How College Affects Students

Why campus ministry is so necessary.

College can be a dangerous place for a Christian’s faith!

To begin with, 2 out of every 3 teenagers involved with a youth group already plan to leave the church once theyre on their own (i.e., in college). One out of every 8 bails on the church before they even set foot on the college campus (Leonard Sweet, SoulTsunami page 47).

Even leaving that disturbing fact aside, college isn’t too kind to the faith of students.

Quotes from Pascarella and Terenzini: How College Affects
Students: Findings and Insights From Twenty Years of Research

“the literature published since 1967 fairly consistently reports significant declines in religious attitudes, values, and behaviors during the college years.” p 280–281

“The likelihood of changing to no religious
preference was also highest at so-called elite institutions.” p 303

“In probably the strongest studies on this point, Astin (1972b, 1977a) found (net of other personal and background factors) significantly greater than expected decreases in conventional religious affiliation and in religiousness (that is, praying and reading the Bible) among students attending selective or prestigious schools.”

But there is hope: in the same volume, the authors state:
“Only a handful of studies examine
the long-term effects of college on religious attitudes and values,
but with one exception, they indicate that changes in this area occur
during but apparently not after the college years.” p 323

In other words, college is our last chance to reach a generation! That’s why there must be campus ministry at secular colleges and universities!

Nicholette Lockwood, from SMSU

Wow!
How can I begin to describe how Chi Alpha has literally changed my world,
turned it upside down, made me a new person! When I came to college my
heart was aching and ready to encounter Jesus Christ, although I didnt
know it. When I first came to Thursday night fellowship, I was uncomfortable
and a bit taken aback by the atmosphere. But soon God displayed His incredibly
amazing love through all of the people involved at Chi Alpha. I joined
a small group, and in November of my freshman year, after TNF one night,
I gave my life to Christ. I began an amazing journey into life
with Him. Through Chi Alpha here at SMS I have met two of the most gracious,
loving, and influential people in my life, Glen and Paula Davis. Starting
my sophomore year I was just fine, but during the Christmas break I experienced
an enormously confusing, depressing, and life-changing stage in my Christian
walk. I began questioning almost everything I could make up a question
for. During this time Glen began doing his Bowling Alley Theologian
thing, and I started coming to talk to him about my questions. I found
that he has abounding wisdom from God, and uses that wisdom to share Gods
love in a practical way. I discovered that he was able to explain things
in ways that I could understand, ways that no one else could. And he cared
deeply about me and my life. Because of Glens help, I gradually made
my way back to a healthy life of love for Jesus. Last semester I also
began to talk to Glens wife, Paula, about other issues I could not talk
to Glen about because he suggested she could help me. I am now in my junior
year, and Paula and I have become very close friends too. She has shown
me so much love and appreciation that whenever I need or desire comfort
and care, I can just seek this awesome couple out and they let me know
how much Jesus loves me. They drive me to church every Sunday, take me
out to lunch to talk with me about my life on a regular basis, and inspire
me to love people more. I cannot thank God enough for planting Chi Alpha
here at SMS and for placing Glen and Paula here at this time to minister
to me and the other needy students on campus.

P.S. Nicholette has her own blog!

Our Big Prayer Needs

We are busy refining our plan for our first few quarters at Stanford.
Please pray that God would show us His strategy for the campus!

We are confident that God is preparing the campus for us even while
He prepares us for the campus. Please pray for our future small
group leaders, worship leaders, and the other students God is working
in.

We need to finish raising our budget to be able to start on campus in the Fall Quarter. Pray that God would connect us with the partners He’s already raised up!

Levi Augur, From SMSU

This first time I heard Glen speak was in the fall of 2000. Glens message was about attaining a desire for wisdom. His message began with a memorable story about he and a roommate accidentally lit his carpet on fire. This usually happens when flammable liquids and aerosols are sprayed on the carpets. This thought was foreign to Glens roommate before he struck the match.

As Glen told his story, every post-teenage boy in the room, that had ever taken a match to aerosol can, played WWF in the backyard, or licked a pole in winter, sat with and attitude of understanding and agreement. This was really a funny story, but the importance was stressed later. Proverb 1:7, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Glen has understood the value of wisdom and has been encouraged to desire Gods wise instruction. This was evident to me, that Thursday night a year and half ago, when I heard his message.

I spent the next month outlining Solomons teachings and instructions laid out for his sons. I can say, because of my relation to Glen through his message, I was encouraged to learn the Fear of God. Since then I have learned about obedience, a right behavior, patience, humility, diligence, and above all love.

