1. WHY CHURCHES OF CHRIST SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT CAMPUS MINISTRIES
Wes Woodell, “Into All the Ethnos: The Case for Evangelistic Campus Ministry Plants,” in Church Growth, Vol.23, No.2 Second Quarter, 2008, pages 5-8.
Flavil Yeakley, Good News and Bad News: A Realistic Assessment of Churches of Christ in the United States, 2008.

2. CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION FOUNDATION
Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX
Cascade College, Portland, OR
Crowley’s Ridge College, Paragould, AR
Faulkner University, Montgomery, AL
Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, TN
Harding University, Searcy, AR
Heritage Christian University, Florence, AL
Lipscomb University, Nashville, TN
Lubbock Christian University, Lubbock, TX
Magnolia Bible College, Kosciusko, MS

3. Christian Higher Education Foundation (Continued)
Ohio Valley University, Vienna, WV
Oklahoma Christian University,
Oklahoma City, OK
Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
Regions University, Montgomery, AL
Rochester College, Rochester Hills, MI
Southwestern Christian College,
Terrell, TX
York College, York, NE
And others world-wide

4. MAJOR PARTS OF THE STUDY
Cluster Sampling of Congregations
Every church with an address--plus
Initial Mailing to over 3,000 churches
Cluster Sample: 100 congregations
Reports on Recent High School Graduates,
Data on 4,933 Individuals
Survey of 3,266 Students at 11 Christian
colleges and universities
Survey of 2,058 Alumni at 11 Christian colleges and
universities plus 2,523 alumni in a follow-up study
Survey of Campus Ministries at
Public Colleges and Universities
Still in progress

5. The questions we asked about the members of these congregations who graduated from high school in the past ten years ( ):
Are they still members of your congregation or of another congregation of the Churches of Christ?
If not, have they joined some other religious group or do they just have no current religious affiliation?
What is their marital status?
Do they have any church leadership or service roles?
Did they attend college?
If so, did they attend a Christian college or university?

6. QUESTIONS OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO ADMINISTRATORS AT CHRISTIAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
How many young people in Churches of Christ graduate from high school in the United States each year?
How many of these attend college?
How many of those who attend college attend a Christian college or university?
What are the differences between those who attend a private Christian college or university and those who attend some other kind of school?

7. People Who May Have Trouble Believing the Results of this Research
Some who want change may find it hard to believe that things are not as bad as they have claimed.
Some who do not want change may find it hard to believe that things are not as good as they have claimed.
Some focus on a few cases that they have observed and may find it hard to believe that what they have observed may not be representative of churches throughout the nation.

8. U.S. Population Norms:
In the average year, 1.0% of the U.S. population graduates from high school.
Almost two-thirds (64.3%) of those who graduate from high school in the United States attend college.
Norms for Sample in Churches of Christ:
Among Churches of Christ in the United States in the average year, 1.0% of the adherents graduate from high school. (“Adherents”—Members plus children not yet old enough to be baptized)
Among Churches of Christ in the United States in the average year, 80% of the members who graduate from high school go on to attend college.

9. Estimated Number of High School Graduates and College-Bound High School Graduates among all Churches of Christ in the U.S.
College-Bound
All high school high school
Year graduates graduates
================================
, ,117
, ,173
, ,169
, ,165
, ,194
, ,224
, ,254
, ,208
, ,234
, ,116

10. “Mainstream” Churches of Christ: A Definition
In Churches of Christ throughout the United States, 75% of the congregations with 80% of the members and 87% of the adherents are similar enough to one another that no significant barriers to fellowship among them.
Most of the entering freshmen at Christian colleges and universities come from these “mainstream” congregations.

11. Estimated Number of High School Graduates and College-Bound High School Graduates in “Mainstream” Churches of Christ in the United States
College-Bound
All high school high school
Year graduates graduates
=================================
, ,490
, ,486
, ,483
, ,480
, ,507
, ,534
, ,561
, ,523
, ,486
, ,447

12. In a study of 4,993 recent high school graduates among Churches of Christ in the United States:
19.8% did not attend college;
31.4% attended a Christian college/university;
48.8% attended some other kind of school.
Therefore, almost two-thirds (62.5%) of the college-bound high school graduates in Churches of Christ in the United States attended some other kind of school.
More than one-third (37.5%) of the college-bound high school graduates in Churches of Christ in the United States attended a Christian college or university.
That is a lot more than the figure of 15% that we have often heard!

13. The Size of the Entering Freshman Class at Christian Colleges and Universities with the Number and Percentage of those from Churches of Christ
Number of Number Percent
Entering from from
Year Freshmen CofC CofC
==============================
,820 3,
,882 3,
,219 4,
,643 4,
,636 4,
,351 4,
,164 4,
,299 4,
,553 4,
,331 4,

14. The number of high school graduates from Churches of Christ who actually enrolled in a Christian college or university, , was almost exactly what would have been predicted on the basis of the data on the 4,993 members of the 100 congregations in this cluster sample! That is good evidence for the validity of that cluster sample.

