Leadership and faith development in campus ministries

Abstract

Throughout my undergraduate and graduate work at Kansas State University, I have been fascinated with students’ faith development. Sharon Parks’ Theory of Faith Development for the College Years (Parks, 2000) outlines four stages of faith during the four to five years of college. As students enter into college, most start with a faith that is bound by authority and is dependent on others to function in a socially acceptable way. Healthy development continues until students enter a mature adult faith—one in which they have gained interdependence between their personal faith and the faith of others. They are open to those who are different and welcome diversity. With this in mind, how a campus ministry approaches a student may be vastly different depending on their stage of development. My report focuses on comparing and contrasting Sharon Parks’ Theory of Faith Development (Parks, 2000) and Susan Komives Stages of Leadership Identity Development (Komives, Owen, Longerbeam, Mainella & Osteen, 2005) in order to better understand the ability at which students can lead depending on their faith development. I concentrated on college age students who attend a non-denominational Christian campus ministry group. After completing my review of the similarities and differences of the two theories, I engaged in conversations with those involved in the ministries about each theory and how they are applicable to their faith leadership position within their organization. Having been heavily involved in a campus ministry, both as a participant and an observer, I have gained great knowledge about the ministries and how students get involved. Adding my classroom experience learning about faith development and leadership development, I feel that researching and presenting information about leadership and faith development to campus leaders would be beneficial. Educating campus leaders about student leadership development and faith development will better help equip them to reach students at the students’ level.