wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Awards benefit PC(USA) college campus outreach efforts

[newsservice <newsservice@PCUSA.ORG>]

You are currently subscribed to the PCUSANEWS

email list of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

To ensure continued delivery, please add newsservice@pcusa.org
to your address book or safe senders list.

Remember to visit www.pcusa.org/subscriptions to renew your subscription
this week if you haven't already.

========================================

This story available online:

www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09162<http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2009/09162

Awards benefit PC (USA) college campus outreach efforts

>by Bethany Furkin
>Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE - With help from the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.)'s Office of Collegiate Ministries
[www.pcusa.org/collegiate], two groups are reaching out to
more college students.

C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church

[www.cnjenkins.org/home.cfm], in Charlotte, NC, and the INN
University Ministries [www.theinnministries.org] in
Bellingham, WA, are the winners of the office's
Congregationally Based Ministry Awards. Both groups
received $5,000 to use toward college ministry efforts.

This is the first year the office has given out such
awards, which celebrate the achievements of congregations
that share the good news of Jesus Christ with college
students. To be eligible for the award, applicants had to
demonstrate creative use of limited resources,
collaboration with other churches/community groups and the
active involvement of college students of different races
and nationalities in the planning of ministry.

"They can use (the award money) in a way that makes sense
to them," said Sylvia Wilson, associate for the Office of
Collegiate Ministries.

For C.N. Jenkins, that means funding a campus ministry
coordinator to be a Presbyterian presence on surrounding
college campuses. The award money is planned to go toward a
stipend for an intern-like position that will focus on
setting up Bible studies, worship and mission opportunities
for college students.

Reaching out to college students is important for many
reasons, said the Rev. Eustacia Moffett Marshall, associate
pastor at C.N. Jenkins.

Because college students - like all generations - have
unique concerns, being able to target them effectively
requires the church to consider issues like student loan
debt and job searching in the shaky economy. Also, making
sure young adult members are active in the church helps
ensure its legacy.

"In order for the church to survive, there has to be some
children involved, some adults," Marshall said. "We think
it's very important that we continue to share the gospel
with college students."

And C.N. Jenkins is in a key position to do just that. With
eight colleges and universities within a 30-mile radius of
the church, C.N. Jenkins has close proximity to young
adults and has reached out to them in several ways.

Soul Food Sundays is a monthly invitation to students for
worship, dinner, fellowship and discussion of topics such
as academic and career goals, relationships and the
Christian life. College Sunday is another outreach effort
in which church members are invited to worship in their
college paraphernalia and student choirs and athletic
organizations are invited to the church. As a result of
these Sundays, the football team at Johnson C. Smith
University, a Charlotte college with historical ties to the
PC(USA), has expressed an interest in starting an athletic
choir to sing at services. For the INN University
Ministries, a student organization associated with First
Presbyterian Church in Bellingham, WA, college outreach is
not so much a goal as it is a reason for being.

The group, founded by a student at Western Washington
University in 1974, is both a registered student
association at the college and an outreach of First
Presbyterian Church, which provides meeting and office
space for the group. Members can attend a variety of group
activities, from weekly worship services and small group
meetings to recreational outings and mission trips.

With the award money, the INN hopes to increase its
presence on campus, said Lindsay Anderson, ministry
coordinator with the INN. Because the INN is housed off
campus, the group is making an effort to come to students
rather than expecting them to come to the church. Some of
the money could go toward renting space on campus. One of
the challenges of campus ministry is the number of
obligations and opportunities college students face. With
so many activities, finding time to devote to worship can
be difficult, which is a reason the INN wants to make
itself more available, especially at a life stage that is
full of uncertainty.

"You're changing so much as a person and who you are and
what you want to do," Anderson said, adding that the INN
strives to set a Christian foundation that will last after
graduation. "One of the things we find really valuable is
community. Not just community, but Christ-centered
community."

That community is a big part of what the INN offers. Not
only do students form lasting connections with one another
through small groups, retreats and worship, but they also
interact with members of First Presbyterian Church.

Members of the congregation help prepare weekly meals for
the group and attend fundraisers for mission trips, as well
as recap sessions about those trips. There is also an INN
Committee made up of church members that serves as an
advisory board.

Partnership is a key part of the PC(USA), and one that the
Office of Collegiate Ministries can carry out.

"I think it would be sad for the church to be seen solely
as a bank. I think we have so much to offer," Wilson said.
"At the same time, people are contributing to the church.
These restricted funds are what people gave to the church
so they can be used for ministry now."

Application information for the next round of awards will
be available from the office in mid-November.

========================================

You are currently subscribed to the PCUSANEWS

email list of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

>For questions or comments, send an email to
>mailto:PCUSANEWS-request@halak.pcusa.org.

To learn more, visit http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/

>Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
>100 Witherspoon Street
>Louisville, KY 40202
>(888) 728-7228