NAZARENE SECULAR CAMPUS MISSION
By David Kyncl

General Assembly marked another significant milestone as we continue to cast a vision to reach students, faculty and staff on secular campuses throughout the United States and Canada.

We prepared a listing of 16 ministries in the United States and Canada distributed at the booth, and we became aware of four or five ministries that need to be added (i.e. Univ. of Buffalo, Iowa State) Then, the strategy committee had numerous conversations with pastors, laymen and district superintendents with specific interest from 14 states and at least 5 countries.

Both workshops were well attended and productive.

“The sessions for campus ministry at General Assembly once again provided an avenue for the casting of the vision of college ministry,” Jeff Stark, Young Adult Pastor at Clarksville, Tennessee, First Church of the Nazarene, said. “ There is a growing interest within our denomination in reaching the campus and an overwhelming frustration about “where do we start.” I felt that each session provided both theoretical and practical possibilities to begin reaching campuses across this nation, regardless church size or operating budget.”

Stark added, “anytime we have the opportunity to come together as college (young adult) ministers is encouragement. It is easy to develop a lifeboat mentality (all alone on the open sea) yet there are many who charging the hill and it is good to be reminded of shared joys and struggles.”

“I was encouraged by the response to both of the NSCM sessions at General Assembly,” Sean Heston, pastor of University Church in Lawrence, Kansas, said. “Primarily I was encouraged that fundamentalism had not completely absorbed the pastors and laity in the denomination. The people in the two NSCM sessions seemed to enjoy intentionality to their theological conversation. They were more than willing to discuss the role of the church in our culture. And, they were very engaging when talking about Conversational Bridges to People of Other Faiths.