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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Establishing an “On-Campus” Organization

Purpose: Learn how to create the most popular version of campus ministry chapters.

The place to find out what a particular school requires is the student activities office, the office for student affairs, or an office that goes by some similar name. A person can go to the main administrative building and ask where this office is located. Generally speaking, there are three basic criteria:

A.    A Minimum Number of Students—This number may vary from two to ten or even more, depending upon the university rules. If the campus ministry team has too few students, it can try recruiting friends of students to sign on as charter members. While they may not be interested enough to ever come to a meeting, the university will still consider them as bona-fide members.

B.     A Faculty Advisor—Even if the campus ministry group knows no member of the faculty to become an advisor, getting one to agree to it may be much easier than you might think. Faculty members are routinely asked to sponsor groups in which they have no interest. Many times they will do it without any intention of attending a meeting, simply because they want to help students. On the other hand, there are often professors who espouse Christianity and would especially like to become an advisor to a new Christian group. The key is simply to ask.

C.     A Constitution—The red tape of starting a campus organization should never scare anyone away. Most groups will get through it with ease. The constitution for a student organization is a simple, straightforward paper that defines the purpose of the group, the requirements for membership and officers, how officers will be elected, and a few other similar details. Again, the student activities office will provide information about some basic things that the constitution should include. If this is still a problem, someone in an existing organization, religious or not, will probably be glad to offer assistance in getting one together. The important point to remember is that once it is written and filed, the subject will probably never be brought up again.

Naming Your Organization

Selecting the right name for your group may be a challenge. There are many existing Christian organizations, and a new group may unwittingly pick a name that is already in use. We recommend names that reflect the purpose of the group without sounding too restrictive or sectarian.

If desired, Campus Ministry International makes its name available for use on the local campus, as long as it is identified as “CMI, University of __________ Chapter,” or “CMI, (local or regional name) Chapter.” This privilege is extended only to those student organizations that are a recognized ministry of a local United Pentecostal Church.

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Part eight: Conclusion, Summary