On playing our part....

One thing I would like to make clear. When it comes to campus ministry, we are not IT. However, we are part of IT. Further, we are in a process in which we are discovering what part of IT we actually are, and might possibly become.

What is clear from the stats is that the job is not being done. Not by any of us. Nor, for that matter, by all of us. If I were to extrapolate from my number counts on a number of Canada's major universities, I would be more than safe in saying that well over 97% of the student population is unengaged in any form of meaningful Christian community on campus. That means that that out of the 1.5 million university and college students in Canada in any given year ( StatsCan), 1,455,000 are yet to be reached. I am not playing around with numbers, here. It reflects "the state of the nation".

Further, if we were to look at the numbers regarding the loss of the college age generation to the church, it would indicate that it is not a case of these students being involved in a faith community off campus. The reader may want to obtain the book, by Mission Canada's own David Sawler entitled "Goodbye Generation", in which he both laments the hemorrhaging of our young people out of our churches and provides hopeful ( and helpful )advice for those who care.

So, when I celebrate what Mission Canada's campus ministries are doing across the country, I don't believe it is in a triumphalistic spirit. However, I am doing it in the awareness that there are works of brilliance across the country  hat need to be cultivated and celebrated. We need to have a good look at what our strengths and weaknesses are so that we understand what it is we bring to the table of campus ministry. For example, our friends in the  Christian Reformed Church have a good handle on their strengths, without an  overwheening sense of exclusivity. This awareness has come through ongoing discussion and prayer, both within and without their ranks,  and it has led to their  being able to contribute to the larger campus ministry community in a manner out of proportion to their actual numbers.

Let me say this. It is past time  for the PAOC, as the largest evangelical  denomination in Canada, to awaken to the challenge and the promise of the university. Our campus ministries reflect both the strengths and weaknesses of our great Fellowship. They have, with few exceptions, arisen from the ground up. They have not been centrally administrated, but rather have been spawned as spiritual entrepreneurs have forged out new ground with courageous, creative  faith. I love that! However, there is a sense of disconnectedness  we need to overcome so  that a genuine synergy can emerge. It is that task  I find urgent and compelling.

This connects to our vision. I can see a group of ministries across the country able to provide support for each other and to share their collective strengths. I can see the development of high quality leadership and of innovative, flexible ministry models that are able to respond to the complexities of Canadian campuses. I  see this, and more....

blog, ministry, robb powell, blog ministry Robb Powell