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WHY CHURCHES OF CHRIST SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT CAMPUS MINISTRIES

This study examines why churches of Christ should be concerned about campus ministries, including the impact on recent high school graduates and the role of Christian colleges and universities. It also explores the differences between those who attend Christian colleges and those who attend other schools.

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WHY CHURCHES OF CHRIST SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT CAMPUS MINISTRIES

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  1. WHY CHURCHES OF CHRISTSHOULD BE CONCERNEDABOUT CAMPUS MINISTRIES Wes Woodell, “Into All the Ethnos: The Case for Evangelistic Campus Ministry Plants,” in Church Growth, Vol.23, No.2 Second Quarter, 2008, pages 5-8. Flavil Yeakley, Good News and Bad News: A Realistic Assessment of Churches of Christ in the United States, 2008.

  2. CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION FOUNDATION Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX Cascade College, Portland, OR Crowley’s Ridge College, Paragould, AR Faulkner University, Montgomery, AL Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, TN Harding University, Searcy, AR Heritage Christian University, Florence, AL Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, TX Magnolia Bible College, Kosciusko, MS

  3. Christian Higher Education Foundation (Continued) Ohio Valley University, Vienna, WV Oklahoma Christian University, Oklahoma City, OK Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA Regions University, Montgomery, AL Rochester College, Rochester Hills, MI Southwestern Christian College, Terrell, TX York College, York, NE And others world-wide

  4. MAJOR PARTS OF THE STUDY Cluster Sampling of Congregations • Every church with an email address--plus • Initial Mailing to over 3,000 churches • Cluster Sample: 100 congregations Reports on Recent High School Graduates, 1997-2006 Data on 4,933 Individuals Survey of 3,266 Students at 11 Christian colleges and universities Survey of 2,058 Alumni at 11 Christian colleges and universities plus 2,523 alumni in a follow-up study Survey of Campus Ministries at Public Colleges and Universities Still in progress

  5. The questions we asked about the members of these congregations who graduated from high school in the past ten years (1997-2006): • Are they still members of your congregation or of another congregation of the Churches of Christ? • If not, have they joined some other religious group or do they just have no current religious affiliation? • What is their marital status? • Do they have any church leadership or service roles? • Did they attend college? • If so, did they attend a Christian college or university?

  6. QUESTIONS OF SPECIAL INTEREST TOADMINISTRATORS AT CHRISTIANCOLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES • How many young people in Churches of Christ graduate from high school in the United States each year? • How many of these attend college? • How many of those who attend college attend a Christian college or university? • What are the differences between those who attend a private Christian college or university and those who attend some other kind of school?

  7. People Who May Have Trouble Believing the Results of this Research • Some who want change may find it hard to believe that things are not as bad as they have claimed. • Some who do not want change may find it hard to believe that things are not as good as they have claimed. • Some focus on a few cases that they have observed and may find it hard to believe that what they have observed may not be representative of churches throughout the nation.

  8. U.S. Population Norms: In the average year, 1.0% of the U.S. population graduates from high school. Almost two-thirds (64.3%) of those who graduate from high school in the United States attend college. Norms for Sample in Churches of Christ: Among Churches of Christ in the United States in the average year, 1.0% of the adherents graduate from high school. (“Adherents”—Members plus children not yet old enough to be baptized) Among Churches of Christ in the United States in the average year, 80% of the members who graduate from high school go on to attend college.

  9. Estimated Number of High School Graduatesand College-Bound High School Graduatesamong all Churches of Christ in the U.S. College-Bound All high school high school Year graduates graduates ================================ 1997 16,471 13,117 1998 16,466 13,173 1999 16,461 13,169 2000 16,456 13,165 2001 16,493 13,194 2002 16,530 13,224 2003 16,567 13,254 2004 16,510 13,208 2005 16,542 13,234 2006 16,395 13,116

  10. “Mainstream” Churches of Christ:A Definition In Churches of Christ throughout the United States, 75% of the congregations with 80% of the members and 87% of the adherents are similar enough to one another that no significant barriers to fellowship among them. Most of the entering freshmen at Christian colleges and universities come from these “mainstream” congregations.

  11. Estimated Number of High School Graduatesand College-Bound High School Graduatesin “Mainstream” Churches of Christin the United States College-Bound All high school high school Year graduates graduates ================================= 1997 14,363 11,490 1998 14,358 11,486 1999 14,354 11,483 2000 14,350 11,480 2001 14,384 11,507 2002 14,418 11,534 2003 14,451 11,561 2004 14,404 11,523 2005 14,357 11,486 2006 14,309 11,447

  12. In a study of 4,993 recent high school graduates among Churches of Christ in the United States: 19.8% did not attend college; 31.4% attended a Christian college/university; 48.8% attended some other kind of school. Therefore, almost two-thirds (62.5%) of the college-bound high school graduates in Churches of Christ in the United States attended some other kind of school. More than one-third (37.5%) of the college-bound high school graduates in Churches of Christ in the United States attended a Christian college or university. That is a lot more than the figure of 15% that we have often heard!

