What_Is_Campus_Outreach.pdf

My name is Paul Poteat and, in addition to being an elder at Bethlehem, I have been on staff with the Campus Outreach ministry for the past 11 years. In case you are new to Bethlehem or aren’t familiar with Campus Outreach (CO), we are the college ministry of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Our goal is “to spread a passion the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ by building laborers on the campus for the lost world.”

Who We Are

Campus Outreach has been Bethlehem’s college ministry since 2003. That year, a team of eight CO staff was commissioned here from Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina. Now, including wives, 30 of us are on staff with CO at Bethlehem.

Staff members are funded by raising financial support from various donors, and they spend their days ministering to students at the University of Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas, Northwestern College, and Bethel University. Currently, about 350 students are involved with our ministry at these campuses, and a majority of them are pursuing membership at Bethlehem.

Our Strategy

Our strategy on the campuses is pretty simple. In the context of life-on-life relationships, we aim to talk to students about the overwhelming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul said it best in his letter to the Thessalonian church: “So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves” (1 Thessalonians 2:8). Paul shared the gospel with them, but he went beyond that; he shared his life with them as well.

We get to know students through a variety of venues (cookouts, broomball games, Bible studies, etc.) and then seek to apply the gospel to the deep needs of their lives.

Evangelize, Establish, Equip, Export

We want to prioritize non-believing students who need the gospel (evangelize).

Then, new believers need to be established in their relationship with Christ. They need to understand how to rightly handle the Scriptures, how to depend on God in prayer, how to relate to other believers, and how to talk to others about their faith.

From there we seek to equip students so that they can evangelize and establish others. Jesus told us to make disciples, not converts. We long for students who can live out Paul’s charge to Timothy about multiplying his life and ministry. Paul told him that “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

We want to export students into every avenue of life who will be able to live and minister in such a way that faithful men and women will be raised up to teach others also.

Theology

Our staff believes, teaches, and upholds the Bethlehem Elder Affirmation of Faith. We want to be a ministry that has a robust theology—and a crucial part of that theology is the Church. God’s building, God’s field, and, ultimately, his bride, is his instrument to reach the nations.

While our strategy looks similar to that of parachurch ministries such as The Navigators and Campus Crusade (whom I love and appreciate), our theological structure is entirely different. We are a part of the church. We don’t exist in any way, shape, or form outside of the church. We were commissioned here from another church.

Our staff are Bethlehem staff members, receive paychecks from Bethlehem, are all members of Bethlehem, and two staff members (and prayerfully more in the future) are elders. We see ourselves as being an active, connected part of the church like the nursery, the choir, or the youth group. We encourage students to become members and actively participate in the life of the church through their involvement with Campus Outreach as well as other ministries of Bethlehem.

Bethlehem, Campus Outreach is your college ministry, and hundreds of students who have come to Christ through CO have come to Christ through Bethlehem. Rejoice at how God is using our church to reach students in the Twin Cities with the thirst-quenching grace of Jesus Christ!

We would love for you to partner with us. One easy way is through prayer—could you please pray for what God is doing at the University of Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas, Northwestern College, and Bethel University? Also, consider praying for a specific CO staff member. See cominneapolis.org for CO staff names and more information.

Thank you for laboring with us!

Paul Poteat, Elder
Campus Outreach Downtown Area Director,
University of Minnesota and St. Paul Campuses