I was blessed to spend 13 years working in college ministry, mostly at two large residential universities in Virginia.
Those were wonderfully sweet years of ministry for our family. We had the privilege of seeing students trust Christ, grow in their faith, become leaders, and be sent out to follow Jesus for the rest of their lives.
On several occasions, our team attempted to launch a ministry at other nearby schools, typically commuter colleges. Those efforts were generally met with frustration. When something did take off, it’d usually fizzle within a year or two. As I spoke with fellow college ministers, I realized this was a common experience. Commuter college ministry is hard.
Our family recently moved to a new city to plant a church. Although there are no residential colleges in our town, there are two large four-year commuter schools. We’ve had the opportunity to spend significant time working with students on both campuses. Here are a few reasons we’ve come to believe that ministering on commuter campuses is worth the effort—not only for campus workers but for pastors too.
Why Is It Challenging?
Why do commuter college students often seem more difficult to reach? I can think of at least three reasons.
1. They’re ‘nontraditional.’
“Traditional” college students are individuals who graduate from high school and immediately go off to college, where they spend four years before graduating with a bachelor’s degree. Students at commuter schools are more likely to be “nontraditional.” They may be older, working full-time, or taking classes part-time. They may have families or other responsibilities. Nontraditional students are less likely to have the flexibility to be involved in extracurricular activities like campus ministries. Weekly commitments and retreats are often a no-go.
Ministering to such students may require adjusting the expectations of involvement and success for your ministry.
2. They aren’t around at night.
Ministering to such students may require adjusting the expectations of involvement and success for your ministry.
Commuter students, well, commute. When they’re done with class, they head home—and home is sometimes far away. I know students who commute an hour or more to get to campus. This means most students aren’t available during the traditional time to have college ministry activities—at night.
Ministering to them will require adjusting your daytime calendar and being flexible with your schedule.
3. They don’t stay for four years.
Often students at commuter colleges are hoping (or in the case of community colleges, required) to transfer to another school after a year or two to finish their degree. This means the window to work with them is much shorter than at a residential college. Most college ministry models are structured around a four-year program and don’t necessarily translate well when turnover is faster.
To minister to these students, you may have to throw out the playbook and get creative.
Why Are They Worth It?
Despite these challenges, the effort is worth it for several reasons.
1. They’re receptive.
Students at large residential colleges are inundated with opportunities to get involved. I’ve spent more hours than I could possibly count standing at info tables on traditional campuses trying to get students’ attention—only to have 95 percent of them walk by and never make eye contact. As frustrating as this is, it’s hard to blame them. If they stopped at every organization’s table they passed, they’d never get anything else done.
This isn’t the case on most commuter campuses. Even if the student-life website boasts “over 200 registered groups,” the reality on the ground is that students encounter few opportunities to get involved in meaningful ways.
I led a weekly Bible study with a campus ministry at one of our local commuter colleges. Before our first study, I took a few minutes to walk around the library and invite students to join. To my surprise, one of the young men I invited came over and sat with us. He came back nearly every week that semester. This wasn’t an isolated incident; students at these colleges are waiting for someone to invite them to be part of a community.
2. You can minister to the whole family.
My wife met a female student on campus last year and began to meet weekly with her to study one of the Gospels. Over the course of the year, this woman decided to follow Christ and got involved with our church plant. Before long, she brought both of her sisters and her mom to various church functions.
This whole-family ministry was alien to my experience working at a residential college, where students were often hours away from their families. But it’s right at home in the New Testament, where the gospel often reaches entire families at once.
3. Students stick around.
The saddest part of ministry at traditional colleges is saying goodbye to seniors every year. From our rural town in southwest Virginia, they’re always off to Richmond, DC, Charlotte, and innumerable other places.
Students at these colleges are waiting for someone to invite them to be part of a community.
In contrast, many students at commuter schools stick around in the city where they grew up. Even if they transfer to finish their degree, they often come back. This is where they plan to get a job, get married, and start a family. Not only are there fewer “goodbyes,” but you now have the opportunity to minister to them for the long haul through the joys and pains of these next seasons.
So campus workers, church planters, pastors, and missions-minded church members, don’t overlook commuter campuses in your city. There’s exciting work to be done.