A UMNS Commentary
by the Rev. Harold V. Hartley III

March 5, 2003 - A spiritual awakening is occurring on college campuses across the United States. Without intentional support from the church, however, these flames of revival may die out.

Turning away from the bankrupt values of previous generations bent on "me first" materialism and greed, a new generation of young adults is desperately searching for greater meaning and purpose in life, a new sense of community, opportunities to serve those in need and a vital spiritual connection.

United Methodist campus ministers and college chaplains report record numbers of students attending their weekly worship services, Bible studies and community service activities. Increasing numbers of students graduating out of campus ministry programs are seeking one- or two-year service opportunities and considering ministry within the church, as evidenced by the steadily declining age of seminary enrollees.

Despite reports that this new generation is not interested in denominationalism, we find that students are seeking vital connections to a deeply rooted tradition. They may not be blindly loyal to one institution, but they are attracted to a Wesleyan faith that combines vital piety and social holiness, and is intellectually engaging while tolerant of other views.

This increase in student religious involvement is accompanied by the development in 1996 of a new United Methodist Student Movement, the first national network of students within the denomination in nearly 30 years.

Attendance at the annual Student Forum, a national gathering of United Methodist college students, has doubled in six years, and regional gatherings at the annual conference and state levels are sprouting up.

Recent shifts in higher education reveal a new openness to issues of faith and religious practice. Immediately following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, once-skeptical university administrators turned to campus ministers to bring messages of comfort and hope to students and faculty.

Furthermore, the renewed interest in things spiritual is coupled with the largest growth in the college student population in U.S. history, with an expected enrollment increase of more than 15 percent by 2012.

This spiritual awakening among our young could not come at a more opportune time in the life of our rapidly aging denomination. According to a recent study, on any given Sunday, nearly 90 percent of folk sitting in United Methodist pews are over 30. Other reports note the shortage of ordained elders to fill local church pulpits.

Paradoxically, this flourish of student interest and religious activity on campus is coupled with a steep decline in church funding of campus ministry in particular and church-related higher education in general. Campus clergy are spending more time raising funds and less time raising disciples.

The retrenchment of campus-based ministries is evidenced in the rapid turnover and declining morale of campus ministers and chaplains. Yet we desperately need passionate, theologically trained campus clergy who can creatively present the Gospel with integrity to a new generation.

Annual conferences faced with over-committed budgets are looking to cut costs, and campus ministry, with its significant personnel and facility needs, is an inviting target. Frequently, a stopgap approach is to turn ministry with students over to local congregations. But these efforts all too often suffer from lack of commitment and expertise.

Rather than commit to putting the best and the brightest clergy on the front lines to minister with a burgeoning student population hungering for spiritual guidance, we are trying to fill empty pulpits. Instead of expanding programs and adding staff to reach unchurched students, we are slashing financial support for campus ministries.

No longer can we count on our young to return to United Methodist churches when they reach their 30s and have young children. They will go where their presence is intentionally sought and their gifts are warmly welcomed. We cannot afford to lose this generation of young people to para-church groups such as Campus Crusade or InterVarsity, which are investing heavily in campus ministry.

Our denomination is faced with difficult choices. At a time when new investment in ministries with college students is needed urgently, we are experiencing funding shortfalls, especially at annual conference levels. Yet, there are signs of hope and promise. The Texas Annual Conference recently moved all of its part-time Wesley Foundation directors to full-time status, a significant financial commitment. The California-Nevada Conference is establishing new campus ministries. The Tennessee Conference is undertaking an ambitious $1 million capital campaign for campus ministry facilities.

Methodism began as a campus renewal movement, led by brothers John and Charles Wesley at Oxford University. The spiritual reawakening on campuses today promises to bring much-needed renewal to our church, but we cannot maintain this spiritual revival without intentional nurture and financial support from the church.

Preoccupied with institutional atrophy, theological fracture and efforts to restructure, we may miss the opportunity that is before us. Without a decisive commitment to student ministry, the fire of campus spiritual renewal may burn out for lack of tending.

United Methodist News Service

Harold Hartley is director of student ministries in the campus ministry section of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.