Why Did You Start Student CPX?
January 25, 2012
Recently, I was asked by a journalist, ” What inspired you to start Student CPx and why did it begin at Haskell Indian Nations University?” Here was my response:

“I was inspired to start Student CPx in 2008 for a few reasons.

 

One, I find that the best people to present Jesus on a college campus are often students themselves. This was a core value behind Student CPx – helping inspire student-led movements for Jesus on college campuses. My life changed significantly when I began following Jesus while I was a student. I wanted to see students everywhere have the chance to experience Jesus like I did, even if they may be averse to the conventional forms of church in their area.

 

Two, the statistical presence of students who express Christian faith has been declining on American universities for the last 30 years. With around 3,000 universities in the U.S., the vast majority of students are presented with only two options in regard to expressing (or discovering) faith in Jesus: Join a conventional campus ministry organization or join a local church. Since, on average, 95% of college students never find their way into one of those two options, I began to dream of a movement of ordinary students bringing Jesus with them into the places they live – houses, apartments, residence halls, fraternities and sororities, etc. Student CPx was birthed to give tools, experiences, and a national network of friends and spiritual moms and dads to help students do so. Though we had some big dreams from the beginning of Student CPx, we never thought it would spread so quickly, with students replicating Student CPx on other universities and nations.

 

Three, the idea for Student CPx came to me during a season where I was praying for college campuses and asking God what was on His heart. It seemed kind of silly at the time – students starting and leading actual “churches?” But the idea stuck, friends gathered around me to help, and the rest is history.

 

The first Student CPx began at Haskell Indian Nations University in 2008. Why? I can’t say it was intentional on my part. One day I walked on the Haskell campus and felt a deep compassion for these students, gathered from 130 different Indian nations scattered around the U.S. Many Native American tribes are among the least-Christian demographic groups in the U.S. I realized conventional forms of church would not “work” here (they hadn’t worked very well for the last 450 years among Native Americans, anyway). Native Americans needed a Jesus-inspired movement that was indigenous to them and led by them. One day, I presented the idea of hosting the first Student CPx at Haskell to the President of the university. She welcomed us, eventually giving us access to an entire dorm to host students from around the nation. Though our decision to host the first SCPx at Haskell University wasn’t intentionally strategic on our part, it certainly proved very influential to the growth of the movement. Students were exposed first-hand to relationships with Native Americans and learned how to present Jesus in culturally relevant, non-religious ways to those who had otherwise been averse to conventional forms of Christianity. This has been an ongoing characteristic of the growth of subsequent Student CPx’es and the movement as a whole.”

Well, that’s the short version, anyway. Be on the lookout for the new SCPX Facilitator’s Guide, coming soon. In the meantime, check out this short video about SCPX:

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