Proposal to the Congregation of the
Meadowlark Church of Christ
to Establish a Christian Student Center
at Colorado State University

May 22, 2004

The Meadowlark Campus Ministry

The Meadowlark Church of Christ has enjoyed being a church home for Colorado State University students for 30 years. CSU, with its 25,000 students, has provided us with a rich opportunity to take God’s message to the campus as well. University students are at a time in their lives when they are making critical decisions about their future. In fact, studies have shown that more than 96% of Christians converted before the age of 26. Our campus minister, Russ Whitten, has for the past 5 years been ministering to Christian students and reaching out to their friends, other students, and to the community of international students. This ministry has developed a clear purpose:

· Spiritual development

· Evangelism

· Leadership training

· Providing social and fellowship activities

· Providing a church home

We believe that it is time to provide this ministry with a place near campus to be used for all these purposes. A place where Christian students can go to find fellowship, a place for activities close to campus where they can bring friends, and a place from which the campus minister can reach out to the campus.

The Student Center Concept

Many campus ministries sponsored by churches of Christ have a facility near their university’s campus which provides a safe Christian environment for students to meet, study, eat, play or just hang out. Typically these facilities have an office for the campus minister, a large room for meetings, smaller rooms for study, and a kitchen. Most also have a yard used for barbeques, volleyball, basketball or other outdoor recreation. Such facilities are usually a converted house but in some cases are a building specifically designed and built for such use. Having the campus minister nearer to the students makes it easier for students to go to him when they have a need. Devotionals and activities held there are more accessible for students and their friends, and, because it is a less formal setting than a church building, their non-Christian friends are more likely to go. It also simply provides a place to escape the pressures of college life. Ultimately, its purpose is to help Christian college students grow in their faith and bring others to the Lord.

Research into Student Centers

Several members of the Meadowlark congregation attended colleges where the local Church of Christ had a student center. At one of this committee’s early planning meetings several of these people, as well as one Meadowlark member currently involved with one, described their experiences with student centers. Their overwhelming conviction of the positive impact these facilities had on them has contributed to our belief that a student center would contribute to the effectiveness of a campus ministry at CSU. Positive feedback from other members has been encouraging as well.

This committee also contacted campus ministries at eight universities, none in Colorado as none of the campus ministries here have a student center. A summary of our findings is at http://home.comcast.net/~csustudentcenter, which includes information about:

· How they were established

· How ongoing operations were managed

· Some of the pros and cons of having a student center

As a result of our research we concluded that a student center would be a benefit to our campus ministry. We also used our research to develop a model that we thought would work best for us.

Proposal

We propose to the Meadowlark congregation that its members commit to supporting a Christian student center at Colorado State University in accordance with the following guidelines:

I. Ownership

The Christian Student Center at Colorado State University (Student Center) will be owned and operated by a non-profit corporation/foundation, to be named by the congregation. The board of directors will consist of representatives of supporting churches of Christ.

II. Type of facility

We propose the purchase of an existing private or rental house adjacent to the CSU campus. The building will be remodeled to provide rooms for Bible studies, devotionals, fellowship and eating, and an office for the campus minister.

III. How it will be purchased

It is estimated that a facility could be purchased, remodeled and furnished this year for approximately $400,000 to $500,000, depending on the type of facility we are able to get. It is hoped that some of the labor and materials for remodeling as well as furnishings will be donated. All donated materials and work would need to meet city building codes. Annual operating expenses are expected to be $7500 to $10,000. A breakdown of the expected annual budget is at http://home.comcast.net/~csustudentcenter. The annual budget will be paid out of a foundation established for that purpose. It is expected that at least $700,000 will be needed to fund the foundation ($400,000 to $500,000 to purchase and remodel, $200,000 to $300,000 invested to generate the operating expenses). If the annual Student Center foundation income exceeds operating expenses, the extra income will go toward facility improvements, hiring interns, other needs as stipulated in the by-laws, or carried forward to subsequent years. If the annual foundation income falls short of the operating expenses, the budget will be cut, or if the sponsoring congregations are willing and able to help, the shortfall will be made up by contribution.

IV. Funding the Foundation

Funds will be raised by contacting congregations in Colorado, neighboring states, and elsewhere. Funds will also be solicited from CSU alumni who attended Meadowlark while they were here. An aggressive fund-raising effort will be conducted, including any or all of the following:

· Developing a descriptive video

· PowerPoint presentation

· Website

· Brochures

Current college students, Meadowlark’s ministers and others will be used in the presentations to other congregations. This initial fund raising effort will need to be paid for by the Meadowlark congregation and we are asking for and expense account of $2000. Russ had already budgeted $500 in the 2004 church budget for these expenses so that would provide $2500 total to pay for the fund raising effort.

V. Campus minister and interns

Meadowlark will provide the campus minister, and he will be under the supervision and guidance of the elders and other leaders there. Also, interns hired using foundation income will be under the supervision and guidance of the elders and other leaders at Meadowlark, and the hiring process will be jointly conducted with the foundation’s board of directors and the Meadowlark leadership.

VI. Management

It will be the responsibility of the Student Center Directors to coordinate and delegate the operation, maintenance, and record keeping of the Student Center. Custodial service and major maintenance will either be by volunteers or contracted as provided for in the by-laws.

VII. By-laws and Policies

The by-laws of the directors of the Student Center will include standards of use for the facility. The proposed by-laws are at http://home.comcast.net/~csustudentcenter. The by-laws detail, among other things, the Object (spreading the Gospel of Christ), Officers (elected from the directors), Membership (qualifications, terms), Finances, Meetings, etc. The by-laws will contain rules for dissolving the corporation if it becomes necessary to do so.

VIII. Implementation

In order to turn this vision into reality, we propose that the Meadowlark leadership and members give this top priority as we work to establish the Student Center. This may take several years, during which time we propose as much of our energy, time, prayers and finances as possible be focused on making this a successful evangelistic effort. Once established, a continued high level of cooperative involvement by the congregation will be necessary for its continued success. Although we are confident now that this will be a successful undertaking, the student center should be reviewed periodically. If it is not bearing fruit, it may need to be restructured or dissolved, and our resources applied elsewhere.