{"id":44592,"date":"2023-05-04T11:55:48","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T15:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/?p=44592"},"modified":"2025-07-18T10:51:04","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T14:51:04","slug":"el-director-de-ministerios-universitarios-de-pcusas-ukirk-dice-que-en-una-era-de-aislamiento-el-ministerio-universitario-es-mas-importante-que-nunca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/resources\/news\/the-pcusas-ukirk-collegiate-ministries-director-says-in-an-era-of-isolation-campus-ministry-is-more-important-than-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"El director de Ministerios Universitarios de UKirk del PC(USA) dice que en una era de aislamiento, el ministerio universitario es m\u00e1s importante que nunca."},"content":{"rendered":"

Asked Wednesday about the work that\u2019s making her come alive, the Rev. Gini Norris-Lane, executive director of UKirk Campus Ministries<\/a> in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, said it\u2019s that \u201cthere are college students on campuses around the country that are craving community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also about their participation in God\u2019s mission of transforming the world,\u201d Norris-Lane told the Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty<\/a> of the Presbyterian Foundation<\/a> during the most recent edition of Leading Theologically, which can be viewed here<\/a> or here<\/a>. \u201cThere are college students across the country who want to know there is a different way of following Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

To date, UKirk has 208 campus ministries, a number that\u2019s growing, Norris-Lane said, adding that her conversations with campus pastors indicate \u201cthere is a need for campus ministry where all are welcome \u2014 those raised Presbyterian \u2026 and those raised in other Christian traditions and those experiencing woundedness from the church by telling them they are loved by God, and those who are just curious about what this whole Jesus thing is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re there to be that phone-a-friend to these ministries,\u201d Hinson-Hasty said, because \u201cnone of them are exactly the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fact is that outside congregational ministry, campus ministry is the oldest in the Presbyterian tradition, dating back nearly three centuries, Norris-Lane said. Why, Hinson-Hasty asked, does campus ministry still matter?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it matters more now than it ever has,\u201d Norris-Lane replied, citing a study indicating just 2 in 10 students will come back to church if they\u2019re not engaged during the ages of 18-25. The level of growth and development in college-age students is second only to those children ages 0-3, she noted.<\/p>\n

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The Rev. Gini Norris-Lane<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In addition, \u201cin today\u2019s society, we know young adults are experiencing mental health diagnoses that are at record levels,\u201d Norris-Lane said. \u201cIn so many ways, we don\u2019t know how to be community.\u201d On that very day, Norris-Lane said, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory calling attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation and the lack of connection in the country. In his advisory, Murthy laid out a framework<\/a> for a national strategy to advance social connection, a strategy that has never before been implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does it mean for all of us to continue our baptismal vows, to continue to journey with young people as they navigate from adolescence to young adulthood?\u201d Norris-Lane asked. \u201cWhat does it mean to understand mission and outreach? It\u2019s Matthew 25<\/a> in a more expansive way: Who\u2019s hungry? Who\u2019s imprisoned by something? How can we reach out to them as part of mission? What does it mean to do evangelism in a pluralistic world with integrity, trusting the Holy Spirit to move and to be a witness to something that\u2019s expansive and life-giving?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat does it mean for us to understand that all young adults are our young adults? That our calling is to pastorally accompany this generation and to listen to their questions?\u201d Norris-Lane asked, adding the question she often hears is, how many students can we expect for 11 o\u2019clock worship? \u201cMy answer is often, \u2018none, some, I don\u2019t know,\u2019\u201d she told Hinson-Hasty. \u201cThe question can become, \u2018how many students are we called to have coffee with each week? How many students are we called to pray for by name each week? How many students are we called to text and say, I\u2019m thinking about you. How did your test go?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like collegiate ministry is research and development for the church,\u201d said Hinson-Hasty, himself a former campus minister. \u201cIt\u2019s about looking around the corner and saying, \u2018It\u2019s not about a building; it\u2019s about a community. It\u2019s about sharing love and engaging authentically. It\u2019s about living into our baptismal vows.\u2019\u201d How, Hinson-Hasty asked, can we strengthen campus ministry?<\/p>\n

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Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

One way is to have your faith community welcome campus ministry leadership, Norris-Lane said. Another is for faith communities \u201cto look at who your [high school] seniors are, who are going off to college or the world of work or to the military, and ask, \u2018How can I pray for you right now?\u2019 Tell them there is something beyond what you have experienced, and you\u2019re going to help them connect there.\u201d Presbyterians can visit the UKirk website<\/a> to refer a student to campus ministry, Norris-Lane said.<\/p>\n

Since campus ministries are locally supported, Norris-Lane suggested considering support for one locally<\/a> or making a gift to UKirk national. \u201cWe want to provide something for campus ministers and for the church to help us all articulate who we are in a way that says, \u2018This is what you can expect, and this is what we\u2019re inviting you to. Bring who you are \u2014 exactly who you are \u2014 and we will journey with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norris-Lane also briefly discussed UKirk\u2019s national gathering<\/a>, set for June 13-16 at Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center<\/a> in Harrisonburg, Virginia.<\/p>\n

Asked to give a charge or a benediction, Norris-Lane offered both. \u201cPray for all of our college students, traditional age or nontraditional. Please pray for collegiate ministers and places searching for collegiate ministers right now,\u201d she said. \u201cPray for our seminarians, that they will remember that God\u2019s Spirit is still working. Pray for me and for UKirk, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe God of love who began working even before the light of Creation dawned continues to move and work in your life and mine, in the life of the world. No matter what the statistics say, the Holy Spirit is alive and present in every congregation and on every campus, on every street in the country and around the world, especially in the broken places.<\/p>\n

\u201cCling to the fact that God is moving, God is working, God is a god of redemption and restoration, and God is inviting us with our lives and gifts and questions and resources \u2014 exactly who we are right now \u2014 to catch a vision \u2026 God is a god of hope, and hope will break in, maybe through you. The Holy Spirit is as close to you as your very breath and as wise as the whole universe, and we get to participate in the wild and wonderful work of God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Asked Wednesday about the work that\u2019s making her come alive, the Rev. Gini Norris-Lane, executive director of UKirk Campus Ministries in the Presbyterian Mission Agency, said it\u2019s that \u201cthere are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":44632,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.presbyterianfoundation.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}