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words, spiritually inclined students willhave a greater capacity to discover meaning and peace of mind even under dif cultcircumstances. The research also shows thatreligious commitment and engagement [a.k.a.connecting with a church and participating inthe life of the community] promote a patternof mental, emotional and physical health.

The study conducted by Rebootacknowledges that this generation is by far themost intertwined generation ever. Respectfor differences and diversity is a core value,suggesting that students are more openminded to hearing Christian truth, especiallybecause it offers purpose and meaning tolife. “The good news is that the survey paintsa composite picture of a generation who areseekers more than they are drifters—a worldaway from their portrayal as stereotypicalautomatons we so often imagine as receiving their values directly from Paris Hilton or Justin Timberlake’s pr spokesperson. Theyare actively considering questions of identity,community, and meaning—negotiating how important their religious identities willultimately be—but doing so with their ownfriends, in their own homes, and in their own ways” (Reboot, 2005). The research team

was fascinated by the majority who indicateda hunger for episodic religious experiences,preferring the informal and expressive to theritualistic and institutional.

This generation presents a remarkableopportunity for religious denominations,organizations, and projects to contemplate.“The demand for ritual, learning, value, andspirituality is there. Whether this turns outto be a time of loss or a time of creative re-invention may ultimately be decided by theenergies we place in providing innovative

messengers, messages, and mechanismsthat offer meaning and community onGeneration Y’s terms” (Reboot, 2005, 4).The study further indicates that “religionremains a core component of young people’s lives.” In addition, religious youthapproach life more connected to family andcommunity, have higher self-esteem, andhold more traditional roles of family, sexand marriage. There is a strong relationshipbetween religiosity and volunteer activity.

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Volunteer activity is on the rise throughoutthis country and among college students. Servantevents have been lled to over owing in pastlcms National Youth Gatherings. According tothe lcms District and Congregational Service Web page, “Tens of thousands have participatedin lcms Servant Events. Greg is a director of Christian education and has been the servantevent project coordinator for Fixin’ Up theThumb held in Michigan for the past ten years.Greg notes, ‘Taking youth to a Servant Eventcan be powerful. Hosting a project brings Godto your front door. The number one reasonour congregation sponsors the Fixin’ Up theThumb servant event is because of the spiritualgrowth that occurs in high school students. Inmy ministry, I’m not here to be a ymca . I can’tcompete with mtv . Yet, the youth continue tocome because they are getting something theycan’t get out there. We’re providing a place forthe faith to be engaged. I haven’t found anything that encourages spiritual growth like a servantevent’”( www.lcms.org/ca/dcs/serv events/support se .asp, 2005 ).

Teens seem to be taking their service attitudeto college. A 20-year trend of increasing involvement in service continues as formalacademic and co-curricular service learning

programs have blossomed on thousands of college campuses throughout the country.“As a result a multitude of young adults arediscovering a passion for service and justice work. The awareness that each year, millions of college students attain moments of great claritythrough service learning programs gives metremendous hope that a generation of young people will be able to more fully address theintractable social and environmental challengesof our era” (Koth, 2005). By offering servicelearning experiences which include critical

re ection and spiritual exploration, universityand college ministries can help studentsdevelop a lifetime commitment to service. Hereis where the church and university can serve aspartners in ministry.

Leadership RolesSome of the ways students are connecting to Christ and the church through campusministry beyond service work is throughleadership roles in the many campus

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ministries that dot the nation’s universitiesand colleges. Breakaway Ministries is oneof the nation’s largest non-denominationalcampus ministries. It is a weekly Biblestudy with a mission to give students anopportunity to meet Jesus Christ and grow ina relationship with Him. This is accomplishedthrough praise and worship, hearing God’s Word, and Christian fellowship. While notaf liated with any one denomination, thisorganization encourages students’ involvementin local Bible-believing churches and seeksto cooperate with these churches in ministry(www.breakawayministries.org). This ministrylists all local, Bible-believing churches on its Web site and identi es more than 100 students who assist with this ministry by helping reachout to more than 4,000 students each week instudy and praise.

Other ministries are doing similar thingson varying scales. Carrie A. Moore of theDeseret Morning News(2005) tells of a campusministry organizing Web-page pro les forministry members to connect with othersin ministry. A student was quoted as saying,“Last year I was a peer minister and grew somuch in my faith …. Now it’s a main supportgroup for me, my home-away-from home.

It feels like family with the parishionershere.” Other ministries connect new studentsto congregation families through studentadoption programs intentionally encouraging a relationship with families of the community.Some students take on roles as peer ministersor other leadership positions helping supportfellow students and facilitating ministry withpeers. Many forms of small group ministriesare gaining ground as students gather forsmaller groups of support and learning whiledeveloping leadership skills.

Connecting in her article , Anguish and Assurance on Campus (2005), Kim Krull pinpoints the impactcampus ministry can have in connecting students to Christ through communities suchas Lutheran campus ministries. She highlightsthe importance of ministry connections whichprovide support, healing and leadershipdevelopment for students. These relationshipsare among the greatest opportunities campus

ministry has with students engaged in a quest formeaning in life. Campus ministries provide aplace to be in supportive relationships that areaccepting, bring growth and healing, and provideopportunity to receive validation by putting current skills to work while developing new ones.

Universities are beginning to take noticeof the signi cance of spiritual connections. Although this may not be anything new tostudents who rely on their faith to manage thedaily life on campus, the academy is taking note and making some changes. The Journalof College Character (2004) featured an articlelisting recommendations for student affairspractitioners to support students’ spiritualgrowth. The authors urge university leadersto recommit themselves to spirituality andfaith development as important aspects of their mission to promote students’ holisticdevelopment. Student affairs organizationsneed to address advocating a place forspirituality in the mission and culture of higher education; providing space on campusfor spiritual development and practice;publicizing, especially to new students, thespiritual resources and activities of the campus,including religious organizations and studentgroups; and strengthening collaboration with

campus ministers and local clergy to supportstudent opportunities for college activities(Chickering, Dalton & Stamm, 2004). Dr.Elizabeth J. Tisdell has written an entire book dedicated to this new development, Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Higher Education.Morenational conferences are including dimensionsof student values, spirituality on campus,and holistic approaches to education. Thistrend will further encourage administratorsand college faculty to seek out spiritualresources, opening more doors for outreach

in this mission eld. Although this trend willembrace all avenues considered to be spiritual,it is certain to create new opportunities toshare the Good News in an environment which, until recently, often has labeled faithtalk as taboo or even has reacted in hostility tothe Christian faith.

