Title: Implementation of Campus Ministry Activities: Implication to Quality Spiritual

Formation

Introduction

Christian formation in Catholic schools has only one aim – to enable our students to have
a deep and personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus Christ who is priest, prophet and
king-servant. This three-fold mission of Christ is thus reflected in the three essential components
of Christian formation in our Catholic Schools, namely, Religious Education (prophetic
ministry), Campus Ministry (priestly ministry), and the Social Action Ministry (kingly ministry).

Campus Ministry is an extension of the basic ministries of the Church, constituting a

mission handed to Her by Christ: the ministry of the Word, including evangelization and
catechesis, guidance and education; the ministry of worship; and the ministry of healing. (Fourth
Synod of Manila, p.92). From the Christian Formation Manual of the Catholic Education
Association of the Philippines, campus ministry’s main purpose is to meet the religious and
pastoral needs of the students. While they are in the school, they should be provided with
opportunities to develop themselves not only as efficient leaders but also as God-fearing,
religious and morally upright stewards. According to Samples (2016), campus ministry
involvement leads to a better sense of worldview and pro-social character development. In the
CEAP Christian Formation Manual, the four major functions of Campus Ministry, as
distinguished from the other essential elements of faith formation in schools are as follows:
Liturgical Animation, Spiritual Direction, Youth Ministry, and Building Faith Communities.
These are some of the programs and activities that the Campus Ministry may offer to the
students/pupils, faculty, and parents: Daily Masses and confession, institutional Masses and
Special Community Liturgies, Rite of Christian Initiation, Prayer Sessions, Recollection and
Retreats, Spiritual Direction, and etc. All this programs and activities play a vital role in the life
of the stake holders. These help promote spiritual engagement and worship, encourage reflection
and dedicated service.

The term spiritual formation is derived from the New Testament Scripture in Galatians
4:19 (NIV), where “the word formed comes from morphe, which means ‘to shape’” describing
the “sanctification or transformation of disciples” (Hull, 2006, p. 35). Steibel (2010) claimed that
formation and education are inseparable, and if education without formation is bankrupt, then
formation without education is also bankrupt (p. 349). Forrest and Lamport (2013) also asserted
that “Christian education is more than just content; it is spiritual formation” (p. 112). Spiritual
formation can be understood simply as cultivating or deepening a personal relationship with
God. Jesus modeled prayer for his disciples, ancient and modern -- going to a solitary place
early in the morning (Mark 1:35) or up on a mountain in the evening (Matthew 14:23), even
spending the whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12). Advocates of Spiritual Formation view
prayer as a means to an end: They see prayer as a preparatory discipline to strengthen me for
later success. Children grow spiritually as they have the opportunity to focus on others
(Carr,2008; 1 Corinthians 12:25; Ephesians 4:32). Involving children in service opportunities at
an early age is an effective way to engage them in their faith (Fowler, 2004). Since service
allows children an opportunity to live out their faith, it is an important part of spiritual
development (Carr, 2008) and is an essential part of program practices that promote children’s
spiritual development. Smitherman (2009) believes that character development and spiritual
development are so closely woven together that character development will not occur apart from
spiritual development.

Campus ministry is set up to be a person to person experience. The “new normal” of the
Covid-19 pandemic has made a great challenge to campus ministry. Campus Ministers have a
difficulty in this shift of environment. The implementation of the regular Campus Ministry
activities is a great problem in this “new normal”. In this time of crisis, many campus ministers
who have found themselves thrown off by the Covid-19 pandemic. When colleges and
universities across the country were suddenly forced online by the pandemic, campus ministries
were likewise forced to adapts to circumstances beyond their control. Emily Egan (2020), a
campus minister, emphasized that campus ministers should be “transparent and open with
students about the ambiguity of planning during global pandemic. She suggests that inviting
students to reflect about the ways in which such challenging uncertainty can lead to skill-
building for self-care, increased self-knowledge, deeper community and rich faith exploration.

San Isidro College, the oldest Catholic School in the Province of Bukidnon, was also
affected by the transition from traditional to the new normal set up of education. The school
adapted the distant learning through the use of the different application such as Zoom, Google
Meet and the schools’s Learning Management System (LMS). They also provide printed
Activity Sheets for those who have difficulty in accessing the materials online. This new set up
brought a great challenge to the Campus Ministry Office of the Integrated Basic Education of
San Isidro College. In this time of crisis, it is very important to connect to the learners and
continue the spiritual activities offered by the Campus Ministry Office. The Campus Ministry
Office created a Facebook page where they can view live online Masses and prayer sessions. The
office also offered for the first time Virtual Recollection from Grade 6 to Grade 12. This was
done via Zoom. The Spiritual Bonding Hour was also done once in this school year by class
advisers to their advisory class. Due to the restriction of mass gatherings, some activities were
not done this school year.

