A friend in another state asked me that question today. His church is next to a college campus and he sees the need and he has heard the discussion of some leaders advocating college campus church plants as the way to go.
Simply put, my answer was yes. Where there is no viable church to reach out to students, a campus church plant is a great possibility. Where there are strong churches, the traditional BSU/BCM model seems best. It is the College Ministry for many churches and strengthens them as it develops their students and sends them back into those churches. The BSU/BCM Campus Minister serves as a resource to these different churches.
One concern expressed by some is, Will students who attend a campus church plant develop a continued commitment to varied age churches after college. The thing we have learned for sure in recent years is that one type church does not fit all. It follows that one type college ministry is not the exact answer for all college campuses. Even "traditional BSU/BCM models" vary on different type campuses.
Some feared that the decision by the North Carolina Baptist State Convention to do away with their BCM Directors and BCM Centers might start a trend for other state conventions. It seems the opposite has been true. The North Carolina decision has caused some state conventions to consider their college ministry commitment and have stated that BSU/BCM is a top priority for them!
Some Baptist leaders are advocating campus church plants as THE way to do College Ministry, but many of these have not done College Ministry.
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