Eighty thousand Adventist young men and women are studying in colleges and universities around the world. Approximately half attend Adventist schools, while the other half take their courses in non-Adventist institutions. Most of these latter students enroll in public universities because Adventist schools do not offer the programs in which they are interested or simply because there are no post-secondary Adventist institutions in their homeland.
These young people in public universities represent a highly talented and motivated sector of our membership. They are at a critical stage in their lives, making far-reaching decisions. Within a few years they will be influential lay leaders in local congregations and members of executive committees and will be setting the future course for our church. Their professional skills will make them desirable as staff in our schools, health-care institutions, and administrative centers. In fact, our mission would be in jeopardy without their dedicated talents.
At this time, however, they face serious challenges: the naturalistic assumptions underlying the majority of courses, the influence of non-believing professors, the loose lifestyle espoused by many on campus, political pressures, and academic activities or examinations on the Sabbath. Some of our youth enter this arena without adequate preparation, and some find these challenges too strong for their faith.
In some places forward-looking leaders have recognized these students' special needs and have taken steps to supply them by appointing chaplains, providing scholarships, supporting the establishment of student associations, sponsoring residences, organizing seminars, and actively seeking students' involvement in church life.
Three General Conference departments—Church Ministries, Chaplaincy Ministries, and Education—have recently joined forces to provide continued support on a worldwide basis to those seeking to minister to the spiritual, intellectual, and social needs of our college and university students. Working through the AMiCUS Committee (Adventist Ministry to College and University Students), they have begun implementing a program designed to:
1. Encourage the world divisions and unions to establish at the regional level counterparts to the AMiCUS Committee—with representatives from local church ministries/youth, education, ministerial, and student leadership.
2. Assist divisions and unions in organizing seminars and spiritual retreats for these students, selecting relevant topics, and inviting specialized speakers.
3. Cooperate with the divisions and unions in providing workshops for Adventist campus chaplains, youth leaders, and ministers pastoring in university centers.
4. Develop materials to support the nurture and outreach activities of university students and young professionals. As part of this program, AMiCUS has begun publishing College and University Dialogue in four parallel editions (English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish). This 36-page network publication has been mailed free to thou sands of students in all divisions. It contains stimulating articles on the role of the Christian faith in the contemporary world, reports on activities of university students, interviews with successful Adventist professionals, and practical outreach ideas.
What you can do
If you are an Adventist pastor, a leader, or an administrator with a burden for this growing sector of our member ship, what can you do?
Compile a list or update your files. List the college and university students in your area. List also the Adventist teachers. Make this file available to the youth or education leader in your conference, union, or division, and seek their advice on materials and activities geared to this group. Make sure that these students are aware of the programs available in SDA colleges and universities. Encourage those qualified to transfer their enrollment.
Help them to get organized. If you locate a sufficient number of university students, invite them for a meeting. Listen to their concerns, and discuss the possibility of establishing a local or regional association of Adventist university students for mutual encouragement and outreach. If there are Adventist teachers as well, let them serve as counselors. Consider a program of suitable activities to fulfill their needs and to help them feel that they really belong in the church. Seek the assistance of teachers from Adventist colleges and universities.
Nurture their faith life. Ensure that the university students are welcome in your congregation. Some may now be on the periphery of church life and will need a special invitation. Others may be new in the area and seeking a church family to belong to. Organize a Sabbath school discussion class for young adults and provide a dynamic, friendly teacher. As you prepare to preach, keep them in mind. Add to your church library basic books and audiovisual programs dealing with subjects of interest to the students. Use their talents to fill positions of responsibility in the congregation. Do not be shocked by some of the questions they raise. They may be seeking answers to some of the difficult questions they are asked on the campus. Plan an occasional meal for them and invite their friends. Suggest suitable outreach and service programs in which they can take the initiative. Remember that they have direct access to future leaders of society.
Keep in touch with them. If a young member of your congregation has moved away to study at a public university, locate a nearby church and write to the pastor asking him to visit that student. It is usually much easier to retain these students as active members than to convert non-Adventist professionals. Help your university students keep in touch with the church by mailing them Adventist publications such as the Collegiate Quarterly, the Adventist Review, and their union paper. Send the name and address of Adventist students and teachers on non-Adventist campuses to Humberto M. Rasi or to Israel Leito (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904, U.S.A.) and through our regional representatives we will see that they receive a free copy of Dialogue. If you yourself wish to obtain a sample issue, follow the same procedure.
Provide a sustained ministry. Many university students are so absorbed in their intensive programs that they may not be able to devote much time to other worthwhile activities. But they need to know that the church appreciates and supports them. Plan for the long haul. Seek the assistance of university teachers and other professionals in your congregation who have gone through the university experience. If there are concentrations of university students in your area, ask your church or conference board to consider appointing a chaplain or a pastor to minister especially to them.
Readers interested in learning more about this specialized ministry are invited to contact the regional representatives of AMiCUS or myself or Israel Leito at the General Conference.
Jesus, who taught us to love God with all our beings (including our minds), wants to empower His campus followers so that His light may also shine brightly in the secular classrooms, laboratories, and students' residences. Above all, He longs to see all the honest in heart—even on university campuses—transformed by the power of His love and redeemed for eternity.