This study will help the Campus Ministry Office In-charge to assess if the activities
given were relevant for the learners. This will also guide them to plan and implement
appropriate, relevant and effective Campus Ministry activities for the next school years.
Theoretical Framework
The research is grounded in Fowler’s Theory (1981) of Faith development generally

considered to be the foremost authority on spiritual development. It centers on the idea of

individuals possessing belief systems that develop as they move through life, it is able to provide

insight as to how faith is acquired, maintained, and altered.

This study is anchored on the theoretical model for spiritual well-being proposed by John

Fisher (2011). This model is composed of four domains, namely: Personal Domain, Communal

Domain, Environmental Domain and Transcendental Domain.

Schema

Independent Variables Dependent Variables

Online Campus Ministry Spiritual Formation

Activities

 Liturgical Animation  Practice of Prayer

 Spiritual Direction  Service to Others
 Youth Ministry  Building Character
 Building Faith
Community

Statement of the Problem

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What online Campus Ministry activities implemented by SIC during the school year 2020 –
2021?

2. How do students describe their experiences and involvement in campus ministry activities in
terms of:

a. Liturgical animation;

b. Spiritual Direction;

c. Youth Ministry; and

d. Building Faith Communities?

3. What recommendations can be given to improve online campus ministry activities?

Definition of Terms

Campus Ministry – A part of the student services who focuses on the spiritual
development of students through spiritual-based programs, and other spiritually-based initiatives
to ensure the spiritual development of students.

Campus Minister - A disciple and a witness of Jesus Christ who actively engages with
all the members of the school community and effectively communicates the Gospel to them
through liturgical celebrations, faith formation and community building activities.

Spiritual Formation - The process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ for
the glory of God and for the sake of others

Liturgical Animation – A function of the Campus Ministry to lead the members of the
school community into a deeper prayer life and better understanding and appreciation of the
sacraments, especially the Sacrament of the Eucharist and Reconciliation.

Spiritual Direction – A function of the Campus Ministry to support and nourish the life
in the Spirit of the members of the school.

Youth Ministry – A function of the Campus Ministry which recognizes the main target
and recipients of the Campus Ministry program: the students, faculty, and parents. This ensures
that the needs and approaches suit their level of appreciation of their faith life.
 Building Faith Communities – The core of a Catholic School as it is recognized as a
community of faith.

Research Design

The study used phenomenology qualitative research design. Phenomenology is a form of

qualitative research that focuses on the study of an individual’s lived experiences within the
world. The study focuses on the individual experiences of the SIC IBED Learners on Online
Campus Ministry activities for School Year 2020 – 2021 as a basis for improvement of future
Campus Ministry activities.

Research Setting

San Isidro College is one of the biggest and the oldest private catholic school in
Bukidnon since it was founded in 1949. The school is located in the capital of Bukidnon which is
Malaybalay. San Isidro College is a member of Bukidnon Association of Catholic Schools
(BUACS), and in the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP). SIC offers
Basic Education that includes Pre-School to Senior High School.

The Respondents

The participants of this study are the students of the Integrated Basic Education. Since
this study is a phenomenological research, Ellis (2016) said that a sample of between 6 and 20
individuals is sufficient. The researcher will have nine research participants in the study, 3
participants from each of the three sub-units of the IBED namely: Grade School, Junior High
School and Senior High School.

Sampling Procedure
 The study will utilize stratified random sampling. There will be nine research participants
in the study, three participants from each of the three sub-units of the IBED namely: Grade
School, Junior High School and Senior High School.

Data Gathering Instrument

Focus Group Discussion (FGD) will be utilized in the data gathering process. Series of
individual interview using the research-made questionnaire will also be done.

Reliability and Validity of the Research Instruments

A researcher-made questionnaire will be utilized based on literature and will be content

validated by experts.

Ethical Consideration

The identity and responses of the research participants will be kept confidential in line
with the ethical standards of the school that includes the use of voluntary participation, informed
consent, confidentiality and anonymity.