Building a College Movement
It takes a long time to build a college movement, 3-5 years to get going, 10-12 years to become established. We need leaders who will choose to invest in a college campus . . . Who will labor on college campuses for the next 10 to 20 to 30 years? The question I ask myself: Is this the best stewardship of my life for maximum gospel impact? Is this the best return I can get on the investment of my life? And the answers so far have always been “yes” because I believe God has chosen college students as His primary vehicle in accelerating the evangelism of the world. Tim Casteel, campus minister, a contributor to Collegiate Collective
University Mottos
Many universities bear testimony to God in their mottos written in Latin or Greek, and here in English: The University of Texas at Austin has a tower overlooking the campus with the inscription? The truth will set you free. John 8:32 Harvard University–Truth, For Christ and the Church University of California–Berkeley–Let there be light Princeton University–Under God’s power she flourishes The University of Florida–In God We Trust Yale University–Light and Truth Rutgers University–Son of Righteousness shine upon the West also Columbia University–In Thy Light Shall We See the Light Dartmouth College–A Voice Crying in the Wilderness The University of Colorado–Let your light shine California State University–Voice Truth Life (Speak the truth as a way of life) University of Miami–Great is the truth Colgate University–For God and Truth Drew University–Freely you have received freely give-Matthew 10:8 Duquesne University–It is the spirit that gives light Brown University–In God We Hope Northwestern University–Whatsoever things are true, Philippians 4:8 Morehouse College–And there was light Loyola University-Chicago–For the greatest glory of God Morehead State University–Light Azusa Pacific University–God First California State University-Fresno–Receive the light that you may give it forth George Washington University–In God Our Trust Furman University–For Christ and Learning University of Louisiana Monroe–Seek the Truth The University of Wisconsin-Madison–The divine within the universe, however manifested, is my light The University of Arkansas–To Advance with Truth as our Guide Stetson University–God and Truth Indiana University–Light and Truth Highpoint University–Nothing without divine guidance Amherst College–Let them give light to the world Clemson University–Who shall separate us now? John Hopkins University–The truth shall make you free Ohio University–Religion, Learning, Civility; Above all Virtue Washington University–Strength through Truth Wheaton College–For Christ and His Kingdom Compiled by Dennis Gaylor 2022
The University dominates the world
The university is a dominating institution in our culture and has immense influence over governance, school systems and the church. I think campus ministry is of great importance because there should never be any place that is left to the kingdom of disbelief and disdain against God’s kingdom. Since we’re the light of the world, we should be in every campus in the world. For a church to ignore a center of population with its unique needs is unconscionable. Brady Bobbinkformer Campus DirectorWestern Washington University
Leadership of the Future
The universities are at the forefront of international leadership. The university is the place where the leadership of the future in all areas of life is formed. Since the best and the brightest are coming through these institutions, they have a great influence on the leadership of this nation and nations as a whole. Ehud Barak, “A Talk with Barak,” Stanford Daily, October 17, 2002
The university dominates the world
The great western institution, the university, dominates the world today more than any other institution. more than the church, more than the government, more than all other institutions… the influence is so pervasive and total that whatever problem afflicts them, it is bound to have far-reaching repercussions throughout the entire fabric of Western civilization. Charles Malik, former president of the General Assembly of the United Nations
Universities are Primary Tributaries
The church should create an on-campus presence—an extension of the church to the campus. We have a responsibility . . . . Like it or not, the universities are primary tributaries to cultural development or demise in terms of leadership. They are a wellspring, for better or worse, of where the culture’s headed. If we ignore the university, we’re ignoring our culture. Brady Bobbink, former Campus Minister, Western Washington University
College students awaiting an invitation
College students are the most moldable, malleable, and movemental demographic today, and that students (compelled by the gospel) are awaiting an invitation and pathway to leverage their lives for the expansion of God’s Kingdom. Brian Frye, “Five Misconceptions about Collegiate Church Planting,” Collegiate Collective, October 23, 2017. www.CollegiateCollective.com.
God and Youth
God also has a special interest in the youth.Young people have imagination.Youth capture vision quickly.And they dare to believe when they are faced with the impossible. Exploding population has thrust young people into importance as never before.Over half the world is young.They are looking for something to believe in.Something to live for, something if need be to die for. Harold S. Slusher The Origin of the Universe, San Diego, Institute of Creation Research, (ICR) 1978, quoted in Rice Brooks’, Change the Campus, Change the World
Sacred Spaces
University communities of faith find themselves in dorms, student centers, classrooms, coffee bistros, pubs, parks, students’ off-campus apartments, auditoriums and eateries. These communities of faith on and off campus create sacred spaces where worship, prayer, fellowship, discipleship and mission are experienced. This type of community represents an ecclesiology that is freed from an institutional box, in order to inform and empower the missiological task – which creates sacred space and fluid structure for the multiple contexts in which communities of faith find themselves. Dr. Anita KoeshallAG world missionary and Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary/Evangel University
The Meaning of It All
University undergraduates have both the freedom and the bandwidth required to consider abandoning one comprehensive set of beliefs about life and adopting a whole new one. Later in life their worldview “settles in” through vocational choices and longer-term friendships and new family ties. This makes it far harder to get anything like the focused attention and energy necessary to examine the foundations of one’s entire life. The university, then, is in many ways uniquely suited for evangelism. There’s no other place in our culture that affords listeners the space and freedom, time, and posture to talk about the Meaning of It All. Tim Keller
A Premier Place for God
The college campuses of the world have historically been a premier place for God to fashion for Himself laborers for the nations. The college campus is a place where young people can gather into tightly-knit communities, driven by a common purpose and pursuing a common goal. It is a place where the Lord of the Harvest has the opportunity to teach His young servants the primary lessons of faith, faithfulness, discipleship, courage, humility, evangelism, brokenness, servant-heartedness, and leadership. It is where our secret lives in God can become solid and deeply rooted. The community also provides an atmosphere where cultivating cross-cultural vision for the nations, growing in personal spiritual vitality, maturing a passion and effectiveness in evangelism, and leading and influencing others with a vision for reaching the world, are potentially experienced. When these and other disciplines are intentionally cultivated in a community setting during college, upon graduation, a multitude of prepared laborers can be released into the global harvest. These spiritually vital student mission initiatives on campuses, once networked to each other, are the widespread student missions movement necessary to accomplish the Great Commission in our lifetime. Ryan Shaw, Waking the Giant, The Resurgence Student Missions Movement
Centers for Ideas
Universities are centers for ideas and actions . . . . The climate of the university provides a unique environment for inquiry and, at its best, inspires idealism that changes the world. Student leadership has introduced reforms, led to powerful freedom movements and brought down kings and rulers . . . . What is often unknown and unsung is the role university students and professors have played in Christian witness and in preservation of truth over the centuries. Keith and Gladys Hunt, For Christ and the University
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