A renewed commitment to campus and student ministries will begin with a trio of programs to bolster an important but neglected ministry.

The nine-member Council on Ministries in Higher Education, an advisory board that meets annually to help HELM strategize how to minister with campus and student ministries, met January 20-21 in St. Louis.

The conversation at that meeting, focusing on ways HELM, in spite of limited financial resources, can support student ministries creatively, resulted in several ideas for strengthening the bond between the church and student ministries.

"The continued revitalization of our church requires more leaders, both lay and clergy," said HELM President Dennis Landon. "Nurture for leadership in the church begins in home congregations, but college is a time when people create lifelong habits and develop important skills. Student and campus ministries assist these future leaders at a vital time. We're ready to help as much in every way we can."

In the coming months, HELM will work on three specific areas to support campus ministries:

• Networking: HELM will be contacting regions this winter to verify contact information for as many Disciples-related campus ministries as can be identified. The central source for campus ministry contact information, the Higher Education Ministries Arena (HEMA) web site, lists most of these ministries, but a random check of the database indicates many known campus ministries, including ministries supported by Disciples-related colleges and universities, have not yet registered.
• Communication: HELM will initiate a newsletter by and for campus ministers to let them know of important denominational news, scholarship opportunities for students, national, regional, and ecumenical events, and new ways of thinking about campus ministry. Campus ministry success stories will also be circulated to the wider church. HELM will also begin a "Campus Ministry of the Week" feature on its web site, encouraging each ministry to provide information about how they work in their campus community.
• Development: Since campus and student ministries receive minimal financial support through church structures, they must increasingly look to new sources of funding. HELM has entered conversations with the Christian Church Foundation to provide fund-raising workshops for campus ministry staff and boards.

As these initiatives progress, information will be available on HELM's web site, www.helmdisciples.org.