With more than 156,000 Seventh-day Adventist students on secular college and university campuses worldwide, the church faces a Macedonian call to develop a credible program to meet the spiritual needs of this growing constituency of intellectuals and scholars.
What this means is that more cam pus chaplains are needed to minister to these students. But does the Church have the needed resources in terms of personnel and finance? I think it does.
Seventh-day Adventist chaplains ministering on secular campuses are among a new breed, born of necessity and called upon to serve in a highly specialized ministry. For this reason, these chaplains should have certain basic qualifications and understand the nature of their work in order to be effective in their ministry.
The chaplain's qualifications
The Seventh-day Adventist chaplain should:
* Be a dedicated Christian, committed to the practice of an exemplary Adventist lifestyle.
* Have adequate academic preparation, preferably ministerial training from a Seventh-day Adventist institution of higher learning.
* Be conversant with the peculiar challenges that face young people attending secular universities.
* Be comfortable and competent in an academic environment.
* Have good communication skills and speak the students' language.
* Have good interpersonal skills and be a good mixer.
* Lead by example, modeling sound leadership and moral values.
The chaplain's work
The work of a campus chaplain is done primarily on campus. In general, the chaplain's functions are to:
* Serve as a spiritual leader on the campus. Chaplains have the responsibility of preaching, nurturing, and caring for the spiritual and social well-being of students.
* Provide counseling and guidance as needed by the student.
* Help in the organization and leader ship of student groups on campuses.
* Assist in the planning and coordinating of programs designed to enrich the spiritual and social life of the student.
* Serve when and where necessary as an advocate of students, particularly for the Adventist student, in areas such as scheduled Sabbath examinations.
* Promote an environment conducive to open, honest dialogue on spiritual, doctrinal, and Church-related issues.
* Encourage and foster a healthy relationship and positive attitude toward the Church and its leadership.
The chaplain's program
Campuses are like people. They each have their own peculiarities. Therefore, chaplains are faced with the challenge of developing programs to best meet the unique needs of their particular campuses. The chaplain's program should be:
* Christ-centered, so as to encourage salvation in Christ as the way of life for a young person.
* Bible-based, so as to ensure spiritual nurture and a strong commitment to biblical truth and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
* Mission-oriented, to enlist students in bringing their friends to Christ.
* Intellectually stimulating, so as to challenge the student to achieve academic excellence.
* Socially meaningful, to provide wholesome socialization.
* Culturally relevant to the country, region, and campus.
An exciting ministry
If you desire a ministry where your creativity will be challenged, worship forms can be tested, new ideas for ministry experimented with, and, if you are not afraid of questions that will stretch your intellectual, spiritual, and theological horizons, then campus ministry might be the place for you.
