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 “Off-Campus” Organization

Purpose: Details on how to create another version of campus ministry chapters.

Some campus ministries may like the idea of student meetings, but for whatever reason, prefer not to pursue official status. The off-campus approach incorporates all the essentials of the on-campus meeting but takes the meeting to another location. Some groups have, for example, established a coffee house for their ministry to college students. Other groups have rented a room near the campus to conduct meetings. Some have established a boarding or rooming house for students.

There are some advantages to maintaining an off-campus ministry site:

·         It offers flexibility and control that would be impossible with a campus organization. It gives the ministry the right to set the hours and frequency of meetings and to sponsor other activities that may not be permitted on campus.

·         It has the advantage of a neutral location instead of a church, thus overcoming a student’s possible reluctance towards going to a church.

·         An established, off-campus location conveys an image of permanence to the campus population. A sign can hang in front, the building is always there, and its purpose remains constant.

The major drawbacks to an off-campus ministry include:

·         Expenses are higher. Rent on a suitable facility that may be more than a group can handle. This is especially true if the outreach is at a large university, because rent will be higher.

·         The group is responsible for the facility 24-7. This means that maintenance work must be done, and enough people must be kept on staff to supervise the ministry, or at least maintain the building.

·         Transportation may be required if the facility is beyond walking distance from the campus.

These obstacles are not insurmountable, but this option needs to be looked at closely in the light of these challenges.

A Church-Based Ministry
A church-based outreach is almost identical to the off-campus approach, except it eliminates the major disadvantage of expense. The church need not maintain a separate facility just for campus ministry and does not have to duplicate equipment, such as musical instruments, office equipment, and supplies. Moreover, the church-based ministry may make it easier for a new convert to identify with the local church and achieve integration into the church body.

Some situations lend themselves to a campus ministry staying entirely based in a local church building:

·         If the university is located in a small town, it may not be important to be on campus in a technical sense. In fact, students may perceive the whole town as the campus. Moreover, ease of transportation or campus’ proximity to the church may make the church convenient for ministry.

·         If the church is located near a large number of colleges and universities. Obviously, keeping up with numerous student organizations and hundreds of rules is not practical. The east coast of the United States, for example, is known for its large number of colleges. Boston alone has over 70 colleges and universities. Picking the best opportunities, while maintaining a single site just makes sense.

The main disadvantage to a church-based campus ministry is that it is a church. Many students have a strong aversion about going to another church. (Some churches have dropped the word “church” from their names and have replaced it with “center” to sidestep this problem. Their intention is not superficial but an honest attempt to circumvent the misplaced prejudice in the minds of some people concerning religion.) The campus ministry that elects to base all its operations out of the local church facility should know what it is up against and find ways of dealing with the challenge.

Another drawback that may arise is the group’s focus can shift away from the campus and towards the church. Many church members tend to be building-oriented; that is, they equate ministry and service to God as something that happens only in a church building. Thus, they may not venture onto the campus as often as they should to reach their stated field—the local college.

Another approach is the rally or campaign approach. As the term implies, this effort concentrates on brief, intensive evangelistic forays onto the campus. Upbeat, exciting services form the core of this method, as they feature quality singing groups with an obvious appeal to college students and a dynamic speaker. Such a meeting must be preceded by an advertising blitz, attended by a large number of church people from area churches, and followed up by an information-gathering team. This activity must be highly organized, underwritten by financial backers, and given cooperation from many different people or groups.

Well-run rallies can be very effective. They create excitement and give the gospel positive exposure on campus. Few other methods can get as many visitors in one place at one time. If the follow-up effort is coordinated well, the result can be many first-time contacts who agree to Bible studies.

However, rallies have some significant weaknesses in establishing a stable campus ministry. For instance:

1.      There are many areas of potential failures, such as:

·         An unforeseen schedule conflict with another major university function.

·         No-shows of singers, evangelists, and people who have promised to attend.

·         Bad weather for an outside event.

·         Lack of cooperation between sponsors.

A campus ministry is taking a great risk if it relies on a crusade for its major evangelistic outreach.

2.      A rally lacks the enduring strength of a campus ministry that works on the campus day after day throughout the year.

3.      A rally worth doing will probably be expensive. Several thousand dollars may be spent in advertising, air fares, hotel accommodations, meals, equipment rental, and printing. Thorough study ought to be done to see if such an event warrants this kind of money.

4.      The high level of intensity and excitement that a crusade demands may create a false idea about the nature of campus ministry. No one should feel that soul winning is possible only within the context of a crusade atmosphere. Many people, if not most, have been saved in quietness and simplicity, without the benefit of instruments, microphones, or crowds.

Crusades work best in conjunction with other methods of campus ministry. A crusade sponsored by an established campus organization will spotlight the name of the organization, and the crusade personnel can use the privileges of the organization. With no official campus connection, however, a campus ministry may run into problems with red tape if it tries to conduct an on-campus crusade.