The signi cance of today’s campusesas a huge mission eld is re ected in thisobservation: “As a group, Millennials areunlike any other youth generation in living S

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memory. They are more numerous, moreaf uent, better educated, and more ethnicallydiverse. More importantly, they are beginning to manifest a wide array of positive socialhabits that older Americans no longerassociate with youth, including a new focus onteamwork, achievement, modesty and goodconduct. Only a few years from now, this can-do youth revolution will overwhelm the cynicsand pessimists. Over the next decade, theMillennial Generation will entirely recast theimage of youth from downbeat and alienatedto upbeat and engaged—with potentiallyseismic consequences for America” (Howe andStrauss, 2000, 4 ).

Some may think that it’s a strange new

world out there. Yes, the culture is chang-ing. But many think that many changes seen inthis generation are for the better. As God callsus into relationship with Him, He also com-pels us to be in relationship with others as weshare the Good News of the Gospel. We arecalled to reach out to this “strange new world.”God proclaims the message of hope and new life through His ambassadors, “ … as if Christ were making His appeal through us …”(2Corinthians 5:20 ). The Millennials are hereand offer a giant opportunity for ministry. The

Millennials are ready. The university seems tobe ready. The question is “Are we ready?”

ReferencesBreak Away Ministries (2005). www.breakawaymin-istries.org.Higher Education Research Institute, ucla [heri ](2005). The Spiritual Life of College Students: A NationalStudy of College Students’ Search for Meaning and Purpose. Retrieved from www.spirituality.ucla.edu.Howe, Neil, Strauss, William (2000). MillennialsRising: The Next Great Generation. Vintage Books.International Student Ministry, Inc., 2005.Retrieved November 5, 2005, from www.isminc.org/background. Journal of College and Character (Volume 2,2005). Supporting Students’ Spiritual Growth in College:Recommendations for Student Affairs Practitioners. Retrieved October 10, 2005, at www.collegevalues.org/articles.Koth, Kent (January 2005). “Fostering a Long-Term Commitment to Service: The Role of CampusReligious Leaders in Service Learning.”Spiritualityin Higher Education Newsletter , Volume 2, Issue 1.Krull, Kim (August 2005). “Anguish and Assuranceon Campus.” The Lutheran Witness, 10-13.lcms District and Congregational Services (2005). www.lcms.org/ca/dcs/serv events/sup port se .asp.

McIntosh, Gary L. (2002). One Church, Four Generations: Understanding and Reaching All Ages in Your Church. Baker Books.Miller, Craig Kennet, Norton, Mary Jane Pierce (2003).Making God Real for a New Generation: Ministry with MillennialsBorn from 1982 to1999. Discipleship Resources.Moore, Carrie A. (September 17, 2005). “Spiritualityin Vogue on College Campus Ministry Programs AreHelping Young People Build Faith away from Home.”Deseret Morning News. Retrieved October 10, 2005, fromdeseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,605155152,00.Mosier, Alicia (2001). Millennials Floating , 2001 FirstThings 118 (December 2001): 18-19 [Electronic version].Retrieved October 18, 2005, from www. rstthings.com/ftissues/ft0112/opinion/thistime.National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of EducationStatistics,2004. Retrieved November 5, 2005, from nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/ch_3.asp.Reboot (2005). OMG! How Generation Y Is Redefining Faithin the iPod Era.Retrieved from www. rebooters.net/poll.Search Institute (2005). www.search-institute.org/assets/forty.“Surveys: Young Adults Searching Spiritually, But in New Ways.” The Associated Press. April 14, 2005. Appearing in Charleston Times Courier.April 14, 2005.

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Who Will Support Campus Ministries?“If You Want To Stay In Campus Ministry, your future is in Madison, not Milwaukee.”

With those words, I heard the Rev.Dr. Ronald E. Meyer, President of South

Wisconsin District (swd ), tell me what I didnot want to hear: swd did not have enough

nancial resources to continue its full-timecampus mission ministry to the Universityof Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where I served ascampus pastor. As a result, I accepted the call Ihad received to Calvary Lutheran Chapel, thelcms campus ministry serving the Universityof Wisconsin-Madison.

swd did close its full-time ministry to uw -Milwaukee. The chapel, located across thestreet from the student union, is for sale, andthe 27,000-student university is now served

part-time by a traditional lcms congregationthat is about one mile from campus.

Meyer’s comment did not stem from a lack of interest in campus missions. To the contrary,he and swd were and continue to be among The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod’sstrongest supporters of campus ministry.

Changes in District Support

In 2005, swd gave $323,000 in direct supportto its ve campus ministries serving publicuniversities and an additional $67,000 to helpstudents attending Synod’s ten colleges anduniversities. These gures do not include theDistrict’s indirect support of insurance, capitalimprovements, in-kind services, etc.

“This is in light of swd taking a ten percentdrop in congregation pledges in 2005 from2004,” said William Hoeg, swd executiveassistant to the president and business manager.

In 2005, swd received about $370,000 lessthan it did the previous year, according to theRev. Daniel McMiller, swd missions executive.“There is a lot of hardship in many of ourparishes,” said McMiller. “They are down insize and down in offerings.”

Hoeg said that the District’s “buying power”is further reduced because congregationalgiving to the District hasn’t risen for 30 years. When in ation is taken into account, eachdollar given in 1975 is worth less than 50 centstoday, he said. “Needless to say, given our

Greg Fairow

Pastor Greg Fairow is the Directorof the Lutheran Campus Mission

Association ( lcma ) which is a partnerof lcms World Mission engaged inhelping lcms congregations locatednear colleges and universities tobegin intentional campus missionministries.

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support received there will be changes in thesupport that we can provide,” said Hoeg. Theswd is not alone.

