ministries students want and find relationships which share the Grace of God as embodied in Jesus. These relationships are honest, so that doubts are recognized and accepted. And doctrinal formulations take second place behind descriptions of experiential Grace.