Are We the Local Church OR an Arm Reaching On to the Campus?

I love campus ministry!  There's no doubt in my mind that this is what God has created me for... It's such a unique context for ministry; walking alongside young people during some of the most formative years of their lives.


But I've recently been challenged in the way I think about the work I (we) do on campus.


For quite some time I've believed that our work with college students - in the form of campus ministry - is not meant to replace a students' involvement in a local church, only supplement it.  


I've thought that what we provide students is something that's specifically designed to meet them where they're at in life - a contextualized ministry.  Amidst some incredible life transition, as students are being prepared and equipped to go out into the world and make a difference, we get to come alongside them and: 

• encourage them to love God and others, 
• challenge them to make their faith their own, 
• create space for them to grow and nurture a biblical world view, and 
• model for them ways to live into Kingdom priorities and responsibilities.

All of this gets to happen on campus... right where students do the majority of their living, relating and recreating.

But is it enough?  

Or maybe the better question is, should it be enough?  

• Should we be content with students to be involved with our ministries alone, to the exclusion of connecting with a local church off-campus? 
• Do our ministries provide everything the local church does?  Should it?
• Are we short-circuiting students relationship with the Church if we require all of their love and allegiance to our ministries during their formative years on campus?

More to come on this later in the week, but for now... What do you think?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and contributing to the conversation!