BEST PRACTICES for STARTING NEW CAMPUS MINISTRIES By
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ABSTRACT EVERY CAMPUS: BEST PRACTICES FOR STARTING NEW CAMPUS MINISTRIES by Delvin Jevon Pikes There is an enormous need in North America for renewal, but the challenge is to determine the most strategic place to engage, establish, equip and empower those with the energy, passion, and flexibility to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. This research assumes the answer is the college campus, historically a place with tremendous social and cultural influence to shape young future leaders, especially towards or away from Christ. If Jesus parabolically told His followers to leave the righteous ninety-nine for the rebellious and wayward one, then there is no better example of obeying this than by pursuing the average college student. If college students are the most strategic people to reach with the gospel, then Christ-followers should attempt to multiply their efforts to reach as many as possible in that generation. Similar to the need for both established churches and new church plants to reach the lost, there is a need for both existing campus ministries and fresh new ones to reach new people for Christ. This research looks at taking this mindset of church planting multiplication and combining it with a vision of campus ministry multiplication. It explores the possibility of starting new campus ministries which are engaging, disciple-making communities on campuses. The church has left too large of a ripe harvest to the limited hands of a few parachurch and denominational campus outreaches while so many more millions of students’ faith rots on campuses. Much has been written in the last thirty years on church planting, but not a lot has been written on campus ministry planting, nor has much been seen in combining the two in some fashion. As a ministry, Every Nation Churches and Ministries endeavors to start church-based campus ministries capable of impacting every student center in North America. This research project was a means to discover best practices for starting these new campus ministries to see new students reached with the Gospel and see the glory due His name in every square inch of creation. This research project discovered, through qualitative data and analysis, various practices which existed in staring a new campus ministry. The findings point to the importance of informal preparation in starting new campus ministries, the transformative nature of starting a new campus ministry upon the campus minister, the possibilities of extending missionary careers through starting new campus ministries, and the average length of time of prior involvement before an Every Nation Campus worker sought to start a new campus ministry. EVERY CAMPUS: BEST PRACTICES FOR STARTING NEW CAMPUS MINISTRIES A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry by Delvin Jevon Pikes May 2020 ©2020 Delvin Pikes ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 NATURE OF THE PROJECT .....................................................................1 Overview of the Chapter .........................................................................................1 Personal Introduction ..............................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................4 Purpose of the Project…………………….……………………………………….8 Research Questions ..................................................................................................8 Research Question #1 ..................................................................................8 Research Question #2 ..................................................................................9 Research Question #3 ..................................................................................9 Rationale for the Project ..........................................................................................9 Definition of Key Terms .......................................................................................12 Delimitations .........................................................................................................15 Review of Relevant Literature ...............................................................................16 Research Methodology .........................................................................................17 Type of Research ......................................................................................18 Participants ................................................................................................18 Instrumentation .........................................................................................19 Data Collection .........................................................................................19 iii Data Analysis ............................................................................................19 Generalizability .........................................................................................20 Project Overview ..................................................................................................20 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW FOR THE PROJECT .........................................21 Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................21 Biblical Foundations ..............................................................................................21 The Missionary God ..................................................................................21 Abraham as Missionary .............................................................................23 Israel as Missionary ...................................................................................24 Jesus as Missionary ....................................................................................26 The Church as Missionary .........................................................................27 Paul as Missionary .....................................................................................28 Theological Foundations ........................................................................................30 Paul as Campus Minister Missionary: A Theology of Campus Ministry .30 Christology ................................................................................................32 Pneumatology ............................................................................................35 Ecclesiology ..............................................................................................37 Missiology .................................................................................................39 Campus as Missionary: The Origins of American Universities. ...........................40 Students as Missionary: The Birth of Modern Missions. ......................................43 Parachurch as Missionary: Rise of the Parachurch Movement. ............................46 Church Planting as Missionary: A Return to the Campus .....................................48 Money as Missionary: Funding New Campus Ministries. .....................................52 iv The Next Mission Force: Gen Z ............................................................................58 Starting a New Campus Ministry. ..........................................................................62 Research Design Literature ...................................................................................69 Summary of Literature ..........................................................................................70 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY FOR THE PROJECT .............................71 Overview of the Chapter ........................................................................................71 Nature and Purpose of the Project .........................................................................71 Research Questions ................................................................................................71 Research Question #1 ................................................................................72 Research Question #2 ................................................................................72 Research Question #3 ................................................................................72 Ministry Context(s) ................................................................................................73 Participants ............................................................................................................73 Criteria for Selection .................................................................................73 Description of Participants ........................................................................73 Ethical Considerations ..............................................................................74 Instrumentation ......................................................................................................74 Procedure for Collecting Evidence from Participants ..........................................75