Impact on Campus MinistriesIn 2003, the Texas District eliminatedprogram funding for all of its campusministries except those serving the Universityof Texas, Austin, and Texas A&M University,College Station. Both must become self-supporting by 2010.

“The students and I have to spend moretime raising money and less time doing ministry on campus,” said Paul Hoemann,lcms campus pastor serving Texas A&M.“Also, we are cutting our International

Student Ministry director position from full-time to part-time.”“The Michigan District is experiencing

declining income, and we are impacted,”said Dave Winningham, lcms campuspastor serving the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Winningham said his Districtis considering various options, including possibly combining the campus ministry with another ministry or with ConcordiaUniversity, Ann Arbor. “I am also looking at other options,” said Winningham, “either

becoming a fundraiser—which I am not,but necessity is the mother of invention—ordeveloping an independent congregation.”

Even campus ministries that have not yet been affected recognize that long-termDistrict funding is not guaranteed. “We have a wonderful relationship with the District,” said W. Max Mons, lcms campus pastor serving theUniversity of Iowa, Iowa City. “They supportus and we support them.” Iowa District Eastprovides Mons’ salary and bene ts, plus half of the campus ministry’s $100,000 budget. Itis also responsible for all of the chapel’s majormaintenance and repairs. “But what happens if

nancial times and District leadership changeand it is decided that campus ministry is not asimportant?” Mons asked.

New DirectionsSt. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel and StudentCenter, where Mons serves, recently receiveda Charitable Gifting Initiative grant fromThrivent Financial for Lutherans to begin an

endowment campaign coordinated by a new part-time development director. “We hope toget to the point where, if the District snippedthe umbilical cord, we would be ne,” saidMons. St. Paul’s campaign has generated$43,000 in donations so far.

Calvary Lutheran Chapel in Madison, Wisconsin, and Martin Luther Chapel inEast Lansing, Michigan, also have receivedCharitable Gifting Initiative grants fromThrivent Financial to start intentional campusministry fundraising campaigns.

With or without paid development staff,many other lcms campus ministries are alsobecoming more intentional about raising thefunds needed to do the Lord’s work. This

often begins with seeking additional supportfrom the participants who are currently being blessed by campus ministries, along with theirclosest relatives, such as parents and spouses. Itcontinues with appeals to the ministries’ alumni who have fond memories of the blessings theyreceived back when they did not have muchmoney to put into the offering plate.

“I have donated every time my former campusministry has asked me to do so, and I would be willing to write more and bigger checks if onlythey would ask,” said onelcms campus ministry

alumnus who requested to remain anonymousbecause “I want every campus ministry to think that I am one of their alums.”

Other common sources of revenue includearea congregations and church groups, suchas Lutheran Women’s Missionary Leaguesocieties. At campuses where parking is hardto nd, some campus ministries generaterevenue by renting church parking spacesto students during the week. Many campusministries are taking advantage of ThriventFinancial’s GivingPlus program, whichsupplements some donations made toqualifying organizations. New lcms campusministries and dormant ones that wish torevive are eligible to apply for grants fromthe Lutheran Campus Mission Association(lcma ), a mission society in partnership withlcms World Mission.

Some campus ministries are developing more creative ways to generate funding. Forexample, the Lutheran Student Center inLubbock, Texas, located across the street from S

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are more important than money,” said Dr.Phyllis Castens Wiederhoeft, executive directorof the Association of Lutheran DevelopmentExecutives. “If they are emphasized andcommunicated well, then funding can follow.”

To promote the campus ministry at Texas A&M, Hoemann asks himself, “How can I bestcommunicate to people what God is doing here,

and how they can become a part of it?” Heencourages other campus ministry workers to ask themselves the same question.

“I try to have at least one article about thecampus ministry in Iowa City in every issueof ide Today,” said Mons when discussing thebimonthly publication that is delivered free of charge to all congregations in Iowa District East.

Partnerships with area congregations is akey element to effective campus ministries,according to Carl Selle, lcms campuspastor serving the University of Wisconsin-

Stevens Point. “We are not islands, butcenters with octopus-like arms reaching forprayers, relationships, nancial and othersupport,” Selle said. “It is a two-way street.I believe that campus ministries are being ‘dropped’ because they have not worked thepartnerships available.”

Hoemann said that prayer, not funding, isthe most important thing a campus ministrycan receive from its partners. “Second,congregations can send us the names and

Texas Tech University, opened Martin’s CoffeeHaus, a commercial business that sells coffeeand cappuccino and provides other services suchas free wireless Internet access. “We are hoping to see over $20,000 pro t by the second yearof operation,” said Bruce Wurdeman, the TexasDistrict mission and ministry facilitator whoassists the Lubbock campus ministry. “But the

main reason we opened it is to get more traf cthrough the student center. It is a mission rst;the money is secondary.”

Meijer, a grocery supercenter chain inMichigan and other Midwest states, offersits customers an opportunity to allocate onepercent of the money they spend there to areacharities. Martin Luther Chapel, which servesMichigan State University in East Lansing, isone of the registered charities, and 82 Meijercustomers have listed the chapel as theirrecipient. As a result, the campus ministry

receives more than $100 per month fromMeijer. “More important,” said David Dressel,the chapel’s campus pastor, “is the fact that, when these people check out, they think of Martin Luther Chapel.”

What’s Important The Lubbock coffee house and the EastLansing superstore’s donation program helpshow that the primary focus of fundraising is notfunding. “Ministry and personal relationships

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contact information of their current andprospective college students,” Hoemann said,“so that we can begin to make meaningfulcontacts with those students.”

Reduced funding from districts may bediscouraging at best and traumatic at worst.But it also helps campus ministries, along with their partner congregations and other

supporters, take more responsibility forthe ministry, and that is a very good thing,according to Wurdeman. “There is much morelocal involvement,” he said.

Reduced funding also opens doors forcampus missionaries and the ministriesthey serve to be more entrepreneurial, saidthe Rev. Mike Ruhl, executive director of the Center for U. S. Missions in Irvine,California, and a former Michigan Districtmissions executive. “There is no greater,more fertile, and more accessible mission

eld anywhere,” Ruhl added. “But manycampus ministries have suffered from a lack of vision, mission and goals.”

