At Mission Canada we have embraced what we refer to as the C5 Approach. That includes: Chaplaincy, student Club, Campus Church, Church based ministry and Commercial (e.g. a café ). As we have discussed elsewhere in this blog, we have shining examples of each that have been helpful in our developing a code of Best Practices. We do not espouse a one size fits all approach, but rather look to see which mode of ministry best fits the needs of the institution and which best fits the calling and gifting of the leaders and students.

At the University of Calgary, our man on the ground, Kelly Johnson,  has been instrumental in setting up the inter-faith chaplaincy which is a part of the Wellness Centre, which employs a systemic, comprehensive approach to the development of students as people.

As a chaplain, Kelly has several key planks in his ministry approach. The first would be what we would consider the passive or reactive side of ministry. It means he responds to people’s needs as they come to him. He does not need to go looking for them, they seek him out. He is available to talk with students and administration on a regular basis. Many of these people are barely in the preliminary stages of their faith journey. This would be analogous to a doctor who waits for people to come to him with their needs.

The second would be what we would describe as the proactive side of campus ministry. This means that he sets things in motion in anticipation of the future. He works towards the development of programs and structures that will build people well beyond their awareness of perceived needs. This would be analogous to a health professional who coaches people in how to develop a healthy lifestyle which will cut down on the need for trips to the doctors office.

Proactively, Kelly has developed a noon hour event called Worship at the U, which is a time of singing, prayer, discussion, reflection and challenge. It offers students an opportunity to refocus and recalibrate in the midst of the rush of their school work and obligations. I appreciated the opportunity to offer some reflectioins in that context.  He also runs what he entitles as a Prayer Lab, where people can come and learn about prayer. A big piece of what he does is bring students and administration along with him on a humanitarian mission to Mexico, where they build a house for a needy family. Kelly has led numerous groups like this and it has led to genuine long lasting fruit as people have come to know and follow Jesus and others have developed a much greater appreciation for Him and His people.

We do not have a club presence on campus at present. However, Kelly works in collaboration with several evangelical groups on campus.

Kelly was kind enough to introduce me to his chaplaincy colleague from the Christian Reformed Church, Paul Verhoef. Kelly made overtures to the CRC to get someone on campus, because they have long played a role in campus ministry and U of C was empoverished by their absence. The CRC’s reformed vision is one that I resonate with in the sense that faith and learning belong together and that there is no sphere of human endeavour that God does not deserve to exercise lordship over. Paul ,and his intern Sam, and I had a brief visit in which we realized that we knew many of the same people and shared a common conviction of the place of faith in the academy.

Finally, Kelly was instrumental in establishing a chaplaincy presence at Mount Royal University. That will be the subject of my next blog