The Revolutionaries on Campus January 20, 2008
Posted by Zack in Ohio , trackback
Last Sunday, while in Columbus for Rootscamp, I met up with a staffer from Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO), a para-church campus ministry organization sort of along the lines of Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators or InterVarsity Christian Fellowship.
I don’t know all the ways that these orgs are different from each other, but CCO seems to be the one most representative of the Revolution I’ve been writing about on this blog. According to its organizational statement, “The CCO partners with colleges, churches and organizations to develop men and women who live out their Christian Faith in every area of life.” The org has a particular focus on teaching a “Christian world view” that allows students to maintain their faith without isolating themselves from the mainstream of campus life—and life after college. And they work in partnership with local churches so that students can make the transition from youth to adulthood while being part of an intergenerational church community (as opposed to spending 4 years in fellowship with only people their own age — after which it could be hard to go back into a regular church).
The “Christian world view” that CCO teaches seems to be very much based on Kingdom Theology, which is one of the intellectual foundations of the “Revolution in Jesusland.” Kingdom Theology teaches that Christians must work to redeem a broken world, including fixing broken lives and fixing broken communities and social systems.
The most remarkable thing about CCO (as well as Campus Crusade, Navigators and InterVarsity) is their level of staffing and organization. These orgs have from one or two up to a dozen or more staff PER CAMPUS chapter. Are there any campus orgs on the left that have anywhere near that kind of staffing level? I think the Center for American Progress’ campus network Campus Progress has just over a dozen staff total. Campus Crusade has more than a dozen staff serving the Ohio State University campus alone.
Talking to the CCO staffer, I was struck not only by the level of staffing and resources, but also by the sophistication and depth of the operation. Staff spend much of their time learning and studying with each other. And many spend their summers in an intensive program where staff and students live and study together while working on community projects.
The difference isn’t funding. It’s that these Christians are motivated by a big dream, one that makes sense to them. It’s a long term plan for the redemption of the whole world—to carry out “Jesus’ Redemptive Work and Salvation” as “the body of Christ.” On the left, it’s hard to get talented people to stay in local jobs that don’t lead quickly to big titles or big recognition. But Christian Revolutionaries can be clear about how something like mentoring just a handful of students on campus fits into their grand plan. Therefore, they are able to recruit and develop leaders from the ranks to do that important work and build long-term solid orgs.
Tag: CCO
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Excellent and very hopeful article.! We would like to feature this article on our blog. Consider joining the Christians Against Leftist Heresy blogroll at http://christiansagainstleftistheresy.blogspot.com/
I was involved with IV in the seventies, so my information may be out of date, but it has always struck me as being more progressive-friendly than Navs or Crusade (I did have many friends in those groups). It was IV staff that introduced me to Sojourners 30 years ago. IV also had much fewer staff, and according to recent discussions with family members with current knowledge, the situation is still the same.
BTW, I appreciate your blog and am glad to see some of this revolution getting publicized.
Hey, interestingly, another IV person weighing in. I have been involved with IV for 15 years now, and I have seen us be at the forefront of integrating justice into the life of faith, especially in the areas of racial reconciliation and loving the poor. One of the great things for me about being a part of IV is our Urban Projects ministry, which establish inner city ministries across the US and then bring college students to both serve and learn from the poor. Thanks for what you are doing and for highlighting that college students are learning to integrate their faith with good works. The two shouldn’t be separated.