15. Estimates of Retention Rates among Churches of Christ in the USA
A survey by Lewis, Dodd and Tippens in the early 1990s:
55% stay in Churches of Christ
45% drop out
Congregational assessments by Yeakley over the past 30 years:
33% drop out and never return
12% drop out when they leave home, but return after they marry and have children
Present study of 4,993 recent high school graduates in Churches of Christ:
58.2% stay in Churches of Christ
21.1% join some other religious group
20.7% have no current religious affiliation

16. College Experience Retention Rate
19.8% Did not attend college 43.4%
31.4% Attended a Christian
college or university 90.0%
8.8% Attended a public college
or university 49.7%
85% stopped attending church services when they enrolled in a public college or university but over one-third (36.2%) started attending church services again after they graduated.

17. Church Background Retention Rate
Much more liberal (7.5%) 39.4%
374
A little more liberal (15.2%) %
759
Moderate (54.2%) 62.0%
2,706
A little more
conservative (16.1%) 58.0%
804
Much more
Conservative (7.0%) 39.9%
350

18. Where the Drop-Outs Go Church Other No
Background Affiliation Affiliation
Much more
Liberal 75.2% 24.8%
A little more
Liberal 66.6% 33.4%
Moderate 47.2% 52.2%
Conservative 32.1% 67.9%
Conservative 24.8% 75.2%

19. GROUPS RANKED BY RETENTION RATES IN CHURCHES OF CHRIST
1st Those who attended a Christian college or university and very soon became actively involved in a local church.
2nd Those who attended some other kind of school but very soon became actively involved in a local church and in a Campus Ministry if Churches of Christ had such a ministry at the school they attended.
3rd Those who attended a Christian college or university but did not become actively involved in a local church.

20. Survey of Campus Ministry Leaders
Used the Campus Ministry United mailing list but found that several were little more than Sunday morning college-age Bible classes.
Responses received from 60 thus far.
Name of campus ministry
Sponsoring congregation(s)
Size of congregation most students attend
School(s) where campus ministry operates

21. Number of Students Involved
Average: 47.6
Total: 2,856 in 60 campus ministries
Focus of Ministry
Evangelistic Outreach 3.3%
Keeping Christians Faithful 20.0%
A balance of both 76.7%
But few showed much evidence of evangelism.

22. Number of Baptisms in Previous Year
No baptism at all 35%
33% in CMU Survey
Fewer than three baptisms 65%
62.6% in CMU Survey
Average: 2.35 baptisms per campus ministry for a total of 141 baptisms

23. How many of these were “re-baptisms” of people previously baptized in Churches of Christ?
Although such “re-baptisms” were common in the Crossroads/Boston Discipling Movement, that was not the case in this survey of campus ministry leaders.
Only two of the 141 reported baptisms involved someone previously baptized in the Churches of Christ.

24. Distribution by Classification
Freshmen 26.7%
Sophomore 20.8%
Junior 22.1%
Senior 21.0%
Graduate 9.4%
Decline by classification matched enrollment percentages at the schools.

25. More Survey Questions
What percent of students involved in campus ministry activities are not members of the Churches of Christ? Average 29% Range 0-98%
How is your campus ministry conducted?
All volunteer leaders 18%
One part-time leader 5%
One full-time campus minister 55%
More than one full-time or part-time
campus minister 22%
How many members of the Churches of Christ attend the school where your ministry works, but do not participate in the campus ministry? ???

26. Survey of Students Involved in Campus Ministry Activities
Member of Churches of Christ before you enrolled in this school? Yes 86% No 14%
Present religious affiliation?
87% list Churches of Christ.
There must have been at least one campus ministry convert who took this survey.

27. Levels of Church Involvement
Campus Christian School
Ministry Students Alumni
Still a member of
home congregation
or placed membership
with area church
Never placed membership
but attend one
area church
Visit various area
churches regularly
churches occasionally
Do not attend church
services anywhere

28. Relative Importance of Reasons for Selecting the School that You Attend
The meaning of the “Means”
The most important reason
A very important reason
A relatively important reason
A minor consideration
Not a factor in my decision

29. Divorce Rates
Among all those who graduated from high school in the United States in the past ten years, 8.1% have already married and divorced.
But among members of the Churches of Christ who graduated from high school in the past ten years, only 4.2% have already married and divorced.
Among members of the Churches of Christ who are alumni of Christian colleges and universities:
22.1% are still single (never married)
71.7% are still married to their first spouse
5.4% are divorced
0.8% are widowed
So, 77.9% have married and 6.9% of them have divorced, but a divorce rate of less than 7.0% is far lower than the national average.