Rez Week

Nearly 20 years ago, a friend of mine, Justin Christopher, had a vision for ministry when he was a student at UT. What if all of the campus Christian groups got together and put on a full week of activities during Holy Week right on the center of campus—prayer, worship, concerts and so on? How would that impact the campus for Christ?

He made it happen. And has been making “Rez Week” happen every year since. In the process, he helped found Campus Renewal Ministries, which has now spread to several states. He created CHOP, the Campus House of Prayer where students from across campus can come 24 hours a day to pray for the campus. He has become the clearing house and focal point where all campus ministries can interact, pray and work together.

Since its inception, Rez Week has actually moved from Holy Week to whatever week he can get outdoor space for an entire week, but it is usually shortly before Easter. This year, it is this week.

If you are in Austin, please come check it out in person in front of Gregory Gym. The schedule of events is on the website. If you are not in Austin, visit the website to learn more. Consider having a Rez Week on your campus. Contact Justin for ideas—he would be thrilled to see Christ proclaimed there.

You never know what a little campus celebration of the resurrection might produce over 20 years!

SDG

Student Ministry

As mentioned yesterday, I meet individually with each of my students to discuss their future plans. What has surprised me is how many of them are shocked and thoroughly grateful that a faculty member would take the time to do that and really listen, care and discuss them, their lives, concerns, hopes, and dreams.

Many say that in their entire undergraduate experience, I am the only one to reach out to them like this. This really begs us to consider why we are in the university. Many of us have somewhere buried in the detritus of our minds the dream of the collegial university—faculty in scholarly fellowship with each other, grooming the next generations, molding and shaping them into pillars of knowledge to support the lamp of truth as they glide across the stage into the unknown of their futures.

Supporting Those Who Assist Us

On each of our campuses are many who have as their full-time vocation meeting with students to either share the Gospel with them or strengthen them in their faith. Many of us benefitted as students from such campus ministers and parachurch staffers.

They minister to our students in ways we wish to, but often can’t, because of our position, just as there are things we can do to minister to students in ways they can’t. Whether we know them individually or not, they partner with us in glorifying God on campus.

I would like to encourage my colleagues at campuses around the globe to get to know one or more of these co-labourers in the work of the Gospel, and to even support them financially. The economy has hit them hard as their supporters lose jobs and otherwise tighten their wallets.

If you are in a position where you do not feel safe identifying with Christ, this is a safe way to have that influence on campus, and it is a tremendous encouragement to these ministers when faculty actively support them.

It’s just a few dollars to you, but for them it is a meal, rent, and a huge encouragement.

SDG

Ministering to “Scientifically-Minded” Students

{Note: Remember this Saturday is “The Case for Christianity” webcast. Click on the link for details.}

My friend, John Weber, is an engineer who’s been involved in a number of innovative transportation projects in his long career. Yet now he is changing careers to something radically different that began as an earnest hobby about 12 years ago. He is starting his own campus ministry with the specific goal of ministering to ‘scientifically-minded’ students.

According to national numbers, approximately 17.6% of college students are ‘scientifically-minded’ which I take to mean anyone with a science, technology, engineering or math major (aka STEM in the higher ed parlance), thus he concludes there are approximately 8800 STEM’s at UT, which I think is grossly underestimating the numbers, given that it includes both undergraduates and graduates. The College of Natural Sciences at UT has 9000 undergrads and 1800 grads, and the College of Engineering has 5400 undergrads (data from the college websites), and there are other schools at UT that might fit in this category, so UT conservatively has a full third of its student body in the STEM fields.

There are at current count, 58 campus ministries at UT. Of those, only 2, including John’s, reach out explicitly to STEMs. Why do they need special consideration? In general, they approach all things in life, including spirituality, in a more analytical, skeptical fashion. We are simply trained that way. Many tend not to be as socially active as others, so are less likely to pursue being involved in more socially oriented ministries. Also, they tend to ask different sets of questions, which can be challenging for campus ministers to answer.

Given that studies have shown that 75% of evangelically raised Christian youth lose their faith after four years in a secular university environment, largely due to the scientific and philosophical objections raised unilaterally and evangelically by our secular peers, this is yet another call for a ministry to address those objections calmly, rationally, with grace and expertise.

This is where John comes in and offers himself as a resource to students, Christian faculty and even other ministries. He is the president of the newly formed Reasons to Believe-Austin chapter, and it is through this venue he will be rolling out his vision for not just UT, but all of the college campuses in the Central Texas I-35 corridor—over 100,000 students. RTB-Austin is an official chapter of the ministry Reasons To Believe, and with their blessing, John is also partnering with another national ministry, Ratio Christi (“The Rationality of Christ”) to bring both a scientific and philosophical apologetic to the Austin collegiate community.

Like any new start up, capital is the most dear worldly resource, and prayer the most dear. John is starting this from his own very limited resources and trying to raise a team of supporters. Wherever you are in the world (and TSR has readers in at least 50 countries!), if you are interested in hearing more about John’s vision, plans and needs, please contact him at jweber14@austin.rr.com.

I would be honored if most of his needed start-up and even long-term support came from y’all.

SDG