01/03/2026
Like our other inherited ministry models, campus ministry in the ELCA and Sierra Pacific Synod is going through a transition from what was to what will be. We are excited to have two new leaders in our congregation-centered campus ministries; The Rev. Kwame Pitts is pastor of University Chapel in Berkeley (UC Berkeley) and The Rev. Sam LaDue is the pastor at Uni Lu in Palo Alto (Stanford).
With stable leadership across most of our sites, we will be working together to discern a vision for campus ministry that meets the spiritual needs of young adults and students across the territory of our synod. We have a strong program at UC Davis (The Belfry) and a developing ministry at the University of Nevada, Reno (The Lovingkindness Collective) that expands beyond the campus to reach other young adults in the Reno area. We are discerning with Monterey Bay about the next leader for the campus chaplain program and with our campus ministry in Fresno about developing stronger spiritual care programs alongside their vital feeding ministry. We are rekindling a relationship with EcHouse at San Francisco State that has been dormant for a couple of decades. And we are exploring Gather Communities as models for sharing the gospel with young adults more broadly, with particular attention to mission fields around institutions of higher education.
Campus-focused ministry continues to offer an important opportunity to share the love of Christ in times of transition in people's lives, when they may be more open to how God is guiding and walking with them. Consider supporting the work we do by partnering with a nearby site, giving financial gifts directly to one of our campus ministries, or making a designated gift to the synod.
-Rev. Amy C. Kienzle, Director for Evangelical Mission