Strategic Planning Entrepreneurial training is happening now, thanks to the Campus MissionaryInstitute. The Campus Missionary Instituteis lcma ’s one-week learning opportunity tohelp lcms workers and the ministries theyserve to develop a strategic plan for outreach

on a nearby college or university campus. Thenext Campus Missionary Institute will be July7-13, 2006, at Concordia University, Seward,Nebraska. More information is availableonline at www.lcma.info.

Campus ministries deserve moreenthusiastic and meaningful support becausethe church’s future will be affected by it,

according to Hoemann. “The people sitting inmy pews today are tomorrow’s leaders in yourcongregation,” Hoemann said regarding theTexas A&M students he serves. He also said thatcollege is “a time of life when people are mostopen to the Gospel” and, as such, “universitycommunities are tremendous mission elds.”

“What an opportunity we have to reachthem with the Gospel now,” said Hoemann.“However, if we are shutting down our campusministries, or severely cutting them back,because ‘they cost too much,’ then shame on us.

We are missing out big time on an opportunitythat God has placed right in our laps.”

“Campus mission elds are one of the moststrategic elds in the United States,” said theRev. Dr. Robert Scudieri, lcms World Mission Associate Executive Director for NationalMissions. “It is on the modern day universityand college campuses that the best and brightestfrom the United States and from around the world are located. In uences here are ones that will continue for years to come.”

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There Are Many Different Models of ministry for sharing the Good News of Christ’s saving love among the students,faculty and staff of our nation’s colleges

and universities. As a matter of fact, in TheIvy Jungle Network Report, The State of Collegeand University Ministry —November 2003, themultiplicity of approaches and settings forcampus ministry was cited as one of thechallenges in putting together a currentassessment of campus ministry in the UnitedStates (The Ivy Jungle Network Report,2).

Within the lcms , the following termshave been commonly used to denote someof the different approaches in conducting campus ministry: student assembly ministry,town and gown congregation, all universitycongregation, and contact ministry. Wemight consider these to be some of theprimary established models of lcms campusministry. However, these are very broadclassi cations, and individual local ministries

often use their own terminology to describetheir “model” of campus ministry.

The Search for New Models: One SizeDoesn’t Fit AllConducting a Google search of “campusministry models” will produce hours of fascinating reading. Across denominations andparachurch organizations, there are seeminglycountless models of campus ministry, withmany claiming to be the next big thing—orat least worth a second look. Names of somepopular campus ministry models include:befrienders model, house church model,church-based model, partners model, smallgroup model, cell church model … presence

model, networking model, church-on-campusmodel (Brittain, 673) … and the list goes on.Reading the descriptions of speci c campusministries indicates that elements of morethan one model are often blended or adaptedto meet unique local needs and outreachopportunities. In other words: One sizedoesn’t t all!

A presentation by Tim Kruse of St. Paul’sUniversity Catholic Center in Madison, Wisconsin, helps illustrate this point. Speaking

Kent Pierce

The Rev. Kent Pierce is AssociatePastor of Campus Lutheran Church,Columbia, Missouri.

Campus Ministries:The Search for New Models

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at a symposium at the University of NotreDame in 2004, Kruse presented ve differentexamples of Catholic campus ministries thatare considered to be exemplary in terms of evangelizing the unchurched. One ministryis modeled around small group discipleship. Another ministry is staff-driven and utilizespeer ministers to teach the faith to otherstudents. In one of the “exemplary” Catholicministries, a monastic brotherhood at a largecampus parish runs an outreach ministryfocused on hospitality and fellowship events.Two of the ministries Kruse identi ed work in partnerships with different nationalparachurch organizations, drawing uponthe strengths of both groups: Catholic

denominational identity and the parachurchevangelism expertise. Each of the “exemplary”Catholic campus ministries developed acustom-tailored model that best mated theministry resources and mission opportunitiesof their speci c location. That is to say, the“top ve” evangelistic ministries weren’tall doing the exact same things in order tosuccessfully reach the unchurched.

As we consider a search for new models of campus mission work within thelcms , thenecessity for local ministries to be custom-

tailored also holds true. There isn’t any one“successful” blueprint that can be utilizedin a cookie-cutter fashion throughout thechurch with the same results. Each campusis different. Each district is different. Eachcampus ministry will have a different set of resources available upon which to draw. As weconsider new “models” of campus ministry,it will be helpful to look at some historicalaspects of lcms campus work, as well as somecommon factors in uencing the developmentof new models today.

Factors Shaping Models of CampusMinistry in the lcms : Some History September of 2006 will mark the 86th yearof campus ministry in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Initially, campus ministry wasas a measure of “conservation,” intended topreserve the spiritual life of an estimated 6,000Lutheran students attending non-synodicalschools in the 1920s and 30s. Over time, boththe number of students and the number of

campus ministries began to grow signi cantly.Following WWIIalmost 50,000 Lutheranstudents were attending public colleges anduniversities. In order to minister to an ever-growing student population, individual lcms

districts established and administered Wordand Sacrament ministries in public universitycommunities. At schools with a signi cantLutheran population, university chapels andstudent centers were strategically erected nearcampus (many of these were student assemblyministries and all-university congregations). Insome locations town and gown congregations were established to serve both studentsand the broader community. When thoseoptions weren’t available, nearby pastors andcongregations were called upon to serve ascontact ministries. A student organization,Gamma Delta, operated under the WaltherLeague from 1932-1969 (lcms World MissionHarvest Newsletter,1).

In the early days, it might be said that lcms campus ministries were primarily chaplaincyministries designed to provide spiritual careto the thousands of Lutheran students alreadyon campus. Over time, however, college anduniversity campuses began to be recognized fortheir mission potential. In 1965, in convention,

thelcms

placed campus ministry under itsBoard for Mission Services. While campusministry continued to provide spiritual careand a worshipping community for Lutheranstudents, it also began to develop strategiesfor reaching out to non-Christians (Harvest Newsletter,1). In the 1960s and 70s, somedistricts entered into cooperative ministries with the American Lutheran Church and theLutheran Church in America (predecessorbodies to the current Evangelical LutheranChurch in America). During this same period a

pan-Lutheran student organization, LutheranStudent Movement, replaced Gamma Delta. Bythe late 1980s, however, theological differences were challenging the continuation of mostcooperative Lutheran work. In 1988 the LCMSformed its own student organization, LutheranStudent Fellowship (Harvest Newsletter,1).

