Chris Bean

After spending the last few minutes catching up with other blogs and articles within this field of campus ministry, the challenge of finding and focusing on ‘my place’ in this missional effort is staring me down.

As the preparations were being made this summer for my ministry to begin at the University of Cincinnati, I realized there would be two specific demographics vying for my attention this Fall.

Group 1: The students in this group have some knowledge, affinity, or experience with Christianity already. Many of them have been raised in the church and are transitioning from some level of participation in church (youth group, Sunday school, worship services, mission trips, etc) to campus life. The students I’ve encountered so far in this category have a couple of different approaches. One student is looking to stamp out the heresy of any who don’t agree with her particular brand of evangelical Christianity. Another kind of student is attempting to plug into so many different campus ministries and bible studies, that there’s no time or opportunity to get sucked into the evil past-times of their university peers. Then there’s the sort of student who, I think, has a pretty healthy approach. A genuine desire for discipleship exists in order to have a Kingdom impact while being engaged with the campus community.

Group 2: In this second category of students I find those who are a little more jaded about Christianity and even antagonistic towards Group 1 (many for good reasons!). Also found here are the students who have significant questions and struggles with matters of faith but find no safe or relevant context for dealing with such. Unwilling to lay aside reason and embrace a simplistic and anti-intellectual version of any faith, these students welcome the opportunity to connect with someone who would allow them to doubt, wrestle, question, and even withhold assent.

The students in group 2 are certainly more challenging from an intellectual standpoint. I enjoy that sort of challenge and opportunity for dialogue. Apparently I also just like being around these students…they are raw, authentic, funny, and engaging. (They also tend to be more fond of coffee than group 1) 

But I do not really have the option to ignore group 1…nor do I really want to. However, I’m not going to play their little ministry-hopping game of insular Christianity. My challenge to this student will be significant. Let’s dig into God’s Word together and see what your life would really look like in light of Galatians 2:20 (being crucified with Christ).

My challenge for group 2 students will be modeled after the Messiah himself, “Come and see!”