In an effort to highlight the work and people of CBFNC, we are sharing ministry spotlights featuring our college/young adult ministry. Meet some of CBFNC’s Campus Ministry Engagement Team and read the insights they have to share about working with today’s college students/young adults.
TIERNEY BOSS
Campus Minister, App State University
What makes you most excited about college ministry?
College students are in such a unique place in their lives. They bring with them all of the values and experiences gathered from their lives at home, and are trying to figure out how new ideas, theologies, and practices might fit into the version of themselves that they are becoming. They’re well-practiced critical thinkers, dreamers, and boy are they enthusiastic!
How have you seen growth among your students?
In the last four years, I’ve seen our group grow in numbers and in maturity. Our students and young people have become the kind of humans that ask big questions because they care about making their faith real in everyday, practical ways. They take the call to love their neighbors seriously, which has resulted in an incredibly diverse group of young adults.
ADRIAN BULLOCK
Campus Minister, Triangle Region
What is the biggest challenge in campus ministry?
The challenge I see is changing young adults feelings towards Christian community. Some will not engage during their time on college campuses. We are challenged with “what makes us different” in a time where the church and Christian community is not always seen in the best light. Campus ministry is not looking the same as it did twenty years ago. The challenges that we face are nothing but a smaller view of what the Christian Church as a whole is facing at large.
What would you want churches to know about college students and young adults?
By supporting them we are investing into the church of today and the future. This investment however means that sometimes students will not be present during a local congregation’s worship hour. However, by continuing to work with them, invest into them and support them, the foundation laid by your investment will have a return by their service to the wider Christian community.
JIQUAN DAVIS
Campus Ministry Specialist, Western Region
What do you envision for this year and the future of campus ministry?
What I envision and hope for this year is that students will continue to grow in their faith and that each campus ministry will continue to grow and support students in their walk with God. What I envision for the future of campus ministry is that we will make connections with local churches who can come alongside Campus Ministers to help grow the faith of students and young adults. With the help of local churches, we can show college students what the love of Christ can do and show that we are one body in Christ instead of seeing a divided Body of Christ.
What is one piece of advice would you give to a student as they start college?
Find a group of friends that will help you grow as a person and in your faith because there will be times when you need a group of friends to push you to do better.
JAMES DOLPH
Campus Ministry Specialist, UNC-Greensboro
What makes you most excited about college ministry?
College ministry played an important role in my spiritual and personal formation when I was in college. I am so excited to help guide current students on their spiritual and personal journeys. Campus ministry is one of the most fun and fulfilling experiences one can have in college.
What is the biggest challenge in campus ministry?
I think the biggest challenge is helping students put away their biases about religion so they can fully engage in what CBSF has to offer. Many students have experienced church hurt in one way or another, and that affects how much or if they participate in campus ministry. We do our best to help them find a safe space and a home to ask the hard questions that run through their minds.
CHLOE HALL
Campus Ministry Specialist, Charlotte Area
How have you seen growth among your students?
I’ve seen growth when students are given the opportunity to lead and share/serve in whatever way that looks for them. This comes through creative outlets, leadership opportunities, and watching as students open up in their own faith and education journeys.
What would you want churches to know about college students and young adults?
Patience is key when working with college students and young adults. Creating expectations that cannot be met will just push away this group that brings so much to a church family. Asking college students and young adults in your congregation what they would like to see program-wise, offering those opportunities and checking in for feedback regularly is a great way to create a space for this age group to thrive and connect.
CAITIE JACKSON
Campus Minister, Charlotte Area
What would you want churches to know about college students and young adults?
Young adults are looking for a place to belong and a place of connection. The Church can fit both of those needs with a space to welcome them, invest in them as learners and leaders, and meet them where they are in a very transitional phase of life. Provide rest and comfort, and take the time to listen to their hopes and ideas for the Church, giving them ownership and resources.
What makes you most excited about college ministry?
Watching students embrace their identity through their passions and goals while finding belonging within themselves, friendships/community and their faith. It’s powerful to watch everything click into place as they are given space for creative leadership and exploring their faith in ways that are their own.
TRINITY LONG
Campus Ministry Specialist, UNC-Chapel Hill
What makes you most excited about college ministry?
I love college ministry because I think it is one of the biggest investments the church can make into congregants. College ministry is when students move away from their home churches for the first time and decide if their faith is something they want to continue. Proper discipleship during this time period can make or break the future of the Church.
What would you want churches to know about college students and young adults?
These college students are yearning to be heard, seen, understood, and mentored. If you could pick one college student to adopt in your small group, it would make a world of difference to have that intergenerational community in their lives when they are away from home.
CHRIS TOWLES
Campus Minister, Triad Region
What do you envision for this year and the future of campus ministry?
I think that one of the ways that people are being introduced to CBF is through college ministry. Administrators and professors who recognize our groups as healthy places to be and grow can often be a way students find their way to a group where they can share the deepest parts of who they are and be a part of a group that makes space for everyone. I often find alumni who are grateful for having a healthy way to stay Baptist and they are the ones who others encounter. People find through them that CBF aligns with their values and feels like a home where they can be genuine.
What is the biggest challenge in campus ministry?
One of the biggest challenges is figuring out ways to reach out to some students. When churches send information to CBFNC about their high school students going to college, that’s been a big help. It’s been harder to get the names of students who identify as Baptist.
DAVID STONE
Campus Minister, Western Region
What would you want churches to know about college students and young adults?
Technology may have changed in recent decades, but college students and young adults today want the same things their predecessors did. Give them an opportunity to do something with their faith and in their community. They want a James, chapter 2, faith ideal that means “following Christ” is an action verb.
PAXTON VAUGHN
Campus Ministry Specialist, NC State University
What makes you most excited about college ministry?
College ministry is exciting for me because I have the honor of being with students who are having their first taste of independence and are experiencing a major life transition. I love seeing how they connect with, deepen and broaden their understanding of their faith.
What would you want churches to know about college students and young adults?
College students and young adults are the best! They bring such joy and energy with them to the things they love and care about. They are strong leaders and compassionate friends. They have such kind, Christ-centered desires to love the world around them.
