The four main campuses at the summer training project are Bethel, Northwestern, U of M, and St. Thomas.
On Tuesday evenings, the Project breaks off into our respective campuses to have what we like to call…
Campus Time.
Campus Time looks different for each campus depending on what the student leaders have planned for the week.
The main purposes of Campus Time are to bond as brothers and sisters in Christ, develop a group unity, and plan and pray for returning to the campus.
Relationships formed at Project are incredibly important. The fellowship to be had at Project is a sweet blessing. But the most important relationships, arguably, are formed with those who are on the same college campus.
Why?
Project is two months of the year. At minimum, we spend 8 months on our college campuses. Project has been referred to as a “bubble” because we are constantly around community and being poured into via talks and intentional conversations, and it is normal to converse about the gospel at any time.
However, home is different. When we are back on the campus, it’s easier to become complacent and caught up in putting our hope in things like popularity, body image, grades, etc. The relationships we have with our brothers and sisters back on campus are the ones we turn to for gospel truths, friendship, and pointing each other back to Jesus, which makes our friendship that much deeper.
Campus Time is not just relationally helpful, but also strategically helpful. Every university is unique in its structure, theology, and student body; from a small city-like public school like the U, to a large, private Catholic university like St. Thomas, to a smaller, private Baptist university like Bethel. Therefore, thinking and planning for ministry back on campus looks different for each group of students.
Additionally, each university’s Campus Outreach is composed of unique students with different strengths and weaknesses. We want to tailor our ministry to build off strengths and pray through as well as help each other with weaknesses.
Although Campus Time may be as formal as designating ‘ministry partners’ or delegating dorms for ministry in the fall, or as informal as getting Chipotle and bonding as we chat about our lives, Campus Time is meant to refresh ourselves, refocus our vision, and remember the campuses where God has placed us.