College Union

To United Methodists Who Believe In Campus Ministry:

An exciting conversation is taking place across The United Methodist Church about a vision of ministry and mission for the 21st Century. It has welled up from far and wide, capturing the imagination of United Methodists everywhere. Inspired by The Connectional Table, the Council of Bishops, and United Methodist ministries around the globe, the unfolding vision emerged as the Four Areas of Focus for the future of The United Methodist Church. They are:

1. Developing principled Christian leaders for the church and the world

2. Creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations

3. Engaging in ministry with the poor

4. Stamping out the killer diseases of poverty by improving health globally

Affirmed by the 2008 General Conference, the Four Areas of Focus offer a clear path for United Methodists to fulfill their mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world, and have already been a catalyst for numerous initiatives. 

For many in our connection, recruiting young clergy has become the primary objective and tipping point toward renewal. Yet in all the talk about raising up the next generation of Christian leaders, whether it be in the General Conference, Annual Conferences, or in local churches – campus ministry is rarely mentioned as a strategy toward this goal.  We’ve heard church leaders talk about emphasizing ordained ministry at confirmation, and creating ministry experiences for high school students – but then the details get hazy until people sign up for seminary.  For many reasons, leaders in our denomination do not see the strategic mission of campus ministry to call young women and men into faith and into Christian leadership – both clergy and lay.  

It’s time that we clear up this misperception in a simple, but profound way.  

We want to invite you and those women and men who have dedicated themselves to Christian service through your campus ministry to join the United Methodist Campus Ministry – Raising Up Christian Leaders Facebook Group by August 17th.  This will accomplish three things:

            1.  witness to United Methodist campus ministries being vital centers of vocational calling,  

            2.  celebrate the new clergy and new lay ministers who will answer God’s call over the coming decades, and

            3.   provide a base of people who will commit 40 days in August and September to pray for our campus ministries in the 2009-2010 school year. 

On August 17th, we will call the United Methodist Church to 40 Days of Prayer for our campus ministries.  In order to facilitate this, we are asking you and UM church leaders to write prayers to guide our intercession.  A prayer guide will be compiled for all invested in United Methodist Campus Ministries—Wesley Foundations, United Methodist related colleges, and local church ministries.  It will be published at:  www.collegeunion.org/prayer.  The focus of the prayers will be on one of five areas:

Evangelism—sharing the Gospel of Jesus on our nations campuses

Discipleship—nurturing the spiritual lives of university students

Provision—building financial resources, personnel, local church involvement

Campus Pastors—supporting family, leadership, vision, personal integrity

Students—raising up the next generation of Christian leaders

Please contribute by posting your own story on the Facebook group, and by inviting others to do the same.  Together, we can paint a picture of the profound impact of campus ministry in life of our denomination.

Grace and Peace,

Ashlee Alley – Southwestern College

Creighton Alexander – UMKC Campus Pastor and

Director of Missouri United Methodist Campus Ministries.

Co-editors, College Union

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