CAMPUS OHIO is a state-wide expression of CAMPUS AMERICA. The vision of CAMPUS AMERICA is to mobilize 24-7 prayer on all 2,614 university, college and seminary campuses in America in 2010. It’s an invitation to a generation that really could change the course of many thousands of lives, impacting the poor, and spreading the good news about Jesus.
Five years ago, God spoke clearly to Pete Greig and David Blackwell about calling the campuses of America to pray. From that time the number of 24-7 prayer rooms on campuses in the States began to multiply (at the last count 24-7 Prayer had already impacted 20% of campuses). The stories emerging from these prayer rooms was often extraordinary. Lives were being changed, students were encountering the presence of God, there was great creativity and people who weren’t Christians were encountering Christ in these prayer rooms too. “The idea of seeing these prayer rooms multiply on every campus seems thrilling and terrifying,” says Pete Greig. “Exciting because we have reason to believe it could impact the nation. Terrifying because this thing is utterly impossible unless God makes it happen.”
The challenges of America ’s campuses are severe and urgent. The most recent research by Gallup indicates that there are 74% fewer confessing Christians on America ’s campuses than in the population at large. Unless something happens quickly, the Church in America will be almost decimated within this generation. And it’s not just about filling pews. It’s about the Gospel of Jesus impacting the poorest people in the world and it’s about tomorrow’s leaders being shaped by a Biblical world view, and it’s about universities themselves remembering their own Christian roots.
CAMPUS AMERICA is not a new ministry or organization. It is a simple call to prayer that begins on the 1st of January 2010 and ends on New Year’s Eve. What happens as a result of such an unprecedented wave of prayer is really up to God.
The goal is not a new organization. The goal is people praying on campuses. That’s why CAMPUS AMERICA is partnering with students and professors, long-established collegiate ministries and brand new communities of faith to make this happen. We are well aware there are numerous campus ministries with more experience and better strategies than we have, and we’re calling every one of them to pray!
Why? Because we’re convinced that if we get down on our knees side-by-side, we’ll stand up much stronger together. Unified and humble prayer around the person of Jesus is a powerful prescription for the ills of our time. CAMPUS AMERICA is about helping create sacred space for students to simply encounter and engage with Jesus. And as this happens, the campuses of America are beginning to awaken.
