University Community- Sacred Space on Campus

University students are another component to the center city. They live in the downtown area as students and remain afterward as residents.

Sacred space on campus
By Manya A. Brachear
Chicago Tribune
March 02, 2007
As teenagers, Chris Wolff and Shae Statser turned away from church when they believed their churches had turned away from them. But God had no trouble finding them once they started college.
Now Wolff and Statser, both students at Columbia College, worship at their respective churches nearly every Sunday morning. And at a coffee shop in the South Loop on Tuesday nights they nosh on bagels and compare notes on what it's like to be a college Christian.
'I think college kids are afraid to go to church,' said Statser, a 21-year-old dance major. 'I think there's a whole mask college students put on when they go to church. ... People don't think they can be who they are because somebody's going to judge you.'
Facing this fear head on and filling a void at urban campuses in the city's South Loop, Chicago's Episcopal and Evangelical Lutheran churches have joined forces to serve students such as Wolff and Statser--more than 25,000 in all at Roosevelt University, Columbia College, the Art Institute, DePaul University and Robert Morris College.
Dubbed the South Loop Campus Ministry, the project aims to create a safe space for young people to ask questions about their faith, meet other faithful young adults and encourage an appreciation for the liturgy shared by the Episcopal and Lutheran denominations. Grace Episcopal Church, 637 S. Dearborn St., serves as a central sanctuary for the group.
Studies show that despite strong spiritual commitment during the teen years, most 20-somethings--the most skeptical age group in the U.S.--pull away from churches, particularly during the 'college years.' According to Christian polling firm The Barna Group, more than 60 percent of young adults surveyed who were churchgoers in their adolescence are no longer connected to a Christian community.
'Many people see [serving students] as an extra ministry--more like icing on the cake rather than the cake itself,' said Heidi Murken, a seminarian at Lutheran School of Theology who serves as a mentor for the urban campus ministry. 'I think we're shooting ourselves in the foot if we don't invest in the time when people can often stop going to church. I think it's not a good move for the future.'
The Episcopal and Lutheran denominations have been in full communion since 2000, meaning their theology and mission are similar enough that they can share worship together and share communion. That bond is what draws the students for discussion every Tuesday, even though they worship at the churches of their choice on Sundays.
The two denominations also share long histories of college ministry. Both have offered ministries for college-age students at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University for more than 50 years.
But Murken acknowledges there are challenges to campus ministry. The population changes from year to year, and most of the students are on a limited budget. As a result, the local denominations have not invested in Chicago's urban campuses, causing students to turn to non-denominational groups such as Campus Crusade for Christ and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for spiritual formation.
Incentive to launch a ministry downtown came with the construction of the University Center, a 4,000-bed residential tower that has helped stabilize the student population at the five South Loop schools. Sue Cromer, a canon in charge of youth ministries for the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, said the ministry also offers a chance for students to slow down for a spiritual education.
'We can offer quiet contemplative space that they don't always get other places,' Cromer said. 'People don't get: `What is the relevance of my faith and the relevance of God in my world on my campus?' You need that quiet so you can hear what God is calling you to do. It's when you slow down looking for God that you find that next step, that next connection.'
Marcus Pera, coordinator for Midwest campus ministries for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said the Chicago project could serve as a model for other urban, commuter campuses.
'We speak of it as a missionary outpost of the church,' he said. 'The young adult population is the most unchurched age group in the country and not only unchurched but de-churched, meaning they're a heck of a lot of people that were brought up in the church but no longer walk with it for a whole assortment of reasons.'
A confirmed Lutheran, Wolff, 20, said he had grown bored with the monotony of the liturgy and unsatisfied by the reluctance of other youth groups to welcome questions.
While he enjoys worshiping with the youth at his evangelical community church and praying and singing with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, a non-denominational group on campus, he relishes the candid and often analytical conversation that takes place when the South Loop group gets together.
'It's always good to question something and then look into it and see how you feel about it and talk to other Christians about different ideas,' Wolff said. 'It's all about growing in your faith and learning as well.'
On one recent Tuesday over bagels, Statser posed the question: 'Who came up with the definition of Christianity? Where did all this come from?'
Murken got out her laptop and typed in Nicene Creed to fuel the discussion. Jess Elfring, a 21-year-old acting major at Columbia, pulled out a medieval European history text.
At other non-denominational campus ministries, Elfring said she felt judged for not having Bible verses memorized.
'If you open it up like that, you're going to get more young adults to come,' she said. 'This is my chance to connect with people like myself."

FBC Knoxville offers a lunch Bible study (designed intentionally for students who are members of Bedside Baptist) that follows our 11:00 a.m. service.

What ideas can you suggest for reaching university students....