Four Types of College Ministers by Tyler Hoffpauier

 Every Campus Minister I know has a somewhat different philosophy, but I think they fall into four main categories.  (You can probably think of more.)

The Evangelistic Philosophy 

Campus ministry is all about evangelism.  If we aren't leading students to Christ then we aren't doing our job.  After all, campus ministries are the evangelistic arm of the church on the campus.  We have to reach students in order to reach more students.

The Future Leaders Philosophy

Campus ministry is about preparing students to be contributors to the church after college.  Students in this ministry are future Sunday School teachers, deacons, and worship leaders.  Students are exposed to missions and evangelism because those are things future leaders of the church participate in.

The Relational Philosophy

Campus Ministry is all about real relationships.  It is the job of the Campus Minister to demonstrate life on life interaction.  The Campus Minister walks with a group of students from salvation to spiritual maturity.  They are a constant companion and a friend who students feel they can share their deepest secrets with.  The minister is a guide, role model, mentor, and counselor for students.  The student then invests in others.

The Big Event Philosophy

Everything is about creating the best and biggest event.  If it is not going to be big, I don't want to do it.

So, is it Evangelistic, Future Leadership, Relational, or Big Event best?  My answer is, YES!  I think to some extent Campus Ministers have to be all all four.  The context of the campus dictates what approach to take.

Tyler Hoffpauier is Baptist Campus Minister at Arkansas State University.

Arliss Dickerson's book, A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV and Reaching MORE Students is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.