| Bishop's CornerChurch Has Mission On Campus
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
 The
mission of the church on the campus of a university or college is more
urgent today than it has been for decades. Ours is a society in which
many persons know nothing about the gospel of Jesus Christ and have no
experience in the life and mission of the church. The first time many
young adults begin to think about their spiritual life is when they are
in college. Right now, there is a palpable sense of spiritual hunger
being felt by the generation of young adults, as reported by Colleen
Carroll in “The New Faithful.”
At this moment in history the church needs to invest in its mission
on campus in order to invite young adults to become disciples of Jesus
Christ.
The church’s mission on campus is also crucial in developing a new
generation of lay and clergy leaders. These young adults are needed if
the church is going to be able to be effective in its ministry in the
21st century. Often the place where many leaders of the church arise is
in the campus ministry of the church at a university or college.
One of the items on the agenda of the Conference Table is to evaluate
the campus ministry of the Florida Conference of The United Methodist
Church. The conference is being ably served by the Board of Higher
Education and Campus Ministry under the leadership of Mrs. Jana Hart and
the Rev. John Denmark, president of the board.
Working with the board, the Conference Table will conduct a review of
the conference’s campus ministry, which will require visitation of the
campus ministries. One issue will be how adequately and effectively
these ministries are being financed. The primary objective of the review
will be to establish the most effective campus ministry strategy
possible in order to evangelize and nurture students as disciples of
Jesus Christ and witness to the reign of God in the settings of the
universities and colleges in Florida. Such a review will require an
openness to try different approaches in some settings in order to
fulfill the mission of the church to the schools.
The church has been involved on campus in an intentional ministry for
more than 50 years. During such a long period of time there is a
tendency to take things for granted. Congregations and clergy may come
to view campus ministry as just another institution to be maintained
rather than an urgent mission of the whole church. It would be very
shortsighted to continue an attitude of complacency toward campus
ministry, given the spiritual hunger of students today and the
opportunity to make disciples of Jesus Christ of those who have never
heard the gospel in our pluralistic society. The cause of campus
ministry deserves our best investment of faith, energy and imagination.
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