By the middle 1990s, a strategy statementhad been adopted for lcms campus ministry which said: “Districts are being encouragedto see their campus ministries as missionary S

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outposts, and those serving in campus ministryare asked to see themselves as missionaries”(Siering, 4). This is a signi cant shift from thedays when campus ministries were primarilyunderstood to be chaplaincies.

“Old” Models Are ChallengedThe shift from a focus of “conserving”Lutheran students to one which views campusministry as a missionary endeavor is not thesole motivator for searching for new waysto continue and expand campus ministry.Some other realities have forced districts,congregations and local campus ministryboards to re-design their campus ministries.

As the 20th century came to a close,funding and staf ng full-time ministriesbecame a greater challenge for the districts andcongregations involved in campus ministry.Maintaining district-owned buildings (that were now often 30-40 years old) was notalways desirable for districts nor something local campus ministry boards had preparedto consider on their own. The districts thathad pursued pan-Lutheran ministries beganthe painful process of exiting those ministriesas the era of cooperative Lutheran campusministries began to end. In almost every

district the issues of funding and staf ng havebeen factors in uencing the re-shaping of how Christ’s mission on campus is carried out within the lcms .

Yet, campus mission opportunitiescontinue to grow.

The Growing Campus Mission FieldCalls for New ModelsRecognizing the campus as a mission eldand campus ministry as a missionary endeavornecessitates some knowledge of what that

mission eld looks like. Who are the peopleon our campuses? What are they like? How many are unreached? How can the church bestcommunicate the Gospel with them?

Today, according to statistics presented onthe lcms World Mission Web site, there areover 16 million college students on 3,700campuses in the United States. Of those,approximately nine million are between theages of 19 and 25. It is precisely at this age that young people are shaping their life-views and

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desperately need the guidance of God’s Wordand to be connected with Christian peers andadult role models. Many in campus ministryestimate that between 70 and 80 percent of thestudents on U. S. campuses are unchurched. When the international student populationis added to that gure, the non-Christianpopulation on campus becomes greater thanthe number of non-Christians in the averageU. S. community (Inter-Connections,3).

Research reported by George Barna inSeptember of 2003 suggests that only threeout of 10 young people (in their 20s) attendchurch in a typical week. This includes notonly those young people who have never beenconnected with the church, but those who havegrown up in active Christian homes as well.The Barna study points out that “millions of twentysomething Americans—many of whom were active in churches during their teens—pass through their most formative adult decade while putting Christianity on the backburner”(The Barna Update,1). In the same reportDavid Kinnamon, a twentysomething Barnaresearcher, reacts to the study’s ndings:

Christianity is not going to whither awayamong twentysomethings—more than 10million are active church-goers and verycommitted to the Christian faith. But thereal issue is how churches will respondto the faithquakes that are reverberating through our nation’s young adults. Thenotion that these people will return tothe church when they get older or oncethey become parents is only true in aminority of cases. More importantly,that reasoning ignores the real issue:millions of twentysomethings arecrystallizing their views of life without

the input of church leaders, the Bible,or other mature Christians. If we simply wait for them to come back to churchlater in adulthood, not only will most of those people never return, but also we would miss the chance to alter their lifetrajectory during a critical phase. And,besides, what church couldn’t use theinfusion of energy, ideas, and leadershipthat young adults can bring to the table?(The Barna Update,3).

While Barna’s report might seem startling,it serves as a reminder of our church’s call tobe in mission on campus. Within reports likeBarna’s there are also some telling clues asto what factors should be in uencing how weapproach reaching college students with theGospel. For example, many of the young peoplesurveyed in the Barna study reported a desireto be trusted with leadership roles within theirchurches. Mentoring was pointed out to be themost appealing form of leadership developmentfor young adults. Some campus ministries arepicking up on this nding and encouraging mentoring relationships to be a part of theirpeer ministry programs or in the training of their small group Bible study leaders.

Another open door for new campus mission work is that of ministry to internationalstudents and scholars and their families. Onour campuses in the United States there arecurrently 720,000 international students andscholars, along with many of their dependents(Selle,25). Many of these international guestshave never had the opportunity to learn of God’s love for them. They’ve never experiencedtrue forgiveness. They’ve never been introducedto Jesus, the Savior. While they are here in ourmidst we have the opportunity to show them

God’s love and teach them about Christ.International students are a speci c segmentof the campus population that has receivedgrowing attention in the lcms over the pastten years. Existing campus ministries, districts,and various ministry coalitions have beendeveloping intentional outreach ministriesamong internationals. Today, intentionalinternational student ministries utilize Englishconversation groups, cooking classes, smallgroup Bible studies, hospitality events and various other friendship ministries to share the

message of Jesus Christ as Savior for all people.Most often, international student ministriesemploy part-time directors and rely heavily on volunteers from local congregations.

A third mission opportunity calling forthe development of new models of campus work is among those attending our nation’s junior colleges and community colleges. The American Council on Education, in a June2004 press release, reported that communitycollege enrollment grew by 14 percent during S

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the 1990s, ve percentage points more thanall the rest of higher education. This is a new segment of campus mission opportunity that we have little experience with as a church. How do we minister to students who are only with usfor such a short time (two years)? How do weconnect with students who are more likely tobe living at home and/or are required to holda part-time job while in school? What aboutcommunity colleges that are becoming moreresidential? Because community and juniorcollege students are likely to transfer to a four- year college to nish their degrees, there isalso a shorter period of connection with ourtraditional campus ministries. How will thechurch respond to these new and expandedopportunities for mission on campus?

Whether in a traditional four-yearsetting, with international students, or ona community college campus, having theability to develop authentic relationships with students is vital in sharing the Gospel. A creative thinking and dedicated people whoare willing to be a part of those relationships will be equally important.

