Hi. We’re Campus Faith Clubs, or CFC for short. In brief, we offer christian faith, food, and fellowship in over fifty middle and high schools.
What are Campus Faith Clubs?
They are groups of students who come together and meet bi-weekly or twice monthly before school, on campus, for faith, food and fellowship. The meetings are supported and encouraged by teachers and last for 20-30 minutes where students share with one another a faith message based on scripture/prayer and a light breakfast of donuts and juice to start the day.
What aren’t Campus Faith Clubs?
The clubs are not a worship service or a replacement for church youth groups or Sunday service (even if that were the intention, it would not be possible because of time constraints and school policy). Rather, it is an organized and accepted forum by which students can get connected and encourage one another for faith and healthy decision-making.
What we Believe: our Statement of Faith
We believe in one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writing, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice.
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless Life, in His Miracles, in His death and atonement through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, and in His personal return in power and glory.
We believe that for the salvation of the lost and sinful man, that faith through grace in the Lord Jesus Christ and regeneration by the Spirit are essential.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, for God to work and to will for his good purpose.
We believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
We believe in the spiritual unity of the Church, which is the Body of Christ, composed of all who believe and are regenerated through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why have Campus Faith Clubs?
Campus Faith Clubs (CFC) was birthed out of the reality that the majority of young people fall away from faith in middle school and high school as they go off to college. The numbers are staggering. 8 of 10 kids will either stop attending church or disavow their faith altogether. The worst part is this happens at exactly the most inopportune time. They are growing up, life is changing and they are making life long decisions.
Think about it. They’re the ones making the decisions now, not their parents. They choose friends, who they are going to hang out with on Friday and Saturday night, where they are going to school or to college and what they are going to do as a career for the rest of their lives. These are decisions with far-reaching implications. And finally, arguably the most important decision of all, they decide who they are going to spend their life with and raise kids with.
But sadly, this happens through a secular lens and not a faith-based lens.
Imagine for a moment if your church lost 80% of its membership. You’d have “Defcon” 1, wouldn’t you? Every stone would be turned over to try to solve the problem. Every resource would be brought to bear. People wouldn’t stand for it. So, why is this acceptable for our youth? Where’s the sense of urgency to find a remedy? Where’s the outrage?
Enter Campus Faith Clubs!
As a society, we have done a reasonably good job of teaching our children the tenets of faith, but what we haven’t done a very good job with is how to live that faith and to understand how it integrates with everyday life and decision making.
With CFC, this is changing. Youth now have a vehicle that promotes faith in everyday living. They learn to normalize their faith. Students no longer have to take off their faith cap on Monday morning to put their school cap on. Instead, they can wear the faith cap 24/7 and see faith as a source of strength, an asset, and not something to be hidden or ashamed of.
School administrators also support CFC because one of the best outcomes of faith clubs is a more caring and compassionate student body. It raises the water level of kindness for everyone, regardless of faith or creed. With student loneliness, bullying and other social issues as on-going problems, kindness is always a valuable commodity.
How Campus Faith Clubs are Legal: The Equal Access Act of 1984
Campus Faith Clubs are a school club just like any other club, such as a chess club, science club, or drama club. If the school allows those clubs, it has to allow Campus Faith Clubs, according to the following law.
U.S. Code § 4071 – Denial of equal access prohibited
Current through Pub. L. 113-126. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.)
(a) Restriction of limited open forum on basis of religious, political, philosophical, or other speech content prohibited
It shall be unlawful for any public secondary school which receives Federal financial assistance and which has a limited open forum to deny equal access or a fair opportunity to, or discriminate against, any students who wish to conduct a meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings.
(b) “Limited open forum” defined
A public secondary school has a limited open forum whenever such school grants an offering to or opportunity for one or more noncurriculum related student groups to meet on school premises during noninstructional time.
Leaving Campus to go on Mission Trips
We are not always on campus. We take mission trips, too!
Many students have taken the wonderful opportunity to escape the business and distractions that we are surrounded by in everyday life and serve on mission trips both foreign and domestic! The purpose of these trips are two-fold. First, to serve as God’s hands and feet by serving others. And second, to empower and prepare students to return as missionaries in the fall at their local high school.
We have sent groups to exotic locations on week-long service-oriented mission trips in the Dominican Republic and Belize, whereas other groups have been able to serve on shorter mission trips in Minneapolis, Chicago and St. Louis as well. The experiences students come back with after these service trips are invaluable and have proven time and time again to change lives!
We hope to expand our mission trips to serve across the U.S and in new places abroad as well so if you or your club is interested, please contact us or speak with a CFC Representative!
Board of Directors
Board of Directors:
- Wayne Gaikowski
- CEO River City Glass, BV. Mn.
- wayneg@rivercityglassinc.com
- Paul Nyquist
- Owner Nyquist Financial, Bloomington, Mn.
- pnyquist@nfamn.com
- Bo Skillman
- Owner Unishippers, Moorhead, N.D.
- skillmanbo@gmail.com
- Mark Meier
- Founder / Executive Director Campus Faith Clubs
- mameier@charter.net
- Linda Meier
- Trauma Manager, R.N, Fairview, BV. Mn.
- Lmeier1@fairview.org
Board of Advisors:
- Lonny Gulden
- Owner Deep Valley Consulting, EP, Mn.
- lonny@chiefconnectionsofficer.com
- Scott Lyman
- Sales Manager ADP, Bloomington, Mn.
- Scott.Lyman@ADP.com
- Kevin Martin
- National Acct. Manager PPG Industries, BV, Mn.
- kmartin@ppg.com
- Dan Rasinski
- General Manager – Muller Yurgae, Mn.
- drasinski@mya-isi.com
- Matt Ettl
- Retired
- ettlmatt@gmail.com
Our Partners
Thank you to all our partners:
Business:
- River City Glass Company
- Nyquist Financial Alliance
- Bearance Insurance
- Farmer’s Insurance
- Miller’s Insurance
- Styer Transportation
- Tillou Financial Group
- Tradition Capital Bank
- Gaikowski Realty
- Legend Companies
Church:
- Hosanna – Lakeville, Mn.
- Prince of Peace – Burnsville, Mn.
- All-Saints Catholic Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- River Valley Church – Apple Valley, Mn.
- Friendship Church – Prior Lake, Mn.
- Trinity Evangelical Free Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- Living Waters Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- St. John’s Lutheran Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- Crossroads Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- Cross of Christ Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- Southland City Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- Christiania Church – Lakeville, Mn.
- Faith Covenant Church – Burnsville, Mn.
- South Suburban Evangelical Free – Apple Valley, Mn.
- Cedar Valley Church – Bloomington, Mn.
- Messiah Lutheran Church – Lakeville, Mn.
Para-Church:
- Young Life – Minnesota Valley
- Allies – Blaine, Mn.
- FCA – Minnesota
- CEF – Children Evangelism Fellowship
- GoBig – Newport, Oregon
A Detailed Breakdown of Roles and Responsibilities
Still reading? Here’s a technical breakdown of how each person fits within a campus faith club. View the pdf chart of Roles and Responsibilities.