Where were the Presbies?

I look back on my experience with campus ministry and can’t help but giggle because the campus ministry competition was fierce. Having attended a public university in a hyper-conservative, hyper-religious city there was certainly no lack of campus ministries to join up with. On any given evening you could find at least one of the groups getting together for worship or pizza or ultimate Frisbee. The three ministries which were most present on campus were distinct in that they had very different visions for the campus. One was big on evangelism and reaching out to the “un-churched”. The second group appealed more to the crowd who were more likely to read Donald Miller than the Bible. The third group was focused on mission and social justice.

I fell into the third group, mostly by default since the other groups met on nights when I worked or had class. I wasn’t really interested in joining up with a campus ministry since I was still in recovery from a less than desirable high school youth group experience. If I’d had a choice I would have joined the “Rehab for the Churched” ministry, but that wasn’t an option available. The reason I stuck with this ministry for the three years I was at the school was because of the people. This ministry was full of people who were compassionate and concerned about their neighbors on campus as well as their neighbors on the other side of the world. I was baffled. I’d never met people who seemed so genuine and kind and I owe a lot to this group for helping me get through the muck I was in.

While the non-denomination ministries were aplenty, the mainline denominations were noticeably absent from campus. During my first semester at school I was very curious about where the Presbyterians were. It wasn’t until December that I found out they were 7 miles away. That might not seem like a lot, but for a college student who doesn’t own a car and made the unwise decision to live in a city with poor public transportation, it might as well be 1000 miles. Add to it the fact that the college/young adult group only met at 9:45 on Sunday mornings which is unheard of for college students. This seems like a good formula for keeping away the college students. Perhaps it wasn’t convenient for the Presbyterians to be present on our campus, but is ministry ever convenient and easy?

Had the Presbyterian Church been more present on campus, I’m not sure the 18 year old me would have been active in their activities at the time, but the 23 year old me right now would love to go back and change my experience. If I could go back I would have been much more active in getting those stubborn Presbies onto our campus where their ministry could have nurtured and cared for the students.

As for the future of campus ministry? I certainly hope the church (PC(USA) in particular) will continue its efforts on college campuses worldwide. College is such a life changing time for most people as they try to figure out who they are and what they believe now that they aren’t in the comfort of their home. The lack of young adults in PC(USA) is solid evidence showing the desperate need for campus ministry.