I was talking to a youth worker a few months ago and I asked him if there were many Uni students in his church. They’re a church with a thriving ministry among youth and families, and they’re based in a student area. Naturally, I thought they might have a sizeable ministry among students as well.
“No, we don’t really have students,” he said, “we have lots of kids, and a strong ministry among the homeless, so it would take a unique kind of student to want to be here.”
“Huh?” I thought.
Outwardly I just nodded along and said “hmm, interesting”, but inwardly I was thinking he’d missed something crucial about ministry among students.
There’s a common misconception about student ministry that essentially only big ‘student churches’ have a part to play - that students are only attracted to large groups of other students, to big events and comprehensive programmes with loads of fun things for them to do, big socials and lots of entertainment. It’s true that many students are attracted to that, but student ministry is always so much more than that, and smaller churches have a huge part to play - even those with currently little to no student ministry.
Students don’t need spoon-feeding. They don’t need entertainment, they need discipleship. Sure, big social events are fun, and can be great avenues for inviting non-Christian mates to church, but they’re not enough in themselves. If all student ministry is done in big student groups, with a programme kept mostly separate from the life of the wider church, then students lose out on one of the key benefits of being part of church at Uni: intergenerational community!
While at Uni, it can be so hard to break out of the student bubble. Students live in accommodation with other students, study with other students, are in societies with other students, play sports and socialise with other students. Church is just about the only way that a student will meaningfully interact with people who aren’t their own age and stage. It’s wonderful for them to have older, wiser people to talk to - to be invited to go to people’s homes, spend time with real families, be cooked for and get to sit on real sofas. They can learn from these older disciples who are years and steps ahead of them in their faith.
But it’s not just about what students can gain from being fully integrated into authentic intergenerational church, but what they can give!
Jesus cared about the poor and the homeless. Christians care about the homeless. Shouldn’t Christian students care about the homeless too? They’re stepping into their journey as Christian adults, shouldn’t we expect them to care about the things that Christians care about - to give and to serve, to be fully active members of the Church - to truly be disciples? Can’t they help to disciple kids and youth just as they are being discipled by those older than them?
It doesn’t have to be a “unique type of student” that’s interested in a church with lots of kids, families and a ministry among the poor - we should pray that every Christian student wants to be fully part of that kind of church. Being spoon-fed a programme of entertainment will not sustain them, nor will it help them in their journey of discipleship. Christian students are called to live out their faith in the same way as every Christian, and they’re called to be fully part of the body of the Church, just like the rest of us.
Research tells us that 62% of Gen Z say they are ‘spiritual’, and 33% of non-Christian students would like to read the Bible with a friend. They’re also looking for something authentic - they want to see what real Christianity looks like. Students are walking into churches - both big and small - all over the country, looking for answers.This generation of students is hungry for the spiritual stuff, for real discipleship - and the Church has an amazing opportunity to reach them. What part can your church play?
Are you part of a big ‘student church’? Could you provide ways for your students to break out of the student bubble, to give and receive from the whole body of Christ? To really grow in discipleship?
Are you part of a smaller church, or a church not currently reaching students? You have a part to play! Where could you begin? Remember students are looking for something real, something authentic, something spiritual. You don’t have to be anything different, you just have to be yourselves and welcome students to join you, and to encounter Jesus in your midst!
