We are United Methodist Campus Ministries

We Are United Methodist Campus Ministries

A Statement of Solidarity and SupportFrom the United Methodist Campus Ministry Association (UMCMA)

We are United Methodist related campus ministries. We represent the wide variety of ways that our denomination reaches out to young people on college and university campuses across the connection and around the world. We are campus ministers and chaplains, board members and directors of Wesley Foundations, students, alumni and parents, conference staff members, and supporters of campus ministries, and we are united in supporting generations of young people both within the church and outside its walls. 

Like many local congregations, numerous campus ministries have over 100 years of faithful ministry with their university communities. Campus ministries have Boards of Directors who govern their ministries including finances and administration. Chaplaincies and offices of religious life at our United Methodist-related institutions provide pastoral care and spiritual growth to a large cross section of their campus communities, and their institutions represent one of the many extensions of the church into the world. 

As we approach the upcoming General Conference, we remain committed to doing the ministries to which God has called us: mentoring young people and helping them to discern their vocations, for the fulfillment of our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We are in prayer and discernment, along with the whole church, about the future of our common work. 

While there are several plans being submitted to GC 2020 concerning the future direction of the church, we are asking on behalf of all of our United Methodist related campus ministries for two things to be considered in each plan:

That the Board of Directors of our Wesley Foundations or UM related Campus Ministries shall have self-determination of affiliation (conference/denominational). 

That the Board of Directors of our Wesley Foundations or UM related Campus Ministries shall have self-determination for any and all assets including name, logo, property, and financial holdings.

Delegates to GC 2020, we urge you to find the places in legislation where these situations are relevant and propose amendments accordingly. As you pass legislation, we ask that you consider the implications of that legislation for campus ministries. As you prepare for your subcommittee work and plenary votes, we seek to be partners with you in that preparation. UMCMA will be releasing information following the publication of the Advance Daily Christian Advocate with suggested amendments to legislation, as well as talking points about campus ministry that will be helpful guides in your preparation and discussions leading up to General Conference. 

Those who sign this statement will also be working together not only in the time leading up to General Conference 2020, but into the foreseeable future, as we continue to grow and develop a network of campus ministries across the connection. We will continue to mentor and support young people, develop leaders for the church, and nurture the vocations of the young people with whom we work every day. We expect continued partnership with future expressions of Methodism.

We are United Methodist Campus Ministries, and we represent the future, and the cutting edge of the present, of the United Methodist movement. 

If you would like any further conversation, or would like any assistance with language in order to include campus ministries within proposed legislation, please feel free to contact Rev. Dr. David MacDonald, Chair, Advocacy Committee, United Methodist Campus Ministry Association, at d-macdonald@onu.edu. 

Voted and Approved by the United Methodist Campus Ministry Association Coordinating Committee:

Dave Bracht-Wagner, Mount Pleasant First UMC-Iowa (NC Jurisdiction)

Brittany Burrows, Synergy Wesley Foundation (SC Jurisdiction)

Julie Dowler, The Wesley Foundation at the University of Illinois (NC Jurisdiction)

Carl Gladstone, Motor City Wesley (NC Jurisdiction)

Scott Grantland, University of Colorado Boulder (W Jurisdiction)

Mary Haggard, Salisbury University Wesley Foundation (NE Jurisdiction)

Joey Heath-Mason, American University UM Chaplain (NE Jurisdiction)

Elizabeth Horton-Ware, Oklahoma City University (SC Jurisdiction)

Marcus Jones, The Wesley at MSU Texas (SC Jurisdiction)

Wanjiku Kamuyu, Member at Large (SE Jurisdiction)

Tim Kobler, Wesley Foundation University of Michigan (NC Jurisdiction)

David MacDonald, Ohio Northern University (NC Jurisdiction)

Jeff McCumber, UNC-Ashville Wesley (SE Jurisdiction)

Megan Otto, University of Texas-Austin (SC Jurisdiction)

Michelle Ozier Wallace, Middle Tennessee State University (SE Jurisdiction)

Nancy Parker, The Wesley at Vanderbilt University (SC Jurisdiction)

Benji Sayre, Wesley Foundation in Cincinnati (NC Jurisdiction)

Bradley Schutt, Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry (NE Jurisdiction) 

Amy Shreve, Illinois Great Rivers Conference (NC Jurisdiction)

Michelle Wood, The Wesley Center at Paris Junior College (SC Jurisdiction)