CAMPUS Internship Manual (OYiM+)

About CAMPUS

1. Welcome

2. History

3. Philosophy

About CAMPUS

Welcome

Welcome to the Center for Adventist Ministry to Public University Students (CAMPUS) at Michigan State University, East Lansing. We are glad that you have chosen to dedicate this year of your life to work in one of the toughest yet rewarding mission fields in the world – the concrete jungle of public university campuses.  Each missionary year will present opportunities to learn and grow in this very specialized area of ministry. 

Your training will include practical courses to assist you in becoming a more effective disciple and soul-winner.  These courses will not only contain helpful information about the science of soul-winning but will also provide insightful lessons that will help you become a more committed Christian.  

Each year we have several programs running simultaneously: the CAMPUS Internship, also known as the Missionary Training Program (MTP), Fellowship, and Ministerial Residency programs. Although separate, these programs are designed to complement each other.

Cooperation is essential in our efforts to reach the world, and we must be sure that there is unity among God’s workers. Maintaining unity will require adaptation and understanding on the part of each Missionary. Our experiences together will strengthen relationships and better prepare us to be Christ’s representatives as we serve. Let us do our part by striving to achieve excellence in all we do.  Together we will accomplish great things for God this year in the work that “must and will be done” (2 Selected Messages, p. 233).  

Wishing you God’s most abundant blessings, 

Pastor Jermaine Gayle
Assistant Director of Public CAMPUS Ministries
Program Director CAMPUS 

History

In September 1998, the Michigan Conference became the first conference in the North American Division (NAD) to create a department focused solely on ministry on secular university and college campuses. One year later, CAMPUS was developed and established as the nerve center of the Michigan Conference’s Public Campus Ministries (PCM) Department.

CAMPUS was first launched in Ann Arbor, MI, near the University of Michigan, and was widely known for developing credible Seventh-day Adventist secular campus ministries in North America. It is also widely perceived as the primary center of grassroots spiritual revivals that are taking place among Seventh-day Adventist students and youth around the world. In 2011, the CAMPUS headquarters relocated to East Lansing with the purchase of a house just a few blocks from the campus of Michigan State University. To this date, CAMPUS continues to train students, lay people, and pastors to minister to the public university populations across the United States. 

Philosophy

CAMPUS believes that “higher education” must lead students to the “Most High” and seeks to make this objective an actual reality in the lives of all students. Our motto identifies the core of who we are as an entity. “We are a Bible-based missionary movement in which every student is a missionary.” Thus, of the different models of Adventist secular campus ministries, CAMPUS takes the challenge of presenting the Three Angels’ Messages to public universities seriously. Following the example of Ezra, CAMPUS seeks to encourage students to “study,” “practice,” and “proclaim” our distinctive Seventh-day Adventist messages (Ezra 7:10). What this means in practical terms is that all CAMPUS-sponsored programs and events must strive to accomplish the following objectives:

  1. Students must obtain instructions in the fundamentals of the Adventist faith. 
  2. Students must be led to experience a transformation in their lives.  
  3. Students must be encouraged to share their faith actively.