Melissa Glazebrook, from SMSU

The
summer before I started college, I was really struggling spiritually.
A friend told me that I should check out Chi Alpha, so a little grudgingly
I went to the first meeting. I felt the presence of God in that meeting
like I had never before. I decided to get involved in a small group
Bible study and began to let God change things in me. I was taken through
several different stages of discipleship and learned what it meant to
truly worship. God brought me from a lukewarmness and created a great
passion in me for seeing His message carried across our campus and into
the world. Last year I was able to serve as a small group leader and Paula
was my small group coach. She taught me a lot about leading people–being
real with them, meeting them where they are at, and growing with them.
I am thankful that God put Chi Alpha and all the people that are a part
of our ministry in my life. The lessons I have learned in the past three
years have been invaluable.

Jerod Quinn, from SMSU

Chi Alpha has rocked the very foundation of my life. 35mm lens on canon digital camera
It provided an outlet for God to take a prideful, backsliding kid who enjoyed
playing church and turn him into someone who is constantly seeking and following
after God. I became a believer in high school, but XA is where I learned
to walk the path of the believer. The course of my life was changed because
an intern from XA decided to talk to a young, purple-haired, freshman while
he was taking a nap outside. This is my third year in college, and my third
year in XA. Last spring break I had the privilege to go on a XA mission
trip, led by Glen Davis, to South Beach Miami. A good word to use when describing
Glen is knowledgeable. When mentioning him to others I often say, If its
a book, Glen has read it. But knowing about God only takes you so far;
knowing God is much more important. Both of these kinds of knowledge are
displayed through Glen. I really saw this during the mission trip. We did
some witnessing on the campus of the University of Miami. While we were
there, Glen did some open air preaching. This was not hell-fire and brimstone
stuff, but the respectable, honest addressing of questions people had about
Christianity and Jesus. Not only does an activity like this take gall, but
also it takes authentic wisdom to do it effectively. Needless to say, Glen
knows his stuff. But as I mentioned earlier, knowledge about God can only
take you so far. Glens knowledge of God is displayed just as much. We did
homeless ministry in South Beach. We did more than just tell these people
about Gods love for them; we actually demonstrated it in a practical way
(James 2:15–17) by feeding them and listening to them. Whenever I have a
question about, generally anything, Glen is almost always the first person
I go to. Glen and Paula are both really great, God-following people. And
I would be saying that even if they werent letting me do my laundry at
their home. 🙂

Promotional Photos of Glen

Both formal and casual pictures of Glen suitable for church bulletins, retreat brochures, and dartboards. 🙂 There is also a press release for churches.

If you need a picture of Glen for your church bulletin or for any other reason, feel free to download one of these. You can click on the photo if you need a higher-resolution image (for the record, you can also download any photo of us off of this site).

If you need a blurb to accompany the photo:
Glen and Paula Davis are the Assemblies of God missionaries to Stanford University, where they lead a Chi Alpha ministry. Chi Alpha is the Assembly of God outreach to students at secular colleges and universities, and is on over 200 campuses across America. Glen also oversees Assemblies of God college ministries in Northern California and Nevada. You can learn more about them at http://www.GlenAndPaula.com/ and more about their Chi Alpha group at http://www.xaStanford.org/

If you want a pre-made church bulletin
Download it here (PDF format, 500k, half page format). If the size of the bulletin is wrong for you, you can create your own by adapting the following text:

Glen & Paula Davis
Glen and Paula are nationally appointed home missionaries with the Assemblies of God, and have been given the privilege of representing Christ to the future leaders of the world at Stanford University. Together, they lead Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at Stanford. Glen also oversees the Assemblies of God college ministries in Northern California and Nevada. Prior to establishing the ministry at Stanford, they helped to lead a Chi Alpha ministry in Springfield, MO.

Chi Alpha Campus Ministries
Chi Alpha is the Assemblies of God outreach to colleges and universities. There are over 200 Chi Alpha groups in America, and many more around the world.

Chi Alpha takes its name from two Greek letters which stand for the phrase Christ’s Ambassadors.

Why Reach Stanford?
Because it’s like a steering wheel to our society&em;as goes the campus, so goes the culture. Just think about this: four of America’s nine Supreme Court Justices are Stanford alumni.

And it’s not just America that Stanford influences’the president of Peru is a Stanford graduate. In fact, 1/4 of the students are from another country, and the two most represented nations are China and India.

