Frequently people hear Student Ministry when they hear Campus Ministry and I’m here to tell you that student ministry is a sliver of the call. True, universities are created for students to explore passions and interests AND professors are the people leading that exploration AND custodians are the people preparing the lecture halls for the professors who are leading the exploration of the students and and and. This view of a university reminds me of my favorite childhood read-along book, The House That Jack Built.
This Mother Goose rhyme begins with the goings on inside a house of a local carpenter who builds and builds, one piece upon the other until, page after page, the priest has married Jack and his bride and the house is a fixture in the community. Universities are very similar with small steps taken by people. People shared a vision, people chose land, people built classrooms, people maintain buildings, people lecture, people learn, and people need pastoral care. Agape San Diego’s presence is a loving one, focused on the university community as a whole. We minister with students, to be sure, working together to run lines for an upcoming scene for their acting class, discern a change in major, or, all too often, a muslim student who was emotionally burned by a Christian who wanted to “fix them,” heavy-duty pastoral care surrounding a queer student’s relationship with their conservative Christian parents. That’s a typical Tuesday. We present a patient, committed, and non-judgemental belief in the Creator of The Universe, thus reclaiming the kind face of Jesus. This is good and holy work.
This is Whole Campus Ministry and, right now, is a very good season in Campus Ministry.
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