  13. The Size of the Entering Freshman Class at Christian Colleges and Universities with the Number and Percentage of those from Churches of Christ Number of Number Percent Entering from from Year Freshmen CofC CofC ============================== 1997 5,820 3,664 63.0 1998 5,882 3,757 63.9 1999 6,219 4,351 70.0 2000 6,643 4,411 66.4 2001 6,636 4,461 67.2 2002 6,351 4,060 63.9 2003 6,164 4,034 65.4 2004 6,299 4,209 66.8 2005 6,553 4,175 63.7 2006 6,331 4,029 63.6

  14. The number of high school graduates from Churches of Christ who actually enrolled in a Christian college or university, 1997-2006, was almost exactly what would have been predicted on the basis of the data on the 4,993 members of the 100 congregations in this cluster sample!That is good evidence for the validity of that cluster sample.

  15. Estimates of Retention Rates among Churches of Christ in the USA A survey by Lewis, Dodd and Tippens in the early 1990s: • 55% stay in Churches of Christ • 45% drop out Congregational assessments by Yeakley over the past 30 years: • 55% stay in Churches of Christ • 33% drop out and never return • 12% drop out when they leave home, but return after they marry and have children Present study of 4,993 recent high school graduates in Churches of Christ: • 58.2% stay in Churches of Christ • 21.1% join some other religious group • 20.7% have no current religious affiliation

  16. College Experience Retention Rate ----------------------------------------------------------- 19.8% Did not attend college 43.4% 31.4% Attended a Christian college or university 90.0% 8.8% Attended a public college or university 49.7% 85% stopped attending church services when they enrolled in a public college or university but over one-third (36.2%) started attending church services again after they graduated.

  17. Church BackgroundRetention Rate Much more liberal (7.5%) 39.4% 374 A little more liberal (15.2%) 55.2% 759 Moderate (54.2%) 62.0% 2,706 A little more conservative (16.1%) 58.0% 804 Much more Conservative (7.0%) 39.9% 350

  18. Where the Drop-Outs Go Church OtherNo BackgroundAffiliationAffiliation Much more Liberal 75.2% 24.8% A little more Liberal 66.6% 33.4% Moderate 47.2% 52.2% A little more Conservative 32.1% 67.9% Much more Conservative 24.8% 75.2%

  19. GROUPS RANKED BY RETENTION RATESIN CHURCHES OF CHRIST 1st Those who attended a Christian college or university and very soon became actively involved in a local church. 2nd Those who attended some other kind of school but very soon became actively involved in a local church and in a Campus Ministry if Churches of Christ had such a ministry at the school they attended. 3rd Those who attended a Christian college or university but did not become actively involved in a local church.

  20. Survey of Campus Ministry Leaders Used the Campus Ministry United mailing list but found that several were little more than Sunday morning college-age Bible classes. Responses received from 60 thus far. Name of campus ministry Sponsoring congregation(s) Size of congregation most students attend School(s) where campus ministry operates

  21. Number of Students Involved Average: 47.6 Total: 2,856 in 60 campus ministries Focus of Ministry Evangelistic Outreach 3.3% Keeping Christians Faithful 20.0% A balance of both 76.7% But few showed much evidence of evangelism.

  22. Number of Baptisms in Previous Year • No baptism at all 35% • 33% in CMU Survey • Fewer than three baptisms 65% • 62.6% in CMU Survey • Average: 2.35 baptisms per campus ministry for a total of 141 baptisms

  23. How many of these were “re-baptisms” of people previously baptized in Churches of Christ? Although such “re-baptisms” were common in the Crossroads/Boston Discipling Movement, that was not the case in this survey of campus ministry leaders. Only two of the 141 reported baptisms involved someone previously baptized in the Churches of Christ.

  24. Distribution by Classification • Freshmen 26.7% • Sophomore 20.8% • Junior 22.1% • Senior 21.0% • Graduate 9.4% Decline by classification matched enrollment percentages at the schools.

  25. More Survey Questions What percent of students involved in campus ministry activities are not members of the Churches of Christ? Average 29% Range 0-98% ------------------------------------------------------ How is your campus ministry conducted? All volunteer leaders 18% One part-time leader 5% One full-time campus minister 55% More than one full-time or part-time campus minister 22% ---------------------------------------------------------- How many members of the Churches of Christ attend the school where your ministry works, but do not participate in the campus ministry? ???

  26. Survey of Students Involved in Campus Ministry Activities Member of Churches of Christ before you enrolled in this school? Yes 86% No 14% Present religious affiliation? 87% list Churches of Christ. There must have been at least one campus ministry convert who took this survey.

  27. Levels of Church Involvement Campus Christian School Ministry Students Alumni ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still a member of home congregation or placed membership with area church 18.0 25.2 31.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Never placed membership but attend one area church 24.0 52.5 39.8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit various area churches regularly 53.0 15.0 27.4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit various area churches occasionally 4.0 6.5 2.6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do not attend church services anywhere 1.0 1.3 0.3 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  28. Relative Importance of Reasons for Selecting the School that You Attend The meaning of the “Means” 4.50-4.00 The most important reason 3.50-4.49 A very important reason 2.50-3.49 A relatively important reason 1.50-2.49 A minor consideration 1.00-1.49 Not a factor in my decision

  29. Divorce Rates • Among all those who graduated from high school in the United States in the past ten years, 8.1% have already married and divorced. • But among members of the Churches of Christ who graduated from high school in the past ten years, only 4.2% have already married and divorced. • Among members of the Churches of Christ who are alumni of Christian colleges and universities: 22.1% are still single (never married) 71.7% are still married to their first spouse 5.4% are divorced 0.8% are widowed • So, 77.9% have married and 6.9% of them have divorced, but a divorce rate of less than 7.0% is far lower than the national average.

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