New Models of Campus Mission:One District’s Shift

At the beginning of our current decade the Missouri District of The LutheranChurch–Missouri Synod endeavored todevelop a new model for its campus mission work. Facing challenges of funding andstaf ng, the Missouri District MissionBoard was forced to take a serious look athow it encouraged and conducted campusmissions. With district-owned propertiesat ve campuses and staffed ministries atnine sites, combined with stretched district

nances, it was evident that changes would

be required. Calling a campus pastor toserve each individual site was not possible.Splitting a pastor’s role, part-time campusand part-time congregational ministry, alsohad drawbacks—both for the pastor and thosebeing served. Yet, amidst these challenges was also the realization that missionopportunities on Missouri’s campus wereactually growing. A rethinking and retooling of campus mission work for the 21st century was about to begin.

A Campus Ministry Action Team wasformed, and a “Campus Missionary” modelof ministry began to develop. The concept forthe Missouri model borrowed from a modelalready being explored in Kansas. The initialplan called for the district to be divided intotwo regions, eastern and western. A campusmissionary would be called to oversee andfacilitate campus mission work in each region.The missionaries would serve as guides to localcampus ministry coordinators, non-ordained,part-time workers responsible for leading each of the campus ministries. Other keyparticipants in this model include the studentsthemselves (who receive leadership training forministry), as well as the local congregations inthe campus communities.

Not only does this model provide a morerealistic way to navigate some of the nancialstresses of the old system, but it also offerssome potential bene ts. First of all, it is anequipping ministry. Church professionalsfacilitate and equip God’s people for ministry.The campus missionary and campus ministrycoordinators listen to, train and guidestudents in reaching out to their friends andpeers in a Christ-centered way. District-coordinated Peer Ministry Training Modules

provide student leaders with an ongoing opportunity, throughout all four years of college, to grow in their study of God’s Wordand in sharing their faith.

Ronnie Merritt, who was one of the rstcampus missionaries to pioneer this modelin Missouri, now serves as the chair of theCampus Ministry Action Team. According toMerritt, the new model “allows the campuscenters to truly better meet the students’needs …. The key word in this ministry in myopinion and based upon Scriptural support is

‘equipping.’ Young persons empowered by theHoly Spirit ‘doing’ ministry that God has calledthem to do in a campus setting is what campuscenters are all about. The church professionalsfacilitate and equip God’s people for ministrymuch like the Apostle Paul did in the earlychurch (Merritt,1).”

Another positive aspect of Missouri’snew approach to campus mission work isthat it encourages local congregations to join hands with the students living in their I S S U

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universities has been important within TheLutheran Church–Missouri Synod ever sincecampus ministry work of cially began at theUniversity of Wisconsin almost 86 years ago.The original models of ministry on campus were born out of the desire to minister tostudents, combined with a committed effort toutilize available resources effectively within thecampus setting. The most important detail wasthat the church followed through in pursuing its campus ministry goals.

Today is a moment in time when thecampus mission eld is calling for new andrevitalized models of ministry. The searchfor those new models is in its infancy, and isbeing encouraged at a national level throughthe Lutheran Campus Mission Association(lcma ), a mission society in partnership withlcms World Mission.

According to its mission statement, lcma is committed to providing “creative leadershipto enable and empower campus ministers andthe broader church to be effective witnessesof Christ in the academic community and the world” (lcma , 3). As a partner in the Ablaze! movement, lcma has adopted the following strategic objectives1:

•Ignite an energized, Spirit-led, mission-

focused, self-generating movementamong students, as well as faculty andstaff, to share Christ with 4.5 millionpeople by 2017.

•Build a broader base of partners with a vision for campus missions.•Increase opportunities and capabilitiesof partners.

•Enable, equip and link resources to campusmissions partners.

•Facilitate a culture, attitude and spirit of courageous entrepreneurial leadership for

the development of campus mission.•Support the Board for World Mission’s vision for campus mission work and campusmission partners (lcma , 5).

A catalyst for campus missions (missionary),the Rev. Greg Fairow, has been called by lcms World Mission to help districts, congregationsand other appropriate entities within thechurch establish new campus ministriesand revitalize existing ones. lcma providesresources like the annual Campus Mission

community. Local congregations provide a Word and Sacrament worshipping community, volunteers—and to varying degrees, depending on the circumstances—facilities and pastoralcare. The message is: Ownership of campusmission belongs to everyone—students,campus missionary, campus ministry director,congregations and the district. The full-timecampus missionary position af rms campusministry as a calling, and the partnership inmission af rms the campus mission eld as vitaland important in terms of ful lling our Lord’scommand to make disciples.

The reality is, both in Missouri and acrossthe nation, the campus mission eld is growing.Not only are there more students on ourtraditional four-year campuses, but communitycolleges are emerging as one of the most rapidlygrowing segments of the campus mission eld. According to Missouri’s campus missionary,Rev. Gene Wyssmann, there is currently somenew campus mission work beginning at two ormore junior or community colleges. UnderMissouri’s new model for campus mission work, reaching out to students at these two- year institutions has become a high priority. With the help of the campus missionary and theCampus Ministry Action Team, measures are

underway to increase the number of intentionalinternational student ministries as well. While Missouri’s new model might be

considered a work in progress, it seems poised tobring about a unifying of campus mission work within the district.

The Missouri District serves as only oneexample of a new model for campus mission which is being developed. Other districts,circuits, congregations and existing campusministries are also engaged in seeking new ways to effectively communicate the saving

message of the Gospel in the university setting.In some instances existing ministries arebeing revitalized, while in other instances new ministries are beginning in places where there was previously no intentional campus outreach.

Resources and Encouragement for Strengthened and ExpandedCampus MissionMinistry among students, faculty, and staff at our nation’s state and private colleges and I S S U

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Confabulation, which is designed to encourageand equip campus workers, lay volunteers,and college students alike as they gather forlearning, fellowship and celebration. Anotherlcma -sponsored resource is the CampusMissionary Institute, which exists for currentcampus workers who wish to be renewed in their vision for campus mission ministry, to developa strategic plan for an existing campus missionministry, or to develop a vision and strategicplan to start a new or to revive a dormantcampus mission ministry.

