Campus Ministry: Six Reasons
Every national campus ministry like IVCF, Cru, RUF, CCO, Navigators, and XA have a preamble to explain why campus ministry. I personally have written a list for XA. “Why Target the University Mission Field,”* and used it to preach on why the university campus is strategic for communicating the good news. I’ve also opened my messages by asking church congregations questions that demonstrate the influence of the university on all of society.
How many of you have earned a college degree?
How many of you have children or grandchildren who attend college?
How many of you have children in public school who are taught by a teacher trained in the university?
How many of you have relied on the services of an attorney, accountant, doctor, or business person who earned a degree from a university?
How many of you have read or listened to audio books written and recorded by university graduates, read news online or magazines edited by university graduates, and viewed TV programming, commercials, or streaming movies and documentaries produced by university graduates?
How many of you believe your lives are influenced and shaped by the decisions made by city, state, and federal government or political leaders who were trained in the university?
How many of you believe values, and ideals taught in the university impact your personal, social and religious life?
Every Nation’s Campus Ministry started in 1994 for the purpose of church planting, campus ministry, and world missions. They have a well-articulated “Campus Manifesto.” Rice Broocks, co-founder of Every Nation penned their original Campus Manifesto outlining the reasons why the campus must be reached with the gospel. He has authored several books: The Human Right, To Know Jesus Christ and Make Him Known (2018), The Purple Book, Biblical Foundations for Building Strong Disciples, (2017), God’s Not Dead: Evidence for God in an Age of Uncertainty (2013), and Change the Campus, Change the World (1985).
Here’s the latest version of Every Nation’s Campus Manifesto
- The future leaders of society are on our campuses.
Virtually all of the world’s presidents, prime ministers, senators, members of parliaments, bankers, lawyers, judges, teachers, doctors, and business leaders have passed through the college and university system. In every critical aspect of a nation’s culture, the campus is where we find the future influencers.
- Major movements, bad or good, start on the campus.
From spiritual revival to political revolution, the campus gives birth to change. Marxism, atheism, feminism, and practically every other “ism” that spread around the world at one time started as a tiny seed on the university campus.
- The majority of those who become Christians do so as students.
Countless studies continue to confirm that most people surrender to Christ before their twenty-fifth birthday.
- International students impact their nations.
International students represent the top one percent of the students in their home nations. Many of these students come from nations that restrict or ban the gospel. By reaching them while they’re on our campuses and sending them home with the gospel, we can broaden the gospel’s reach in the world.
- The values on campus become the values in society.
The philosophy, morality, and ethics taught by professors on university campuses slowly but surely work their way into public policy, media, and education. Those ideas and values become preserved for decades through legislation, education, music, movies, literature, and media.
- The most available and trainable groups of people are on our campuses.
Since they have few obligations, students have few limitations to following Christ and serving him boldly. The campus is not only the source of the next generation of business, government, and educational leaders, but it’s also where we find the next generation of church leaders and cross-cultural missionaries.
