Thursday, 24 September 2009

• Campus Or Church Interaction?: Advice I Wish I Had In College

  Since it's the end of September, I've been in a very reflective mood. One short year ago I was a senior in college, taking the toughest classes of my life. I was knee deep in GRE preparation (to no avail) and trying to live every minute with my roommates. I know that the saying goes that if I knew then what I know now I'd be ahead of the game, and its true, but I don't regret it for a minute---except when it comes to Intervarsity.

  During the first three years of college I was an active member of Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. I met strong Christians that strengthened me when I learned of my mother's infidelity and my parent's impending separation. My fellow Christians were there for Friday movie nights and unimposing Bible Study. If I had my senior year back, I'd race over to worship---even if I was on the other side of campus and feeling too lazy. Had I gone that final year of school, I trust that my faith in God for the future would have been much stronger and perhaps clearer, but I also know that during that year He was with me when I needed Him. He heard every prayer and answered one of the most critical.

  While thinking of all the days that I squandered reading James Joyce and watching films for my independent study instead of enjoying worship at Intervarsity, I fell upon this article---thus the "if I knew then" moment. The College Student's Dilemma: Should I Get Involved in My Church or a Campus Ministry? by J.D. Greear should become the Christian college student's manual on how to maximize your experience and not end up like me upon graduation. Trust me, if you can develop that external Christian network before you graduate you'll be so much better off.

  In the beginning of the article Greear lies out the four advantages that the church has, for which I mostly agree.

  • Churches do have the structure and organization that you can rely on. They know what denomination they support, they know what their theology is, they know on a consistent basis what they will be preaching and how the worship services will be structured.
  • Churches are intergenerational. Some days, I'm not so much into seeing the church elders, but they are a very available resource. They've lived the path and the struggles. We need to use them while we can.
  • Churches are multi-faceted. This allows us to find where we best fit into the church. If I had chosen the church route during school, I would have joined the choir. During Intervarsity, worship team was a very select group and in some sense may have pushed me out the door that senior year because I didn't truly feel valued as a member of the group.
  • Church is for life. Now here's where I disagree. In my experience, church during school is not forever. You have only for years, unless you plan on staying in the area where you went to school for the rest of your life, your still gonna have to make new church relationships. Sometimes you never find the right church and end up ostracized, like me, whether you're at home or school. Church is always there when you need it, although it is better to be consistent than needy and wander off after everything is perfect (churches tend to hate that).

  Greear is right on when it comes to the advantages of college ministry:

  • Campus ministries meet on campus, Definitely the best thing going for college ministry organizations. If it weren't for being on campus I'd probably never found faith again. Plus, you know exactly where the people that go to these events live. You can walk down the hall or the next dorm down and have someone to hang with who shares the same values as you.
  • Campus ministries specialize in dealing with the issues students face while a student. Your campus worker is usually someone whose been in your shoes within the last 5-10 years. Mine were graduates of my school and almost fresh out of college---they know my professors and course load. It's a lot easier dealing with your problems in a Christian perspective when they know what you're going through.

  The end of the article is the kicker! It lays out how to spend your four years: to be involved freshmen and sophomore year on campus, find a church you can consistently go to, to find a mentor at church and a few more. I definitely agree. I spent a good year silently yearning for a mentor that would nurture me in Intervarsity, yet it never materialized, and its sad to think I might have found that in a church. I spent so many days wishing that I was closer to God and stronger in my faith, but all the while I was becoming more withdrawn from Intervarsity because they weren't serving my needs. I just didn't know what I needed at the time.

  As Greear approaches advice for junior and senior year he shifts focus to those who are trying to ascertain their role in ministry and that's where I got a little turned off. Not all of us are meant to spend our lives serving the church and I'd hope that as Greear revises he'd keep that in mind. I do agree that towards junior year you should be more church centered so that you can build those relationships that help you carry through senior year, but it just doesn't have to be in a ministry capacity.

  So what do you think of Greear's advice? What should you be doing junior and senior year if you're not ministry minded?

  • 5:34 PM
  • 389 Views
  • 22 eProps
  • 10 Comments