Jesus Goes to College

Ministry in the Secular University Context

Next Tuesday, I will take up what has become a yearly tradition and make my way to Malibu, California, to attend Harbor: Pepperdine University Bible Lectures. This conference is mainly a gathering of folks from among the Churches of Christ, some of whom are fellow ministers of the gospel. So it is always an occasion to catch up with some friends, people I have come to know over the years.

The theme for this year is God Loves Forever, which interests me simply for the sake that I believe we live in a world that needs to hear more about God’s love. Of course, our world also needs to experience God’s love embodied by followers of Jesus too.

I will present a class session too, and I’m thankful for the opportunity. My class, called Jesus Goes to College: Ministry in the Secular University Context will take place on Thursday, May 4th at 10:00 am in Appleby Center, room 261. If you plan to be at Harbor, I’d love to have you as part of the class and see together the way God is working for campus missions.

For now, consider that in 2022 there were roughly 17.9 million students enrolled in a college or university, with about 15 million of those students as undergraduates.¹ One of the things I love about having the University of Delaware in my backyard, so to speak, is the diversity of students that come from all over the nation and from around the world. I’m sure it is the same for most colleges and universities. The question is, what will we do? Do we recognize that campus ministry is participation in the global mission of God? Can imagine how God is already at work in the many universities? Is there a way to share the good news of Jesus Christ on college campuses that meets students where they are at? I believe so and look forward to telling you why.

1. Causey, J., Cohen, J., Lee, S., Ryu, M., & Shapiro, D., Current Term Enrollment Estimates Expanded Edition: Fall 2022, Herndon, VA: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2023, available at: https://nscresearchcenter.org/current-term-enrollment-estimates/ (last accessed on Thursday, April 20, 2023).