THE CAMPUS CULTURE WE SERVE

 

 Tony was so excited. His ministry was going well in his first full-time position as a youth pastor. Students were coming and energy was building throughout the church. But even though he and his youth group were reaching students within their relational network, so many more students in the community were not connected to any church. In fact, many people in the church and community looked down on them and kept them at a distance. He wondered how those students could be reached.

 

One of the students in Tony’s group wanted him to meet his friend—a skater, one of those marginalized kids in the community. As Tony listened to this skater, he realized there was a huge group of kids just like him who were looking for a sense of belonging. They were considered by many to be troublemakers, but when they found out that students at Tony’s church were interested in who they were and what they were doing, doors opened up. The church began a skate ministry and decided to build a place and a space for these skaters that eventually opened their hearts to the gospel. 

            

It wasn’t an easy process. They had to create a plan and a budget, negotiate with insurance companies, and build skate ramps—but they made it happen. One conversation with one student turned into “Skate Church” every Thursday with more than fifty skaters showing up. Many were looking for belonging, love, and acceptance and found it through people who decided to serve them. And many of them began their relationship with Jesus through “Skate Church!” This group went from being marginalized to being the talk of the town. Even city leaders came to see what God was doing at Skate Church.

 

The Ins and Outs of Student Life

Student culture is often highly stratified. Some people are “in” and others “out.” It’s human nature to categorize people—it happens from early childhood to old age—but in middle school and high school, when kids find themselves at the height of their insecurity, struggling hard to discover their identity and trying to connect with their peers, categorizing “in” and “out” is a big deal. Socially, cliques can create a support group for students with common interests, but they can also have the negative impact of people getting excluded. 

 

This phenomenon of exclusion can often lead to bullying. Exclusion and rejection only reinforce students’ insecurity about knowing who they are and the false self they have created. The belittling by others often results not only in them rejecting themselves, but also in them belittling and rejecting someone else. They tend to put others down in order to lift themselves up. Insecurity and exclusion that leads to rejection and/or bullying stems from students trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in.

 

Grasp the Complex Culture

Where, then, does a youth leader begin to connect with this complex social environment? On one hand, it’s good to reach influencers—the kids everyone else seems to follow. This has been a philosophy and approach to youth ministry for years. You move with the movers. If you can impact the key leaders, others presumably will follow. The have-nots always look up to the haves, right? The cool students lead the way. 

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That’s not always true, of course. There are plenty of students who are sure they will never fit in with the cool kids and aren’t even going to try—and they may even develop animosity toward the cool kids in the process. Add to that the intensity toward diversity in our culture, which creates even more serious issues in the social environment. 

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Interestingly, from Jesus’ point of view, the social constructs aren’t so much about who the campus-wide leaders are but who the leaders of these smaller and more diverse campus groups are. We know Jesus didn’t categorize people as “movers and shakers” or “dweebs.” But He often did gravitate to the marginalized—the ones no one else would engage with, the underside of society that got pushed out of the accepted social circle. He told His disciples that people would be judged according to how they ministered to “the least of these” (Matthew 25:31-46). Polite society mostly ignored the “outcasts and sinners,” but Jesus turned His focus to them, seemingly more than to anyone else.

 

Focus on “the Least”

Schools are full of students left in the margins. The “in” influencers still tend to be the most visible and get the most attention while the marginalized most often get disregarded and ignored. Many of those who don’t fit with the popular kids have their own social group. And many students don’t quite fit in with any group. 

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But all students, from top to bottom, struggle with their identity and place. And from top to bottom, Jesus cares about everyone equally. Yet in the Gospels, He seemed to lean in to “the least of these.” Jesus wants to reach them—through you. 

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When you do focus on “the least,” the results can be surprising. Chris managed the football team—a position not entirely admired by everyone else in the school. The manager is usually the person who wanted to play but wasn't quite good enough. By serving as manager, he still gets to be part of the team, but he doesn’t get much recognition. The Lord showed me that I needed to serve Chris. 

 

As chaplain of the high school football team, I would hang out at practice and be in the locker room for games. During practice and games, I sometimes helped Chris carry equipment and prepare water bottles for the players. We became friends. Two years later, Chris accepted Jesus and went on to serve as an athletic trainer at his college. He used his training skills to share the gospel with players in a way that had a significant influence on individuals as well as the entire team. “One of the least of these” became “one of the greatest of these!”

 

Check Your Attitude

Beyond status and social hierarchy, the underlying issue is about attitude. Though we can’t control students’ attitudes, we can control our own attitudes. And we can influence the attitudes of the other youth leaders who go to the campus with us. We don’t need to overly concern ourselves with the way students see themselves or where they fit in the social structure, although recognizing that is helpful. We just need to think of students like Jesus thought of all people. And He thought of people others have ignored, rejected, and/or discarded.  

 

In Jesus’ world, the ground is always level at the foot of the cross, where everyone other than Him is the “least.” That perspective leads to changed lives. When we model this to our volunteers and Christian students, they will see what we do and develop their own heart for the hurting, outsiders, and down-and-outers that they would not otherwise see. The outcomes of adopting and taking action on this attitude will become life- and ministry-transforming for everyone. In Jesus’ world, everyone is invited to the party!

 

Your Next Steps

We encourage you to keep a notebook or journal of ideas, action steps, and resources that will help you advance your ministry. You can use the following questions and suggestions for brainstorming and developing your goals and plans. 

 

• What needs to change in your attitudes and viewpoint toward the students at your school and community for you to become more oriented toward “the least?” 

 

• Identify at least one place on campus where you can begin to “reach the least.” Can you identify at least one person who is in “the least” category that you can get to know? 

 

• Decide on the leaders and students you would like to join you in reaching out to “the least.” Identify the leaders and students in your ministry that you want to take with you, and together come up with three steps that it will take to move in that direction. 

 

Resources

• The Ripple Effects of Love by Dawn Rowe