Good News, Bad News
Most college ministries are growing, according to a survey by the Ivy Jungle Network. Yet campus ministers say relatively few college students are connected to an on-campus Christian program in any significant way.

The survey—the fourth such study Ivy Jungle has conducted since 2001, found that 84 percent of campus ministries say they’re growing, even as traditional evangelism on the quad is fading. Many universities have slapped new regulations on would-be evangelists. Even if those rules were not in place, traditional evangelism simply isn’t as effective with today’s postmodern, more pluralistic student.

Campus ministries can attract students by pairing a Christian message with social activism. “From spring break [social action] trips to causes like HIV/AIDS, poverty and the genocide in Sudan, students have a heart for justice,” according to Ivy Jungle’s executive summary of the survey. “Community service and mission trips have become entry points for non-believers.” Ministries are partnering with more organizations than ever, and partly as a result of these socially conscious outreaches, 86 percent of ministries report that someone came to Christ.

The survey also found that college students are a paradoxical lot. They are optimistic and prone to volunteer for a good cause; but they’re also self-focused and cynical, particularly when it comes to the church. The cliché: Postmodern students are “spiritual, not religious” holds true, according to the survey. Most are seriously overcommitted.

For more information on Ivy Jungle, visit www.ivyjungle.org.

College: Safe Haven for Spirituality?
Many Christians believe college campuses are bastions of atheism; but according to InterVarsity, many of today’s top universities are as friendly to students of faith as they’ve ever been.

InterVarsity reports there are 108 InterVarsity chapters at the nation’s top 25 colleges and universities (as listed by U.S. News and World Report)—with 11 chapters at top-ranked Harvard University alone.

“There are probably more evangelicals [on Harvard’s campus] than at any time since the 17th century,” Professor Peter Gomes was quoted in Michael Lindsay’s book Faith in the Halls of Power. Harvard’s not alone. InterVarsity reports there are more than 865 InterVarsity chapters on 580 U.S. campuses.