Why College Students?

Recent studies show a growing hunger among college students to understand what they believe and why.  Yet, the number of young people arriving on campus without a spiritual foundation is growing, and students who do profess spiritual beliefs when they enter college often change or entirely discard religious and/or moral tenets by the time they graduate. One study shows that 70 percent of Christian freshmen are less likely to believe in and/or practice their faith after they graduate. This adversely shapes the hearts and minds of the next generation concerning the truth about Jesus, His message of grace, and what the lifestyle of His kingdom should look like in our cities and communities.

Connect Pointe is a direct response to this “crisis of faith” at the 26 campuses in the Capital region of New York state.  Students, faculty and administrators who faithfully embrace Christ and His definitions of love, morality, and biblical truth provide sound moral, mental and intellectual foundation for our institutions of higher learning, enhance the welfare, safety and well-being of the community; promote greater understanding and trust through mutuality and collaboration; and act as an antidote to the compartmentalization of contemporary education.

Our goal is to form Christ-centered partnerships that address these and other important social, spiritual and moral issues affecting campus and civic community life; identify, pray for and declare the gospel of Jesus in every academic discipline, club, residence, team, and context; and provide mentoring to help students successfully live and thrive in their faith.

The collegiate community in the Albany NY region -75,000+ students, faculty, staff and administration – is our primary target group. We provide physical space, resources, support, training, and relationships needed to mobilize the body of Christ so that the whole campus is reached, the number of Christ-followers increases and culture is transformed.

Connect Pointe is a regional hub for Campus Renewal Ministries (CRM), a 501(c)(3) non-profit collegiate ministry with national offices in Austin, Texas. Since starting with CRM in February 2013, we have sought the moral, spiritual, intellectual welfare and peace of our University and city by creating and catalyzing united movements for Christ. We bring together students, campus ministries, local churches, foundations and businesses to serve our collegiate community, strengthen the influence of the Body of Christ and produce passionate followers who are caring, committed citizens and selfless civic and social leaders.