The church has earned itself a reputation for being an institution that is eternally behind the times, lagging like the blind runt of an escargatoire (pack) of snails. Social scientists comment on the inability of religious folk to adapt to change. We ourselves make jokes about it. But such a sweeping generalization doesn't faithfully capture the whole picture, for there are ways and places that we do not trail so far behind.  
                Long before experts, including those that work for Portico, were telling us how important it is to exercise and tend to not only our physical body, but also our mind and spirit, we as Lutherans were employing missionaries to do just that work on our college campuses. For decades we have been walking the quads and hallways of colleges and universities, striving to engage young minds on issues of life, morality, and ethics. For years we have been inviting young adults not only to worship gatherings, prayer vigils, and Bible studies; but also to listen to voices that diverged from the status quo; to take up the mantle of serving our neighborhoods; and to engage in messy conversations about faith and modernity. 
                Campus Ministry exists as an extension of the work of the church; the work of all of us as God's people. By curating the presence of our distinctive, grace filled, Lutheran voice at institutions of higher education, we tackle the challenging but necessary work of inviting young minds to engage and connect their intellect, emotions, and experiences, with their faith.  
                Our campus ministries help empower students on their way to become rostered and ordained leaders in the church. We help students discern their way into post graduate lives where they must balance vocation, self, faith, family, and service. We provide the structure and support for students who think of new ways to feed Christ's sheep, empowering them to execute their various outreach, service or program ideas within our ministries without the constraints of our culture's prevailing fear of failure. And we witness young adults having their horizons broadened, their relationship to the world around them changed. Week, month, and year after year, this vital work continues to happen. 
                Many thanks from each of us who engages in this ministry, to all of you, for your continued support of this missional work that we are up to.  

Trust in God,
Pastor Paul Clark 
Lutheran Campus Ministry Fresno