There is a class of young Adventists whose personal evangelism potential is high, but who need a special kind of pastoring to contribute to their spiritual growth and to equip them for their unique opportunity for giving the third angel's message. These are the Adventist students in non-Adventist colleges, universities, and professional schools.
In the spring of this year there were approximately twelve hundred Adventists in non- Adventist schools of university level in the United States. About three out of four were on the undergraduate level; the rest were graduate students. It is reasonable to suppose that at least one fourth of the more than seventeen hundred such schools have Adventist students enrolled. In most instances the numbers were small, but in areas where our church member ship is high we found concentrations of from forty to sixty Adventists in these institutions.
Most of these students are quite young. They need pastoring. One of the best means of building them up spiritually is to set them to work for their fellow students. The university student has a keen and open mind. But he is more likely to draw his ideas from the classroom and his campus associations than from the conventional evangelistic media. In other words, the best means of reaching him with the truth is through another university student, or through the campus organizations and discussion groups upon which students depend for finding and developing their attitudes and concepts.
S.D.A. Guidance on Campus
Most of the universities offer opportunities and facilities for campus organization and activities by denominational groups large enough to merit recognition. Other denominations get their names on the registration cards of the university so that their communicants can make their affiliation a matter of record. Other de nominations place upon the pastor of the church nearest the campus the responsibility of cultivating friendly relations with the admissions office and of securing at the beginning of each term a list of names and addresses of their members in attendance. Other denominations deliberately select pastors for these churches who are competent to serve as counselors and leaders of such groups. In only a few instances did we find evidence, from the university viewpoint, of such interest or activity on the part of our denomination.
The rather impressive number of letters from admitting officers of colleges and universities across the country, from some deans, and even a few from presidents, leads us to believe that we should not lack for sympathetic cooperation were we to seek out our own on their campuses.
The president of a city university in Florida writes:
"At the beginning of each semester we make a religious census and notify local pastors of the members of their particular religious group, the students' names and addresses, and whether they are local or from another area. I urge them to get acquainted as soon as possible and exercise an influence for the good in helping them solve their problems.
"I think it is a fine thing that you are trying to keep in contact with your students, because all of us know that students frequently break away from their spiritual moorings when they get to college."
Some schools have developed campus chaplaincies to take care of the spiritual interests of their students. This is particularly true of institutions in the West and Middle West. The chaplain of a college' in the Pacific Northwest writes:
"At the beginning of each school year since our chaplaincy has been established I have sent greetings to all our local pastors, including the minister of our Seventh-day Adventist group, indicating to them our willingness to cooperate with them. Also the fact that the names and addresses of their students are available if they at any time would like to secure them from this office.
"Since we have never had any reply or inquiry from your local congregation, we have been forced to assume that they are not interested in working with them through this office.
"Please be assured that we are grateful for your expression of interest in our students, and if there is anything you can do to help our students, we would appreciate it very much. Our desire to cooperate with your local parish is still very active, and we would appreciate any suggestions you may have."
Typical of the facilities available in the large State schools across the country is this statement by the coordinator of students' religious activities of a Midwest university, one of the largest in the nation:
"The University . . . does not require this information from every student. It is collected on a voluntary basis, and for those denominations which maintain recognized student programs on the campus, the cards are forwarded at once to the designated pastor, priest, or rabbi.
"Inasmuch as we do not have a recognized Seventh-day Adventist group at . . . , the name of your denomination does not appear on our check list. Should your denomination decide to consider formation of a student group on our campus, it would be very much in order to have one of your city pastors communicate with me. In cooperation with our Student Activities Bureau, the necessary steps for organization and recognition would be explained to him.
"In the meantime I should be very glad to have you send me instructions if you would like religious census cards for Seventh-day Adventist students who have written in their affiliation, to be sent to a denominational representative. It is our earnest wish that students coming to the University . . . shall have every encouragement to maintain meaningful contacts with the religious organizations of their own faith."
Letters from the large universities suggest that their size and complex organization should not deter us from asking their assistance but should lead us to limit our requests to the service they are set up to render. One writes that lists of Adventist students can be supplied only at the opening of a term and only if the request has been made prior to the opening. Another writes that if the lists are requested at times other than the opening of a term, we shall have to send someone to go through their 20,000 cards, or hire someone to do it for us. Still another State university officer writes that each student at registration fills out a card showing his religious preference, the cards then going to the local Y.M.C.A., where they are available for use by local representatives of all religious faiths. The accompanying "Religious Census Card" is used by one university. Notice that our denominational name is not listed.
Some States have recently passed legislation, such as the Massachusetts Fair Educational Practices Act, which forbids requiring any in formation whatever regarding race, creed, or color of students. But even in these States we can find our students in universities which have found a legal and unofficial means of providing the contacts with local pastors. An example is the following from a member of the Ivy League and one of the most famous universities of America, with quite a number of Adventists in attendance:
"Our registrar's office does make it possible for the Student Christian Association ... to secure information from students currently enrolled in the college regarding their personal religious preferences. Such information is ephemeral in its nature in that the preference cards distributed to new- registrants are not retained by the university but are parcelled out among the parish churches of all denominations in this general vicinity.
Skilled Pastoring Needed
With means at hand for getting in touch with Adventists attending universities and non- Adventist colleges, two questions arise: For what purposes should contact be made? and by whom?
There are several reasons for seeking out the Adventist students. In the university he is likely to be somewhat lonely in a community too large for him. The church should compensate by welcoming him warmly, by giving him opportunity to participate in the service, and by drawing him into the work of the church. Where the number of students permits, a special Sabbath school class should be provided, with the best teacher in the church. The mental stimulation to which the student is daily subjected needs to be balanced with a corresponding spiritual development.
The pastor needs to win the confidence and friendship of the student, so he can be alert to detect the first signs of wavering faith or con fusion of belief. Even mature Christians studying in the heady intellectual atmosphere of the university have found it necessary to go aside for hours of earnest prayer lest they lose their way in the labyrinth of homocentric philosophy. Younger ones have lost their heads in a round of pleasure, or have traded their faith for the pseudosophistication of the student union coffee shop. They need the anchor which the local church can provide.
Obviously the church contact enables the pastor to tactfully suggest transfer to an Adventist college in the case of the student who can find in our own schools the courses he needs. A lack of diplomacy in this direction, however, or an excess of zeal, can easily lose for the pastor the privilege of using the contacts provided by the university and close a door which should be left open if he is to continue to be useful to those students whose advanced education must be pursued in the university.
If the university encourages the formation of denominational campus units, it may be found advisable to organize an Adventist group, even if the number of students is small. It will establish a sort of sanction of our church in the eyes of the university community, and it will provide a forum for discussion of religious matters and for the presentation of the truth.
The pastor- chaplain needed for this responsibility should be a combination big brother and "father confessor." His church should be as near as possible to the school, and he should give generously of his time to his campus flock. He should cultivate friendly relations with the university officers. He should himself be an educated man who understands the problems of the student.
We wish that all our young people could get their advanced, education in our own schools, but even with our colleges filled this seems out of the question. Some need courses we cannot offer. It may be that the Lord wishes us to see in the universities, colleges, and technical schools, with their more than two million students, a mission field where the Adventist student has an unusual opportunity to witness for the truth and to interest and win souls whom no other worker has an equal opportunity to reach.
