Updated 3/28/12
As a college student I was very involved in campus ministry — as a participant and a leader.
I also loved going to church. Having the chance to explore congregations and communities that were nothing like the one I had grown up in seemed to open my mind, and expand my understanding of how BIG God was, in some significant ways.
After sensing a call into ministry near the end of my freshmen year, I started volunteering with some Young Life mentors of mine who were then serving at a local church.
And after three years of having my feet in both the campus, and local church worlds, I was confident that God was calling me to work on the campus.
I believe, with all my heart, in the contextualized work of campus ministry.
But I am equally convinced, after 15 years on campus, of the significance of the local church — specifically in the lives of college students… and here’s why:
It serves as an anchor. For a lot college students, the years they spend on campus are filled with questioning and searching, wondering and wandering… and in the midst of it all, the local church can serve as an anchor in what feels like an ever-changing chaos of campus life.
Now, that’s not to say that campus and college ministries don’t also serve as anchors — because they definitely DO — but it’s different.
Often times, students can feel as though campus ministries have a particular bent towards the universities they serve — either strongly for, or against — which serves to mis/shape their ministry. The local church, on the other hand, can (and I stress the word can) serve as more of an impartial place for asking questions and fleshing out some of the things that are experienced on campus.
The local church offers a different perspective… on everything. And that’s needed.
It serves as a model. One of the things that the majority of college ministries lack is a multi-generational dimension. Outside the one (or two… or three) professionals who spearhead the ministry efforts with college students, college ministries are typically made up of solely college-age young adults.
And while I think this offers those of us in campus ministry a unique opportunity to create contextualized experiences (which are very important for college students during these highly formative college years), they also need to have that balanced by experiencing community and ministry in a multi-generational context.
They need to see what faith after college looks like. They need to be reminded of what their faith looked like as a high schooler, middle schooler, etc. They need to be around families, and babies, and retirees. They need to be mentored by people who have gone through the ups and downs of college life — and come out on the other side — with their faith in Jesus at the core of their being.
It serves as a reminder. Finally, consistent involvement in the local church can serve as a reminder to our students about their place within the larger Body of Christ.
The college years, by design, are very self-centered years. So much of their life — for 4 years — happens in a place that revolves around people their age — people like them. And the institution itself is designed to cater to their needs. In many ways it’s a warped sense of reality that serves to perpetuate an already self-centered way of seeing (and experiencing) the world.
Getting to be around a body of believers who represent people who are not like them — and are just as important to God, and the world we live in as they are — can help college students to maintain a more healthy perspective on the world they live in and their place in it.
A healthy dose of reality can be a very powerful tool in the hands of God!
So those are some of my thoughts on why I think the college students need the local church.
Tomorrow I’ll share some thoughts on why I think the local church needs college students… but for now, what do you think?
Do you believe that college students need to be involved in a local church — above and beyond their involvement in your ministry?
Are there other things that you would add to the list above that you believe college students can only get from being a part of a local church community?
If your college ministry operates like a local church, what (if anything) do you think it lacks in comparison to the more traditional local church model?
Take a moment to share your thoughts in the comment section below.
18 thoughts on “Why College Students NEED the Local Church”
I agree – church is an anchor and a treasure trove of good friends, good teaching, and good wisdom, especially from the older generations. My church (www.jacobswelloncampus.com) does lack the multi-generational aspect, but we are growing and hopefully will grow in this area.
Hey Joel!
From the looks of it, you all are a church that meets on campus. Is that right? If so, are you a formal part of the institution?
You mentioned that you’re growing, and would like to grow in the area of being multi-generational, so what practical steps are you taking to move in that direction? Why do you see this as important to your work at Jacob’s Well?
Thanks for sharing!
We are not formally a part of the University of Minnesota. Just a church that meets on campus.
A big issue for us struggling to grow with older people is that the church was planted 4 or 5 years ago with a big group of college students. From the get-go, we’ve not had the multi-generational core of leaders. Another issue is the inability to retain graduates due to poor local job markets. Our pastor is getting married soon, so I think that will help attract younger, married couple. One simple step is just inviting people. Persistently inviting non-college age people to join our community.
I think that having older people (20’s, 30’s etc, married, etc) helps to give perspective and wisdom to those who are young. Church can be a spiritual anchor; it can also be a personal or relational anchor. I know I trust advice from older people more than the advice from people my own age. It’s kind of a “may all who come behind us find us faithful” thing – if I can quote Steve Green. Older people can tackle administrative and leadership roles better, they have a wealth of ideas and can help efficiently and effectively help energetic, creative, and boundless college students to use their time and talents wisely.
By the by, does your brother work at Hope Community Church in Minneapolis?
Hey Joel!
It sounds like your fighting an uphill battle of sorts. And as a mid 30-something, allow me to thank you for the “older people” reference to my age group. 🙂
While there are some things that us “older” 20 and 30-somethings might have to offer… I think there’s even more that the 40, 50 and 60-somethings have to offer a church like yours. But you (or your church leadership — I’m not sure what role you play there) will need to seek them out and invite them to come and check out your faith community. A logical place to start might be to approach some of the parents of your faith community who are local. You might also need to cast a vision for them for how they can play a distinct role in helping your church community to grow in some important areas.
Just a thought.
And yes, Cor is my brother. Do you know him?
So, what are
I agree 100% that students need to be involved in the local church. Of course, what the word “involved” means is probably the topic of another post… At this stage, at the very least, I think they need to be attending on Sunday morning. Just as with learning to get in the Word every day while in college, I think they need to establish church involvement at this age as well.
The multigenerational aspect is huge to me, and one that I can’t get away from. I personally have been so blessed by getting to know believers in their 60’s or 70’s and see enormous value in learning from their life experiences.
I think many of our committed students struggle after college because they can’t find anything like their campus ministry that basically catered to their needs and now they’re unwilling or unable to dive in to the local church.
Good thoughts here Jason! Thanks!
The local church is SO important! Our church’s university ministry looks to plug students in with those a season or two (or more) ahead of them. That ‘multi-generational dimension’ provides more life wisdom for students instead of just another peer perspective.
Life on life discipleship is the goal. We have to pull, prod, and encourage both sides continuously as most have not seen this modelled. I see our little college town as a launching point. We have 2-3-4 years to invest into our students and have them prepared with biblical fundamentals. Then, we send them out.
Over the course of a college career, students involved in a local church will have interacted with families that had major illnesses, sudden deaths, failed businesses, trouble having children, etc. As a result, they get to see how godly people deal with life’s curve balls and how a church family supports during those times.
That’s so good Nathan! Tell me some more about the “small town” dynamics that feed into the relationship your church/ministry has with the local college.
Guy,
Excellent post! So many college ministries or even college groups in the local church contextualize so much that they actually disconnect college students from the Body. It is so important that they see their need for and place in the local church. Thanks for the awesome insight!
Noah
Guy,
As one who serves at a local church and as a campus minister, I’m delighted that you’re writing about the relationship that students can have with the local church. I value your emphasis that students can participate in the body of Christ that exists off the university campus. Several of the students I work with on campus are involved also where I pastor-in music ministries, youth mentoring, outreach, and teaching. The life of the church is enriched because young people are responding to God’s Word by giving of themselves in the local church-it’s a welcome break from consumer/intake Christianity.
~Adam
Hi! I am writing a thesis about College ministries in the local church and the need for them. Could you help me? Megan Beall
Hi Megan! Happy to help in any was possible. You can email me at guy.chmieleski(at)gmail.com.
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