On Downsizings and Other Difficult Decisions

Things have been extremely busy here at the NEPCI office, deep in the bowels of Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church. Since my last post, NEPCI has hit the road to visit the Presbytery of Boston’s meeting in Worcester, MA; written a draft of the long-awaited final report; presented said final report to the project Advisory Committee; and held a conference call with the planning team for Great Expectations. You’ll see here that I’ve created a JPG version of the event flyer for your viewing pleasure—if you want something a little easier to read, email me directly and I’ll send you a PDF form.

But rather than go into some of those things today, a couple of developments have taken place in the last few weeks that underline the urgency of our common mission in campus ministry. First, funding developments among our ecumenical partners have pushed the Massachusetts United Ministry in Higher Education organization closer to the edge in terms of sustainability. It is unclear at this point what the impact of these developments will be, but at the very least it will mean fewer hours for ministry with students on campus. Second, in the latest downsizing of our denomination’s national office, the decision was made to consolidate the Office of Youth Ministries and the Office of Collegiate Ministries. As a result, two collegiate ministries staff people who had contributed much to the church’s work with college students lost their jobs. These two were the only dedicated staff people working nationally on Presbyterian collegiate ministries. Please be in prayer with me for Sylvia and Rick, as they discern where God is calling them next, and for those in the consolidated office who must now determine how to serve college students alongside their work with Presbyterian youth.

And be in prayer for the Presbyterian Church (USA). Our national leaders say that young adults in the church are a mission priority. But regardless of the rhetoric, our church’s priorities lie with those things to which ordinary Presbyterians give their time, their money, and their voices. Let me be clear: if we, the rank and file of the church, aren’t willing to put our efforts into making ministry happen on campuses, the time has long passed when we can expect the denomination to do it for us. I worked at the national office for three years, and saw how these things work. There are lots of wonderful, important ministries that people generally think the church ought to do: world missions, immigration, political advocacy, worship resources, environmental justice, peacemaking, campus ministry. When the bills come due, what will they cut? What SHOULD they cut? As one person I interviewed told me, certain ministries that have a bit of glamour about them, ministries that can make a compelling case for why they deserve a slice of that ever-shrinking pie, will continue. And ministries that are doing work we all agree is good, but have just a bit less appeal? Well, something has to give, our leaders will say.

Yet this only means the end of campus ministry if we remain apathetic—“we” meaning you, dear reader, along with me and all the other Presbyterians in our congregations with an inkling of interest in campus ministry. It is time to ask the simple question, “What is my role to play in collegiate ministry?” And you do have a role. God might not be calling you to be a campus minister or chaplain. But maybe you’re a great cook, or a genius with computers, or a Presbyterian polity wonk. People who can offer these services to the college community are necessary, too. Have we forgotten what our brother Paul said to the community at Corinth? “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work” (1 Cor. 12:4-6, TNIV). Everyone has a place in the work of collegiate ministries. All you need is the heart.

If you really want to show your support for collegiate ministry during this discouraging time, I only ask you to commit to one thing: come join us in Burlington, MA on May 30. Our planning team for Great Expectations met again today, and I am always amazed by the electric energy surrounding our discussions. We will offer afternoon consultation workshops where we wrestle with the issues in campus ministry that YOU care about—congregational outreach, ecumenical partnerships, the cultural relevancy of our ministry to this generation, and as many other topics as we can find rooms to host in the Burlington church. It will be a place for us to start talking about what we can do about campus ministry and come up with some strategies for action. You don’t need any special skills, or special titles, or special reason to come to this event. We just want people who care about college students to join us.

Because when just a few of us get together and make collegiate ministry our priority, our sisters and brothers throughout the church might just sit up and take notice.