Campus Ministry Network
Students heading off to college or university this fall–have you connected with your campus’ Lutheran Ministry? The Campus Ministry Network is an easy way to get engaged to a community of believers (and friends!) that will support and feed your faith.
Students, parents, and church workers can use the Campus Ministry Network to help connect students with their college’s LCMS campus ministry. It’s an easy process. Simply visit molcms.college, click on the school where the student is attending, fill out the short form, and the information will be passed on directly to that campus ministry.
“Campus Ministry is important on multiple levels,” says Rev. Dr. Kent Pierce, who oversees the Campus Ministry Network. “It’s really important that they have people who share their faith and their values and they can remain rooted in Christ as they navigate all of the new opportunities and challenges that college life brings. But campus ministry is also so important because it’s a time where students are really connected in a discipling community. They are not only being fed spiritually, but they have an opportunity to go deep and learn what it means to be a baptized child of God and how they take their baptismal identity with them into all of the places where God would lead them.”
There are 16 LCMS campus ministries right here in Missouri. They are working hard to greet new students, but they often don’t have the contact information of new students as schools no longer provide information of Lutheran students to the campus ministries. Also several universities have decreased tabling opportunities (where student organizations can have tables of information and greet students.) This makes it very difficult to make connections and reach students. But, filling out a form through the Campus Ministry Network greatly helps our student ministries. It only takes a few minutes, but the impact for students is long reaching.
“Through campus ministry, we raise up wonderful leaders in the church,” Pastor Pierce continues. “Some folks, after graduation, move onto their careers and become leaders in the congregations where they land. And in some cases, they end up going into church work. Through our campus ministries at our public educational institutions we often end up with students who graduate and go to seminary or even one of the other Concordias for a church work career.”
Not attending a school in Missouri? The Campus Ministry Network also has links for finding an LCMS-U chapter around the country at molcms.college/partners.
Additionally, a great way to let students and their families know about this resource, is including it in your church’s communications. Find bulletin inserts and additional information at molcms.college/resources.
The first 30 days on a college campus sets up habits for the whole year. Get connected to a campus ministry near you through the Campus Ministry Network!