Today they learn, but tomorrow they lead. These future world-changers must be reached with the gospel while they are more open than they will ever be again!

If you need a press release:
Rev. Glen Davis, leader of the Chi Alpha ministry at Stanford University, will be speaking TIME AND DAY, DATE, at NAME OF CHURCH, LOCATION.

Glen and his wife Paula are the Assemblies of God representatives at Stanford University, the school which produced four of America’s nine Supreme Court Justices.

Together they lead a ministry called Chi Alpha where they help the future leaders of the world find reasonable answers to honest questions.

Chi Alpha (XA) is the Greek abbreviation for “Christ’s Ambassadors.” There are over 200 Chi Alpha groups on college and university campuses across America (www.ChiAlpha.com for more info).

Prior to establishing the Chi Alpha ministry at Stanford, the Davises served for six years at the original Chi Alpha group in Springfield, Mo.

You can learn more about them on the Internet at www.GlenAndPaula.com and more about their Chi Alpha group at www.xaStanford.org .

For more information about Rev. Davis’ presentation or NAME OF CHURCH, contact the church by calling PHONE NUMBER or online at WEBSITE .

Core Ministry Values

This isn’t a full philosophy of campus ministry–it’s more of a summary statement on my life and ministry.

At the core of my ministry lies a set of convictions summarizing my understanding
of the Biblical teachings on ministry and life.

I Must Nurture Intimacy With God: if I do not act out of a vibrant
spirituality, then I labor in vain. I must regularly:

  1. Pray:
    both with my spirit and with understanding
  2. Read
    His Word: for personal growth in addition to ministry tasks
  3. Attend
    Corporate Worship: participating regardless of my emotional state
  4. Meet
    With a Small Group of Fellow-Believers: for accountability and encouragement.

I Must Cultivate My Character: who I am is more important that
what I do. Character is a broad topic, but I consider these qualities
to be central:

  1. Honesty: neither telling lies nor slanting truth
  2. Consistency:
    acting on what I profess to believe in public and private
  3. Courage:
    disregarding personal consequences when facing moral choices
  4. Hard
    Work: doing the best I can do because God is always my boss
  5. Fiscal
    Responsibility: living within my means, being generous, saving for the
    future

I Must Build My Marriage: God gave me a wife for a reasonshe
is to be a friend and a partner in ministry. Plus, I will be married after
I retire. I ignore that fact at my peril.

I Must Hone My Skills: God deserves the very best I have to offer.
Therefore I read widely and wisely, and I earnestly desire book, conference,
and other resource recommendations from those I esteem. My goal is to
master the essentials of my profession. At present, I understand those
essentials to be:

  1. Spiritual
    Discipline: learning to live a Godward life
  2. Hermeneutics:
    learning to interpret the Bible responsibly
  3. Leadership:
    learning to help others act effectively
  4. Communication:
    learning to articulate ideas persuasively
  5. Marketing:
    learning to intrigue others with Christ and His Church

I Must Maintain Healthy Relationships: fundamentally, ministry
is about relationships. As a spiritual leader, I accept responsibility
for the health of the relationships I am involved with and will work to
deepen them.

I Must Rigorously Analyze My Beliefs: beliefs drive behavior.
I have a tremendous capacity for intellectual laziness and self-deception.
I must read the most challenging works and talk with the most challenging
people to test my ideas for truth.

Kim Harrison, from SMSU

I have been actively involved with Chi Alpha over this
past year. My family background is strongly Christian and I have participated
in the church for as long as I can remember. But when I came to SMS, I
was in need of more than the typical Christian support group. God has
done so much in me personally through the students and the leadership
of Chi Alpha. My small group has connected me closely with girls who
have brought me encouragement, accountability, and support. Relationships
I have built with students and mentors have been a vital part of my spiritual
growth throughout this past year. I most recently had the opportunity
to go to Inverness, Scotland, on one of the Chi Alpha mission teams. What
an experience! I was blown away at the things God was doing while we were
there. The highlight of the trip for me was the honor of leading a student
to Jesusa first for both of us. I have never felt such a freedom to share
Gods love in such a real and practical way as I did then. That moment
was one of the most precious I have ever experienced. My eyes were opened
to how seldom I have taken the time and energy to invest in those around
me here at the university. I now purpose to be intentional about impacting
my circle of influence. Please pray that God would continue to use Chi
Alpha and the students at SMS to make a mark for Christ on the campus.