There isn’t a “one size ts all answer” asto how amissionarycampus ministry is to beformulated. There is, however, our Lord’scommand to “Go and make disciples of allnations” by baptizing and teaching. We alsohave His promise to be with us as we respond toHis directive: “And surely I am with you always,to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). As our Lord is faithful to His Word and we are faithful to Him, new models of campusmission will emerge from congregations,districts and coalitions recognizing the needand opportunity to reach out to those oncampus with the love of Christ.

Notes

De nitions of terms used in the LutheranCampus Mission Association Balanced FocusPlan: Partners:congregations, ministries,districts, executives and other entities whocollaborate with lcma to share the Christ with 4.5 million people by 2017, the 500thanniversary of the Reformation. Partnersshall share lcma vision and goals.Missionresponders:people who respond to the Gospelby involvement in God’s mission by learning,praying, giving, telling, going, sending andcelebrating. LCMApeople: lcma Board and staff,International Student Ministry representative,Lutheran Student Fellowship representative.Leadership: lcma Board. Board:Board for WorldMission, lcms.

Works Cited“Being Missionaries in a Campus Setting.” Inter-Connections.(September 1997): 1-4.Brittain, John N. “Revitalizing College Ministry:The ‘Church-on-Campus’ Model.” The ChristianCentury.(July 20, 1988): 673-675.Campus Missions. lcms World Mission.2005. The

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Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. (December 2, 2005). www.lcms.org.The Holy Bible, New International Version. InternationalBible Society. (1984).Interview with Ronnie G. Merritt and Rev. Gene Wyssmann. (November 9, 2005).

Kruse, Tim. “Evangelizing the Un-churched: FiveExemplary Models.”Transitions in Faith: Young Adulthood and Beyond Symposium.(May 24, 2004). University of NotreDame. Retrieved October 19, 2005. www.campusministry.nd.edu/symposium/Evangelizing_the_Un-churched.“Lutheran Campus Mission Association Balanced FocusPlan.” Lutheran Campus Mission Association.(RevisedNovember 16, 2005).Merritt, Ronnie G. “Summation of Campus MinistryConcept.” (May 10, 2000).“New ACE Analysis of Higher Education EnrollmentPatterns Shows Community Colleges Attracting IncreasedShare of Undergraduates During the 1990s.” ACE PressReleases.(June 15, 2004). American Council on Education.Retrieved January 3, 2006. www.acenet.edu.Selle, Carl. “A Ministry of Friendship on Our Doorstep.”Fellow Workers.(May/June, 2003): 25. InternationalStudent Ministry, Inc. Retrieved December 18, 2005. www.isminc.org/fellow_workers.“75 Years of Blessings! Past: Why Campus Ministry Began.”lcms World Mission Harvest Newsletter.(Fall 1995): 1-4.Siering, Andy. “We Dare Not Neglect Them.” The LutheranWitness.(July 1995): 3-6.“The State of College and University Ministry.”IvyJungle.Org.(November 2003). The Ivy Jungle Network. RetrievedOctober 23, 2005. www.ivyjungle.org.“Twentysomethings Struggle to Find Their Place inChristian Churches.” The Barna Update.September 24,2003. The Barna Group. Retrieved July 12, 2004. www.barna.org.

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book reviews

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Servant for Jesus’ Sake

Theophil Janzow Lima, Ohio: Fairway Press, 2005

Do you believe that the Lord works in strange,even miraculous ways, in order to lay outour paths and the working of His Church onearth? I certainly do. And so does Dr. Ted Janzow, who backs up this belief with a nearly

unbelievable story of one congregation’s callmeeting in which one member stood up andnominated a young man who had preachedthere once as a seminarian. The only problem was that he truthfully could not rememberthat young man’s name. Shockingly, thecongregation supported that nomination! Amazingly, they managed to gure out whothat young man was! Astonishingly, theycalled young Pastor T. Janzow! Wondrously,he accepted their Call!

Do you believe that there are times incongregational living when our own stubborn ways and worldly mindsets are almost laughablyopposed to the ways of God? I certainly do.

And so does Dr. Ted Janzow, who backs upthis belief with a poignant (but also hilarious)story of a congregation (many decades ago,thankfully) whose members could finallyno longer, in good conscience, be served bytheir pastor, because his wife couldn’t speak German (and whose very salvation was, by theirde nition, quite unlikely).

Do you believe that so much of ministrysuccess occurs when leaders are surroundedand supported by tremendously willing and ableco-workers? I certainly do. And so does Dr.Ted Janzow, who tells not only of his importantand fruitful years at Concordia University,Nebraska, but also of the challenging yet

satisfying beginning of Concordia LutheranSeminary in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. With these and other great stories, one

man’s life is told, with full acknowledgementthat it was woven by God Himself. A great manof God, in true humility, speaks eloquentlyof the value and the joy of a godly wife andchildren. This gifted and gracious servant of Jesus gladly bears full witness that mission work and reaching the lost is accomplishedby the Holy Spirit in even the unlikeliest of places—a Christian college in a small townsetting. We are even granted a child’s glimpseinto life in a parsonage.

As a major theme of every one of his storiesand recollections, this “servant for Jesus’ sake”gives full glory to the One who loves Him,and loves us all. That is as much a part of hislegacy as the stories themselves. Those storiesare worthy of being read and re-read.

This is Church history at its best. Thestories are rich. They ow nicely. They speak of personal faith, of trust, of hope, of love, of

God’s faithfulness.The reader will delight in these stories of agreat and humble man of God. And, perhaps, thereader will understand (even act upon) the truththat every believer has stories to tell; stories in which the Lord’s precious ways are revealed, andHis Name praised. And it could be, that wheneverything else is said and done, this is among thenoblest and highest results of knowing, reading and embracing Church history.

