August Update
A Message from the Rev. Taylor Daniel, Anglican Campus Minister at the College of Charleston
How it’s going – an update
It’s hard to believe but this August marks two years of Campus Communion as a ministry at The College of Charleston. In those years we’ve seen amazing growth in both breadth and depth.
The Breadth: A ministry that began with no core group, with just a small list of 11 potential names that might be interested, has blossomed into, essentially, a small church plant on campus. This past spring I had a regular pastoral relationship with 30 different CofC students, with 40 involved overall and 70 reached (aka you attended one or more CC functions this year, so we have a baseline relationship). I am thankful to God for this growth and that even its “problems” are answers to previous prayers. For instance, we will be looking to get a younger crop of students this Fall to replenish our numbers, but that’s because we just had the privilege of sending 8 seniors out into the world to be Christ’s hands and feet!
The number of offerings we have as a ministry has also shot up, and with wonderful results! This year we ran 5 different small group studies (including a The Chosen watch group where we watch an episode of the tv series on Jesus’ life, with snacks, and just talk about it afterwards). Our big bible study covered The Questions Jesus Asks and The Things Jesus Believes in the gospels.
The Depth: But more important that the numbers are the needs. Needs for spiritual answers. Needs for advice and wisdom. Needs for community. Needs that are being met. Like the two different non-christian men who are spiritually searching and have agreed to read Ross Douthat’s Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious this summer.