Long, long ago, in a galaxy not so far away, I struggled through a great amount of insecurity as I studied for my undergraduate degree, as many college students do. I was not sure where I wanted to live, what career I wanted to pursue, or whom I wanted to marry, and I worried about so many other small things, like whether I would be able to pass those pesky physics quizzes. Thankfully, I had a copy of Recovering the Reformed Confession on my bookshelf which helped ground me in the midst of all that waffling unsurety by reminding me that there was at least one thing I could hold fast to. As adolescent turbulence catapulted me from one extreme worry to the next, I stood upon a wholehearted trust, created in me by the Holy Spirit through the proclamation of the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but especially to me, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation.¹

A Fierce Arena

These days, the challenges and insecurities college students face are no less consistent and far more dire. Fledgling men and women are kicked out of the nest and face many of the same questions young adults have always faced about things like career aspirations, marriage and family, finances, and so forth. Yet, additional, harder questions about meaning, identity, and fulfillment demand answers, and quickly. Today’s eighteen-year-old is not simply asked, “What would you like to do with your life,” but “Who are you?” Of particular interest, these wet-behind-the-ears college students are prodded by the culture to venture out into the wide-open fields of belief in search of their own untrodden paths, rather than encouraged to pursue the faith held by their parents and their parents before them (Timothy was so obviously not free-thinking; 2 Tim 1:5). The result of this, captured in clarifying but altogether discouraging statistics in Jim Davis and Michael Graham’s The Great Dechurching, is that forty million Americans have stopped attending regular worship in the last twenty-five years.² And to the surprise of very few, the pivotal moment in the lives of many of those forty million came while they were attending a four-year undergraduate institution. According to Davis and Graham, nearly one-third of the de-churched report that they chose to walk away from the church during or immediately after their college years.³ The ages of eighteen to twenty-nine, when large numbers of Americans find themselves on a college campus, are an active combat zone. It is the time when the allure of Sundays spent lying in bed, freedom from calls to repentance, and the sweet siren song of sexual liberty draw millions to make shipwreck of their faith on the rocks of personal freedom.

Now think about your own college experience—the haze of confusion and endless choices before you, the many doubts and uncertainties. Perhaps you even questioned that Christ came for you, that he lived a sinless life, died a sinner’s death, and was raised for your justification (Rom 4:25), that your life is hid with God in Christ (Col 3:3), that you have peace with God (Rom 5:1). This is a common reality across the university board, and it is acutely felt here in the heart of the Northern Plains in North Dakota.

A Great Need

There are over 3,500 NAPARC churches in the United States. California is host to about 250, Georgia brings in another 225, while Florida boasts nearer to 320. If you had to take a stab at how many NAPARC churches called North Dakota home, what would you guess? There are lots of Nordic folks, tons of lutefisk, and a few windmills at which to tilt. Maybe 50 churches? 35? With two recent church plants among them, there are a grand total of seven: three OPC congregations, three RCUS, and one PCA braves the harsh North Dakota winters. North Dakota is perhaps what Garisson Keillor might have called the state that Presbyterianism forgot, where all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the children are uncatechized. As a result, for the 12,000 students enrolled at the state’s flagship school, North Dakota State University, there are few avenues to pursue the Christian faith unmuddied by works-righteousness, watered down by broad evangelicalism, and held at arm’s length by resistible grace. Given that North Dakota has approximately 500 Lutheran churches and 227 Catholic churches for a population of 796,000, it will come as no surprise to learn that of all the on-campus ministries available to NDSU students, not one of them is confessionally Reformed.

The Lord is at work in the Plains, however. At the beginning of the Fall semester, I will be launching a Reformed student ministry on the campus of North Dakota State through Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), the official campus ministry arm of the PCA. Far from being a stand-alone ministry, RUF exists to bring the gospel to students and to bring the students into the local church. So while it is distinct from the local church, the two work in concert, to the glory of God and the good of his people. About a year and a half ago, Christ Covenant PCA was launched in Fargo, North Dakota, led by Rev. Brock Larson (who doubtless has more credibility in Fargo than I due to his Nordic name alone). It is off to a strong start; its members rejoice at the squeaking of its middle-school gymnasium doors that alert the congregation to the arrival of new families and are excited about the expansion of the budget to accommodate increased demand for walking tacos and rhubarb cake at church potlucks. Together, RUF and the local church are bringing the gospel to the last frontier, the final state in America to get a PCA church. Looking with the eyes of faith, I can see a time when the landscape of North Dakota will be dotted with more NAPARC congregations. Perhaps in the years to come, we might read an article in this space written by a pastor striving to plant a second, third, or fourth PCA church in North Dakota, who came to faith through RUF at NDSU.

Our prayer is that God would grow and use RUF NDSU and its partner church to bring the gospel sweeping across North Dakota, and we ask you to partner with us in that prayer. Most RUF ministers can jog across town and walk through the doors of a couple of Reformed churches in an afternoon, speaking with missions committees, individual donors, or even preaching at more than one NAPARC church on the Sabbath. In Fargo, North Dakota, however, though the need is great, the means are few and exceedingly far between. In the months ahead, I have a Midwestern tour scheduled where my wife, three kids, newly added family dog, and I will drive three or more hours on a Saturday evening in order to reach the nearest PCA congregation for Sunday worship. While we have been met with much generosity, the reality is that the need is greater than many of the smaller and widespread churches of the Plains can supply. So please pray for us as we step into this unplowed vineyard to raise up young men and women for Christ. Thousands of students will arrive on NDSU’s campus at the end of August, most of whom will not have heard of covenant theology and have instead been reliably informed that they cannot presume upon the kindness of God and make the audacious claim that they belong to him by faith. Lift us up as we labor to grow the local church and bring the gospel to students, that we may help them firmly plant their hope in Christ so that, despite the many things of which they are unsure, they may be sure of this—that they have eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Folks interested in bringing the gospel to the frontier by partnering with RUF NDSU can do so here, or by sending Seth an email at seth.adams@ruf.org.

Notes

1. Heidelberg Catechism  21;  paraphrase mine.
2. “‘The great dechurching’: Why so many Americans are leaving their churches,” NPR, January 24, 2024.
3. Jim Davis, Collin Hansen, Michael S. Graham, and Ryan P. Burge, The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back? (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Reflective, 2023), figure 7.6.

©Seth Adams. All Rights Reserved.

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Post authored by:

• Seth Adams

  

  Seth Adams is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California, an honorably discharged naval officer, and now, the Associate Campus Minister of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. His wife and three young children enjoy sanctifying one another, cheering when we all sit still during family worship, and looking for pheasants along the road during car rides.

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