wfn.org | Vision statement for campus ministry to be forwarded to Assembly

[PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org]

03-July-1996 
 
GA96056 
 
 
        Vision statement for campus ministry to be forwarded to Assembly 
 
ALBUQUERQUE - A proposed vision statement for Presbyterian campus ministry 
was approved Monday night by the committee on Christian Education and 
Theological Institutions.  It will be forwarded to the Assembly for action 
later this week. 
 
    The statement, proposed by the Presbytery of Shenandoah, begins by 
describing the students campus ministry serves.  "We are the children of 
God who have left the security of family and ventured into the wilderness 
of new ideas, choices, and possibilities." It further describes students as 
"persons of various ages, cultures, and races" who "share a common faith 
heritage as well as a thirst for knowledge, wisdom, and truth." 
 
    The statement also defines the tasks of campus ministry. The first is 
inviting students "to a deeper discipleship in Christ."  Campus ministry 
also "provides a sanctuary where students can explore their relationship 
with God", and "demonstrates God's faithfulness and grace to students in 
all areas of their lives."  Campus ministry also is to provide "a faith 
community for worship, prayer, study of God's Word, service, development of 
talents, and leadership."  It will enable "students to minister to persons, 
neighborhoods, and communities."  Finally, campus ministry "works through a 
variety of partnerships with the church and society," the statement says. 
 
    Glenn Grant, pastor of Burnt Presbyterian Church, Winchester, Va. 
presented the overture for the Presbytery of Shenandoah.  The Presbytery's 
committee on Higher Education wrote the statement, he said, because it felt 
"campus ministries are spotty";  some campuses have full time people, some 
part time, and many no staff on campus at all. 
 
    Grant sees the statement "as a building block" intended to deal 
specifically with ministries to students, not faculty or staff. 
 
    Clyde Robinson, associate for Higher Education Ministries, Student 
Ministries for the denomination, asked that the vision statement be 
referred to the National Ministries Division of the General Assembly 
Council.  Robinson reported that the Division is involved already in 
identifying "sustainable models for ministry in higher education" in 
response to a referral from the 207th General Assembly.  He said that 
developing a vision statement was an integral part of that process.  He 
assured committee members that the Division would consult with the 
Presbytery of Shenandoah in preparing the report.  The Divisions's report 
is to go to the 209th General Assembly meeting next year in Syracuse, N.Y. 
 
    The committee also approved with amendment and comments an overture 
from the Presbytery of New Brunswick  The overture directed the General 
Assembly Council to "provide adequate budget and staff support for 
Presbyterian-related campus ministries and student Christian associations." 
The committee deleted all references to finances and staff, voting instead 
to refer the overture to the existing study committee of the National 
Ministries Division.  It further instructed the committee to "provide a 
plan that would provide adequate budget and staff support for Presbyterian 
or ecumenical campus ministries and student Christian associations." 
 
    Sherman Skinner, pastor of the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church, 
Lawrenceville, N.J. noted that New Brunswick Presbytery has more than 
200,000 college and university students within its bounds.  For six 
undergraduate schools, he reported, there are two full time and two 
part-time campus ministers.  "Over the years there has been an obvious 
decline" in funds and personnel allocated to campus ministry, he said. 
"This is the longest continuous mission of the Presbyterian Church," he 
said, and this year "it is not even in the Mission Yearbook for Prayer." 
 
    In approving the overture as amended, the committee commented that "the 
church cannot arrest its decline in membership by continuing to reduce its 
involvement in campus ministry."  "We wholeheartedly declare that campus 
ministry cannot be accorded a lower priority than any other congregational 
or national ministries." 
 
    The committee is recommending that the overture be referred to the 
National Ministries Division which is already studying these issues.  "We 
do feel, however," the committee went on to say, "that the study committee 
should give major attention to the ideal expressed" in the overture.  The 
committee further is suggesting that the criteria for campus ministry 
"should not be what is `sustainable' but what is necessary and desirable to 
conduct programs of campus ministry which reject the idea that there is 
nothing the church can do to stem the declines in membership and, to a 
lesser extent, giving." 
 
    All actions of the committee must be voted on by the Assembly as a 
whole before they can take effect.  The Assembly can adopt, amend, or 
reject any recommendations from its committees. 
 
Peggy Rounseville 

------------
For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
  phone 502-569-5504             fax 502-569-8073  
  E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org   Web page: http://www.pcusa.org 

--