In your mind, picture the average student involved in your ministry. What do they enjoy doing on the weekends? What is their church background? What is their socio-economic status? What is their ethnicity? To answer the last question, for the majority of campus ministries in the US, the student is White.

A fundamental shift is taking place on the college campus today. Campus Crusade estimates that by 2023 the student populations of America’s universities will be majority minority. Caucasian students will make up less than 50% of the university population. These demographic changes are what I think will be the biggest forces shaping college ministry of the future.

No longer will we be able to pursue a model of ministry that is (unintentionally) geared towards middle-class, Caucasian students. We’ll need to rethink fundamental assumptions we hold so dear in ministry. The good news is that this is a privileged place to be. We can be part of shaping a new reality. The bad news is that while the future is already here on many college campuses around the country, the majority of college ministries seem not to have responded.

The question can no longer be, “Is my ministry going to reach ethnic minorities?”. Huge demographic shifts make that a no-brainer. The question now is: “How am I going to reach minority students?” At the present time, it seems there are three models that ministries are trying out:

1. Contextualized Ministries – Many larger campus ministries like Intervarsity, The Navigators, and Campus Crusade (with whom I am on staff) long ago recognized they were not reaching enough ethnic minority students. In an attempt to change that trend, they started new ministries focused specifically on reaching those audiences. The Biblical model would be that of Paul in 1 Cor. 9:22, “I became all things to all people…”

To reach Latinos, for example, Intervarsity founded LaFe, The Navigators started NavVida, and Campus Crusade launched Destino. Each of these contextualized ministries seeks to enculturate the gospel into the Latino culture. They each have a distinct Hispanic flavor and feel.

2. Multiethnic Ministries – Intervarsity (and maybe others) have also experimented with another approach. In addition to having contextualized movements, they’ve sought to start ministries that are intentionally multiethnic. The very DNA of the student group is that of a multi-cultural gathering.

3. Do Nothing (But Call it Multicultural) – Sadly, this is the option most ministries seem to have taken. Not wanting to create new contextualized movements, they’ve labeled themselves ‘Multicultural’. The problem is, they haven’t done the hard work of making the ministry multicultural. Instead, the majority white ministry now invites ethnic minorities to come to the majority white movement. This model is deceptive. Ministers feel good about being multicultural, but if they are really honest, the demographic makeup of their ministry is just as homogenous as before. And more importantly, the values that drive the ministry haven’t become multicultural either.

So, how do you tell the difference between a ministry in Model #2 and Model #3? There are a variety of ways, but here are a few that will help you:

• Look at the demographic breakdown of your ministry. Does it match that of your campus?
• How often do you cover topics in your ministry such as Ethnic Identity, Racial Relations, Cross-Cultural Skills, or Power Dynamics? If your answer is “rare” or “never”, then you’re probably Model #3.

As you read this it may be one of the first times you’ve thought about intentionally reaching ethnic minority students. That’s okay. To paraphrase a Chinese proverb, “The best time to start reaching minority students is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.” Start now by thinking more about the main two models of campus ministry to ethnic minority students. Both are Biblical, both are legitimate models. Which do you prefer? Which do you think will work best on your campus? Why not begin now planning to start something new this fall to reach every student on your campus?