about CMI
Campus Ministry International (CMI) was formed to enable and encourage local churches to effectively reach out to the college and university populations in their vicinities with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is done by a variety of means, including motivating Districts and churches to establish and maintain campus evangelism, providing materials and training to aid in the formation of these campus ministries, acting as a clearinghouse for the gathering and distribution of new information, ideas, and materials, and establishing communication and cooperation between campus ministries in our fellowship.

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Why Campus Ministry: An Argument for the Skeptical
Purpose: To convince others that a campus ministry is a key method to reach non-believers for your church.

Introduction

There are over 15 million students in North American colleges and universities. As a group, these individuals represent one of the most exciting areas of outreach that exists today because they are:

Transitioning—The fact that individuals are in school means that they are not in a set pattern of life. This period of their lives involves routinely making major decisions about how the rest of their lives. Why not encourage them to make a decision to follow Jesus Christ?

Learning—College is learning! People immersed in a learning environment are receptive to different ideas. They are constantly being taught new concepts, and are actually willing to listen to what a “teacher” has to say.

Location—Colleges and universities are located in obvious places that are easy to find. Better yet, these locations do not frequently change. The only required action on our part is to visit the campus--the students will come to us.

Campus Ministry Basics
A campus ministry can be broken down into three general target areas:

Outreach—The entire scope of every major society is represented on campus. And they’re all at one location. We must create and grow effective means/methods to reach these students while they are still in school. In this way, when they leave to go work somewhere in a real city in a real world, they go armed with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can reach every continent with the good news by sharing the gospel at a campus.

Foreign Missions—There are presently over 500,000 international students in our colleges and universities. Many times, these individuals come from countries where a missionary cannot be sent. Could it be that God has directed them to the campus nearby to where you live? Simply being a friend and making international students feel welcome is often the only prerequisite for introducing these individuals to the Lord.

Strengthening—Our local churches invest immense amounts of ministry effort into our youth programs. Should we assume that the discipling of our young people is complete upon graduation and that they are fully prepared to head off to college and make their own spiritual way? Of course not. The best way to ensure that our young people continue to grow in their walk with God is to get them involved in an active campus ministry that is focused on outreach. Being a part of a fellow student’s salvation experience will prove invaluable for our own Apostolic young people to thrive spiritually, not just survive.

As Jesus said, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35).

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Part two: Requirements, General Considerations