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You might have noticed that my preference is to call the amazing thing we get to do on a day-to-day basis “college ministry” instead of the various other options out there.
Here’s why I’ve gone this way, and why you might wanna at least consider using this nomenclature yourself when you talk about our profession. (Of course, I’d also love your comments and arguments for other options!)
This only refers to how we talk about our field as a whole. I don’t think it matters as much when individual ministries use various terms.
Here are what seem to be the main options for referring to our field as a whole:
University Ministry
This one’s easy: “University Ministry” simply doesn’t apply to all work with college students, ’cause many students aren’t at a school that considers itself a “university.”
While this may work for a local ministry, as an entire field it doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Student Ministry
“Student ministry” is used as a synonym for “youth ministry” in a huge number of cases; other times it’s used to denote ministry to both youth and college students (as a division in a church, for example).
Using this to describe our profession will never cause anything but confusion… and we don’t get first dibs, anyway. Youth Ministry is well ahead of us in field-development, so they probably own this one, whether we like it or not. (But either way, both groups are students, so it seems like neither Youth Ministry nor we are best served by using this name.)
Collegiate Ministry
I honestly really like this one as a way to distinguish our entire profession, but I’m not sure it will ever catch on. It’s too close to “college ministry,” and people will probably shorten it, anyway. It can also sound a little snooty, a little self-important as we speak to those outside of our field.
You will certainly see me sprinkle this one into my writing, however. It’s great when I need a synonym, especially when I’m talking about the field as a whole.
Campus Ministry
Ah, this is extremely common. But here’s why I don’t personally lean toward this one:
- It often connotes, rightly or wrongly, campus-based ministry (parachurch or denominational ministries). I have heard many people use “campus ministry” as the opposite of church-based college ministry. But that use of “campus ministry” isn’t standard enough for it to be a true synonym for campus-based ministry.
- Some use “campus ministry” specifically to describe the spiritual life department of Christian colleges (particularly, I’ve noticed, in Catholic colleges). Do a Twitter search yourself, and you’ll see that use come up regularly. That is certainly one branch of college ministry, but it makes it confusing for describing the whole profession.
- “Campus ministry” is also occasionally used to describe – get this – youth ministry. Yes, high schools are “campuses,” too, and I know at least one fellow minister who bought a book on “campus ministry” just to find out that… well, you can guess.
Still, I use the term “campus ministry” plenty – especially because I know people will search the web or Twitter for that term. I have no problem being helpful or fitting in, but it isn’t my favorite terminology for the reasons mentioned above.
College Ministry
After all that, I think we’re only left with good ol’ “college ministry.” This does seem to be the term most recognizable to the largest number of people as just what it is: ministry to college students. And yet it doesn’t distinguish between the various forms of ministry (or the types of schools).
So that’s my argument. Take it as the analyzations of a college ministry nerd (or a campus ministry nerd, if that’s what you prefer!). What do you think?
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One of the real thrills of the recent trip involved hanging out with the head of CPYU, Walt Mueller. Dr. Mueller is a longtime author and leader in the field of youth ministry. As head of the Center for Parent / Youth Understanding, he also ultimately oversees the Collegiate Transition Initiative directed by Derek Melleby.
As we chatted, it was clear that Walt is quite excited about a new project he’s working on, helping mentor a new D.Min track at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary studying “Ministry to Emerging Generations.” You can read all about the MtEG D.Min at that link, but you might want to start with Walt’s (quicker) reflection at his blog. Those sources can give you all the facts, so the rest of this post contains my thoughts on the degree.
I’m always excited about any academic program that connects to our field. I get even more excited when a seminary offers a doctorate, which is pretty rare for anything that comes close to touching on collegiate ministry. (…even though we happen to build missions within university environments. But that’s another post for another day.)
In this case, it looks like the Gordon-Conwell degree will offer a great breadth of learning about both the present, changing cultural context AND adolescent development from childhood to young adulthood.
Clearly the current culture and context are important for us to learn about, since we as college ministers serve on the cutting edge. But developmental issues are important, too. Anytime college ministers study this broad topic, we’re receiving three opportunities to learn about the audience we shepherd:
- We learn about the development issues our students have faced (in general) through their childhood and teenage years
- We learn about the developmental concerns and stage(s) experienced in the years immediately following high school
- We learn where our students are headed developmentally in their young adult years following college
My one concern about the Ministry to Emerging Generations degree is that “young adults” seems to be used as a blanket idea for anyone 18+, including college students. It seems pretty clear to me (and to most, it seems, who have worked with these individuals) that the sociology of college is quite different from that of young-adult-land.
BUT, I believe this distinction matters less when discussing personal development than it does when discussing ministry approach. Further, because this is a D.Min, individual projects and assignments can be tailored to one’s individual ministry areas. And the book list included on the info page certainly includes books very pertinent to college ministry.
Finally, as Walt mentioned when we met, college ministers participating in this cohort will have the opportunity to help the other attendees – whether they serve in children’s, youth, or young adult ministry – to understand just how unique our station is.
We need advocates like that. And we need college ministers with doctorates. So if you’re at all inclined to pursue further education, I encourage you to check out this program ASAP; you might improve both your own ministry abilities and our field at large.
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