Campus Ministry revamps communication
Filed Under: Campus Cornerstone, Campus Ministry, Forward in Christ
To help college students grow in their faith and to raise awareness about issues college students are dealing with, WELS Campus Ministry—which works to help proclaim Christ on college campuses and connect students with campus pastors in their area—is coordinating a new bimonthly column in Forward in Christ magazine called Campus Cornerstone, which debuts this month.
The column, which touches on topics relating to college students today, replaces the Campus Ministry publication, Lightsource. "We had done some revamping of Lightsource, and produced what we thought were some really flashy issues–but then we did a reader survey and got less than two dozen responses from it," says Rev. Ken Brokmeier, chairman of the campus ministry committee and campus pastor at South Dakota State University.
So the committee began rethinking its communication methods and even held focus groups with teens at last year's international youth rally about ways to stay in touch with college students. According to Brokmeier, this led to not only a new column in Forward in Christ, but also a Web site redesign. Students can now search for WELS churches and campus pastors in their area, sign up for materials online, subscribe to receive e-mail devotions, and download MP3 sermons.
The committee is also exploring Internet-based networking opportunities, like Facebook and instant messaging. "We're trying to reach more teens in today's mobile culture," says Brokmeier. "Eight years ago, when students moved into the dormitories they automatically had the phone in the dorm hooked up, and pastors could access those numbers. Now if you don't have a student's cell phone number or e-mail address, how do you get a hold of them?"
With many colleges now already in session, Brokmeier hopes students, their families, or home congregations will send in updated contact information, which is essential to the committee's ministry to students nationwide. "We want to keep our college students connected with the means of grace, through worship, because that's finally what keeps us close to our Savior," he says.
To update contact information and sign up for free publications, visit www.wels.net/cm
