The End... Or Not?

So we’re all packed up—the office is cleaned out, the hard copy files stored, and when I’m done writing this post, I will proceed to wipe the NEPCI files from this computer’s hard drive and return it to Karl. Like the end of most term jobs, I’m joyful and sad at the same time. Joyful that I was able to see the project through to the end, but sad that I don’t know what the future holds for the New England Presbyterian Campus Initiative. In looking over interviews yesterday from last summer, I ran across one person’s wise comment regarding NEPCI: the success of the project will be judged by what follows from it. I hope and pray that what follows will be more energy and enthusiasm on the ground to do campus ministry, and more attention from our governing bodies to the good work that is being done and could be done. But I don’t know what will happen.

And in some ways, the fruits of the project have never been in my hands alone. So much of what I reported back to the presbyteries was simply a reflection of your hopes, your frustrations, and your experiences with collegiate ministry. In the end, the new thing that comes forward will be yours as well. Whatever you do, however, cannot be done in isolation if it is to have an impact on the broader church. What Presbyterians in New England need is for a broad-based coalition of people who care about campus ministry to form a region-wide group, one that will support one another in on-the-ground ministry, share ideas, and advocate within our polity for the needs of collegiate ministry. Long gone are the days when we can assume that everyone knows why campus ministry is important: people who care about campus ministry have to make their case before congregations, at presbytery meetings, even on the floor of the General Assembly. Many people don’t know how collegiate ministries impacts the life of the church, and those of us who care about this ministry need to start showing them why it does—not because we see congregations as cash cows to be milked aggressively before someone else beats us to them, but so that we can invite one another into deeper intergenerational relationships and greater opportunities for mission. To do these things, we need to come together in some formal capacity.

Perhaps my greatest regret from Great Expectations, an otherwise wonderful event with thoughtful and engaging conversation, was that as facilitator of the Implementation session I did not propose the creation of such a group. The Great Expectations event did produce a letter to the New England Presbytery Partnership Group, petitioning them to implement the recommendations of the NEPCI Final Report. But there is no doubt in my mind that we need more.

If you agree with me, if you’re interested in taking our conversations to the next level, let’s start talking about it on this blog via the comment feature (or on our Facebook group page) and see where it goes from there. Even though this stage of the project ends today, I will keep checking for your comments and, if people are interested, I will keep blogging as things progress.

In either case, I know that God’s work on college campuses is just that—God’s work. Regardless of where NEPCI goes from here, I trust that the Spirit will continue to blow in the midst of college students. And whether it blows Presbyterians into students’ lives or takes us somewhere else, I also trust that God continues to move within the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Thank you for the opportunity to work and serve on this project this year. It has truly been a blessing.

Kelsey