If you’re reading this post, chances are you believe there’s a place in the world for college ministry. We know the need. We know that an outrageous number of Christians leave church and often faith during their college years. We know that at a time when these students are being faced with tough questions about God and the Bible that the church too often leaves them. We know that there is a potential for revival and renewal waiting within the hearts of these students, if only we can show them the beauty of who God is. I truly believe that the hope for the future of the church lies in our ability and willingness to follow Christ onto the campus to inspire and develop leadership within college students. We know the need.

We also know the problem, but we hate to say it out loud. Let’s just deal with it. College students don’t tithe. Even if you have one or two that do, 10% of their salary from Starbucks isn’t going to fund a ministry. College ministry is a financial black hole. Churches pour money into campus ministry knowing that rarely if ever will these students return to the church that guided them through those years. Churches fund ministry knowing that there will be no financial return on investment. Again, we know the need, and we know that we all got into ministry to see spiritual returns, not financial ones, but there is a cold, hard reality on its way – if the church has to tighten its belt and make some choices, college ministry will be the first place that cuts are made.

Crisis provokes creativity. I believe that as the economy continues to drag, college ministry is headed for a crisis that will force us into new ways of reaching students. We will have to begin asking ourselves some difficult questions. Are we willing to become bi-vocational? Are willing to stop being dependent on our local church and denomination for our budget? Will we as college ministers begin to take responsibility not just for the running of our ministries, but for the funding of it as well? Some of you are already answering this question, reaching outside the box for new methods. We need to hear from you and what your experiments look like. One new, beautiful way ministries are beginning to deal with this new reality is through the work that Our New Chapter is doing (www.ournewchapter.com). This organization has the mission of funding ministries through intentional campus housing. It’s a beautiful solution, one of many that we will need. Another idea prompted Megan Davidson and I to take a trip to South Texas.

I’m a part of a ministry at TCU called The Lab. We’re only a year old, but we’ve seen some incredible results. Every Monday night we have our gatherings in the upstairs art gallery of a coffee shop near campus. Every Monday, I’m left wishing that we weren’t just leasing space, but rather – that we were running the coffee shop. Coffee shops and pubs are the new commons area for college students. They’re a place where people sit for hours, in community, talking about everything from homework to the meaning of life. If we’re going to engage students in deeper thinking about faith, mission, and calling, the coffee shop is a pretty good place to start. What if your ministry was based in a coffee shop near campus? What if you made sure that a portion of every cup of coffee you sold went to build an orphanage, or a water well? What if another portion was set aside for your ministry? With local volunteers and low overhead, do you think a coffee shop could help make college ministry self sustaining? This is my dream. In a couple days, I’m going to post some videos and thoughts about the shops we saw, but in the meantime, my question is simple – what is your dream for a financially sustainable college ministry? How are you answering these difficult questions?

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