images Seventeen Christian ministries that work on U.S. college campuses have established a new standard of cooperation and mutual respect for their work with college students and faculty. Meeting in a Chicago suburb last October, leaders of these several campus ministries agreed to eight basic points of unity in mission aimed at keeping their work on campus cooperative rather than competitive. I still remember the first such agreement in 1971. I was a college senior and deeply involved in Campus Crusade at the time. I remember the late Bill Bright telling us how important this agreement was for mutual respect and evangelism. Little did I realize then the impact this kind of thinking would have upon me.

This new statement is called, very simply, the “Chicago Agreement.” It is really an update of the 1971 agreement forged between leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators, Young Life, and InterVarsity. Now it includes a number of other missions and ministries.

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Comments

  1. John Paul Todd February 18, 2011 at 7:55 am

    John-
    I read the agreement and while there is much in the spirit of it to rejoice in, I think it is one more stark reminder of the reality of change in the churches. For you and I who advocate for the centrality of the unity factor in the mission of the Church, this agreement would have signal a good ‘start’ forty years ago. But it lacks the specific language to signal a serious embrace of the vision of E4unity and the urgency expressed in your recent book, “Your Church is Too Small”.

  2. John H. Armstrong February 18, 2011 at 8:50 am

    John Paul, my dear friend, I do agree, as you no doubt know. I am, however, willing to embrace small changes in hopes of bigger ones. I suppose that I am an incrementalist at this point. Your counsel is right and I think we both are glad for this step but want much, much more.

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