My calling as a minister on a college campus comes down to three important words: “JUST SHOW UP!” Show up at concerts, show up for weddings and funerals, show up for worship, show up at a birthday party, a theater performance or a capstone presentation, show up at a community gathering. When I arrived 20 years ago to be a part of the Office of Faith and Spirituality at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, I thought that because we were worshiping together on a Sunday evening, students would just show up. It didn’t happen that way.
After a lot of prayer, reflection and conversations with college chaplains across our denomination, I realized that campus ministry is very relational. Psalm 16:11 says, “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Rather than waiting for students to come to the chapel on a Sunday evening for worship or waiting for students to stop by our office, we would need to be present, “just show up” where the students were and are: the cafeteria, library, performances, presentations, concerts, and athletic events.
Over 50% of the students at our college are involved in one of the 20 varsity sports we offer for men and women, and I realized that making connections with student athletes would allow for endless points of contact. My first opportunity to meet with one of the teams occurred when the head coach of the football team invited me to be one of the 12 speakers who would address the team that year. The Titan football team had a long tradition of inviting speakers to talk with the team on game day, and now it was my turn — and I was pretty nervous. Even though I had met many of the players and coaches, it felt like I was preaching for a search committee at a neutral pulpit.
We met in the dining hall right after the team’s pre-game meal. Coach had me stand up where I was sitting and asked me to say a little about myself before I began. My directions were simple: speak on anything you want, just keep it to less than seven minutes. This opportunity got the ball rolling to what has become a valuable part of my ministry on campus.
I don’t remember what I said that day, but my takeaways were many: student athletes are incredibly busy, practicing their faith can be difficult, developing relationships matters, a listening ear and a caring voice are important, athletes can be lonely, athletes come in all shapes and sizes and they come with a variety of majors, many of which are very demanding, and for many athletes, playing their sport is more important than getting an education. Time is a valuable resource, and they must use it wisely: going to class, study table, practice, film study, lifting and more leaves very little time to eat, sleep, or find time to fit God into their lives.
A successful campus ministry to athletes has to develop relationships with the coaches. They have to believe in the importance of having campus ministers show up in a world they command. At Westminster College, it is common to find the campus ministry team hanging around the field house talking with students, checking in on members of the athletic staff, stopping in at practice, talking with students in the cafeteria, and stopping by study sessions, or being in the weight room during team workouts. The coaches realize that the relationship we have with their teams is important, and they are open to our presence, allowing us inside what can often be a closed door. Once a week, we are intentional about checking in with all of the coaches to see how they are doing, getting updates on the student athletes, and learning about who needs assistance. Our commitment to “just show up” provides endless opportunities for relationship building. Not only are we connecting with our varsity student athletes and coaches, but we develop relationships with trainers and faculty who often hear what’s going on in the lives of the students, and they reach out to us for support and guidance when they realize there is an issue.
Our commitment to “just show up” provides endless opportunities for relationship building.
“Just showing up” supports our ministry of prayer with the teams. It allows us to gather along the third base line with the softball team before the national anthem to offer a reflective thought and prayer, or to hold hands to pray in the locker rooms — a sacred space for many athletes that most of the world never gets to experience. The location could be different and the content could change, depending upon what the coaches might want or need, be that leading a 20-minute pre-game service in Wallace Memorial Chapel, or gathering on the field before and sometimes after games, or standing on the tennis court holding hands with the other team. We are present with our student athletes, sometimes traveling to away games and standing on the sidelines during a game. We journey together both on and off the field of play.
“Just showing up” to pray is part of the fabric of our student athletes’ lives. I am often reminded that within this circle, there are those who have a deep faith and those who never imagined that they would get down on one knee and hold hands with their teammates to pray for one another, for wisdom, for forgiveness and love, to pray for good sportsmanship, and finally, to pray for safety for both teams and that they will play with love and compassion for the game and that, at the end of the day, they can rejoice that each of them has done their best.
What started as an invitation to “just show up” and speak at a game day breakfast has expanded to praying with the women’s volleyball and tennis, the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, men’s basketball, and more. We connect with our soccer players as we host them at our home for an evening of relaxation and team building as they enjoy a picnic, fellowship and have the opportunity to share what’s going on in their lives. The swim teams stop in for dinner before heading off to Florida for the annual winter training trip.
To “just show up” opens the pathway for deep conversations about faith, life, callings, relationships, struggles in the classroom and developing life-long friendships. It happens because we are able to be where the students are developing relationships.
A successful ministry means being open to participating wherever and whenever God calls you.
A successful ministry means being open to participating wherever and whenever God calls you.
On the first day of fall final exams in 2023, one of our students, a former men’s basketball player – a well-known, senior biology major who was on his way to medical school – was seriously injured in a car accident. It was as difficult a day on campus as I have experienced. I had met him his first day on campus and then had the honor of teaching him during his first Inquiry Class. Hundreds of students, many of whom were athletes, showed up in the chapel that evening as word spread around campus. They showed up because they needed to experience God’s love in a way that many had never gone through before. They needed to be together to hug each other, to cry together. I believe that many showed up because we had shown up in their lives before. They spoke openly about their feelings and fears that night. It was a difficult final exam period for his closest friends and roommates.
No news was thought to be good news. When students arrived back on campus for the spring semester they believed that the former basketball player was improving. Unfortunately, he passed away that day. Students began showing up in our office. The campus ministry team made it a point of showing up in the Field House, outside of classrooms, at townhouses and dorms. When it was time for his funeral, at the request of his parents, I traveled a couple hours away to be part of the service. Both the men’s and women’s teams showed up right before the service. We show up in the places God calls us to and so do students, faculty and staff, community members and those we worship alongside every Sunday.
A week later we held a memorial service on campus that was attended by even more students and staff. Students helped lead the service with many of them speaking about their relationships with the player. We gave them permission to mourn, to share their thoughts, to comfort one another.
To just show up is to be present during the high times, celebrating victories — and during the hard times, when things simply don’t make sense.
Most of our students were gone for Easter break with just a handful around for the weekend. It was a beautiful day for an early spring baseball game in western Pennsylvania as the Titans and Gators were preparing for a double header. Both teams were warming up, batting practice was over and the teams were almost ready to take the field, but there was one more thing to do. We gathered behind the third-base dugout for a reflection and a team prayer that closed with the Lord’s Prayer. As it was Good Friday, it was a beautiful day to remember and give thanks for the life-giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Psalm 16:11 says “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
In other words: Just show up.