The Rev. L. R. SchnakeDirector of Ministries

Christ Lutheran ChurchLincoln, Nebraska

Regarding the Cross

William WolframNorfolk, Nebraska: Marathon Press, 2005

If this book were considerably larger and muchheavier it would be a “coffee table book.” Itis primarily a visual feast. The author uses acomputer to construct numerous fascinating cross forms from repeated photographicfragments in a way that recalls kaleidoscopedesigns. Text, though not unimportant, issecondary. That can rarely if ever be said about

a basically theological work.The author’s theological stance is solidlyLutheran, clearly emphasizing Jesus, grace, sinand salvation. Within its modest dimensionsthe book contains a wealth of thought aboutthe meaning of the cross. The symbolic contentof the Greek cross form and the square ismade clear. Occasionally the reader may havequestions about the text. Was not Adam, as wellas Eve, guilty of unbelief in the Garden? Arediscussions of “theistic evolution” absolutelyincompatible with God’s grace for sinners?

Unlike contradiction, “good” ambiguitypresumes some inherent harmony, if not

immediately or clearly understood. Theambiguity of the cross is, perhaps, at the heartof this book. Wolfram is careful to note thatthe photographs are not of “jewels or polishedmetals.” Yet each image in the book is a highlycrafted visual gem. Calvary’s cross was literallyan object of horri c torture and repugnance,but eyes that are refocused at the time of one’sbaptism into Christ’s death see the cross asbeautiful. This provides a rationale for theseductive graphic beauty of this book about thecross. The images (not really illustrations),book design, typeface choice, and printing are impeccable. Not that the images aresuper cially pretty—colors other than brownsand grays come as a surprise. In the spirit of the ‘resurrection crosses,’ might the artist inanother series use photographs of brightlycolored or organic subjects?

Another ambiguity involves Wolfram’s view that a corpus (dead body) on a cross isinappropriate because it suggests that theredeeming cruci xion was never completelyovercome by Christ’s resurrection. Yet many

of his carefully chosen Bible texts make clearthat we remember the suffering and death of the Son of God as redemptive—not the crossitself. Perhaps this arguable point is resolvedby metaphors that the author may not fully (orconsciously) acknowledge.

What should one make of the fact that thesource material for most of the “perfect” Greek crosses involves ordinary things that are worn,old, ignored, discarded, rejected? Two thingscome to mind. First, Christ was not seen asbeing physically attractive, and he sufferedrejection. Thus the physical stuff of the photosmetaphorically becomesthe body of Christ whotook on humble form and participated in the

transitory world. A second possible view is thatby Christ’s atoning sacri ce all things havebeen redeemed. He came for the imperfect,the downtrodden, the unworthy. With thenitty-gritty speci cs of contemporary life weare brought to the cross to be re-formed intosomething new.

Artists working in a medieval monasterypushed the human limits of imaginationand manual skill to illuminate the exquisiteBook of Kells. They created complex interlacepatterns with which to subdue abstract beasts within a symmetrical cross. What wouldn’tthey have given for tools like the digital

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camera and computer that Wolfram puts tosuch good use?

We are in a time when some Christianchurches deliberately eliminate every visualcross from their premises. This choice seemsto play down the signi cance of the cross andsacri cial living for more user-friendly themessuch as “Jesus as life coach.” InRegarding the Cross Wolfram succeeds in upholding the centralityof the theology of the cross with convictionand produces what he intends, a source of personal meditation.

Richard WiegmannProfessor of Art, emeritus

Concordia University, Nebraska

Practicing Passion

Kenda Creasy DeanGrand Rapids, Michigan

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004

Finally we have a book that addresses the“something is missing” feeling that thoughtfulpastors, youth leaders and campus ministers haveoccasionally experienced in their ministering of the Gospel. Author Kenda Creasy Dean believesthat the church’s ministry among young adults hasbeen more about keeping them in the pews, raising mature adults, and appeasing our need to havean active youth program rather than connecting them to the passion of Jesus Christ.

Youth, by God’s creative nature, arepassionate. Young adults are the ones who have“causes,” make seemingly irrational decisions,and proclaim love as the one thing worthy todie for. To be a “nobody” is the greatest fear

facing youth. The church in the 20th centurymissed this developmental and significantcharacteristic of youth, and as a result hassought to tame and program youth rather thanlet them be transformed by the passionate loveand person of Christ.

What is surprising (and refreshing!) aboutDean’s book is that she does not succumb tothe “solution” of better programs, educationalstrategies, and more age-appropriate models;rather, she goes back to theology. Therein lies thenext surprise. She speaks of the abby theologicalidentity of liberal Protestantism which has turnedthe church away from enacting the radical love

of God who sent his Son to the cross. She pleadsfor Christian ministers to preach, teach andenact the Gospel in a theological framework that is rooted in the suffering and sacri cial loveof Jesus. She urges the church and its workersto open a “portal” between Christ and young people. That portal, she af rms, lies in Wordand Sacrament as God’s passionate reaching out for His people.

This is not a “how to” book. However, anycampus minister worth his or her salt will be ableto take her well-researched claims and utilizethem in his/her ministry. This is not to say thatthere are no practical suggestions, even thoughthe book intends to help the reader modify his orher perspective. The book contains voluminousfootnotes accenting a well-read author.

The middle section of the book bogs down a bitin psychosocial perspectives and developmentalpsychology language. However, if the reader ispatient, there are plenty of thought-provoking gems to be mined. Throughout the book the language may be somewhat unfamiliarand uncomfortable for frequent readers of Lutheran theological resources. However,there is nothing objectionable to a Lutheranreadership. In one chapter Dean makes aninteresting analysis of the passion of sex and thepassion of faith. Not everyone will appreciateher insightful connection of the two as theyintersect with young people, but she easilysubstantiates her thesis.

People who should read this book arethose who are con dent enough to questiontheir own approach and attitudes aboutministry. It will cause them to examine whethertheir preaching, teaching, mentoring andbefriending have helped young people tointimately associate with the passion of Christ. While some adults may want to curtail andtame the passion of youth, Dean encouragesthe minister of the Gospel to steer it to thecross and let the youth be shaped by ChristHimself through Scripture.

This book will be especially relevant for campusministers because of their ministry to those very young people who are seeking something (orsome One!) to radically believe rather than to just be assimilated into the “niceness” of modern American Christianity.

The Rev. Wes “Bo” BaumeisterChaplain, Concordia University, Nebraska

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