Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

There are over 550,000 collegians in our district (which includes Northern California from Merced up to the Oregon border, and includes the entire state of Nevada). Most colleges fall along either the I-80 system or the Hwy 99 system, Vegas being the obvious exeption to that generalization. The data below was gathered from public government databases (see the bottom of the page). If you see anything wrong or outdated, please fix it.

Colleges With More Than 10,000 Students

1. University Of California-Berkeley http://www.berkeley.edu (Berkeley, CA): 29690 students (5091 in dorms)
2. California State University-Sacramento http://www.csus.edu (Sacramento, CA): 28,350 students (1020 in dorms)
3. University Of California-Davis http://www.ucdavis.edu (Davis, CA): 24405 students (6009 in dorms)
4. San Francisco State University http://www.sfsu.edu (San Francisco, CA): 21,373 students (851 in dorms)
5. San Jose State University http://www.sjsu.edu (San Jose, CA): 20861 students (2179 in dorms)
6. City College Of San Francisco http://www.ccsf.cc.ca.us (San Francisco, CA): 17819 students
7. University Of Nevada-Las Vegas http://www.unlv.edu (Las Vegas, NV): 15686 students (1100 in dorms)
8. Stanford University http://www.stanford.edu/ (Stanford, CA): 14955 students (9875 in dorms)
9. California State University-Chico http://www.csuchico.edu (Chico, CA): 14658 students (1796 in dorms)
10. American River College http://www.arc.losrios.cc.ca.us/ (Sacramento, CA): 13984 students
11. Community College Of Southern Nevada http://www.ccsn.nevada.edu (Las Vegas, NV): 13686 students
12. Santa Rosa Junior College http://www.santarosa.edu (Santa Rosa, CA): 13542 students (72 in dorms)
13. De Anza College http://www.deanza.fhda.edu (Cupertino, CA): 13197 students
14. Diablo Valley College http://www.dvc.edu (Pleasant Hill, CA): 12029 students
15. University Of California-Santa Cruz http://www.ucsc.edu (Santa Cruz, CA): 11773 students (4863 in dorms)
16. Sacramento City College http://www.scc.losrios.cc.ca.us/ (Sacramento, CA): 10762 students
17. University Of Nevada-Reno http://www.unr.edu (Reno, NV): 10375 students (1452 in dorms)

Colleges With 5,000-10,000 Students

1. California State University-Hayward http://www.csuhayward.edu (Hayward, CA): 9988 students (400 in dorms)
2. San Joaquin Delta College http://www.deltacollege.org (Stockton, CA): 9739 students
3. Sierra College http://www.sierra.cc.ca.us (Rocklin, CA): 9313 students (134 in dorms)
4. Modesto Junior College http://yosemite.cc.ca.us (Modesto, CA): 8428 students
5. Cosumnes River College http://www.crc.losrios.cc.ca.us/ (Sacramento, CA): 7980 students
6. Foothill College http://www.foothill.fhda.edu (Los Altos Hills, CA): 7415 students
7. University Of San Francisco http://www.usfca.edu (San Francisco, CA): 7199 students (1780 in dorms)
8. Butte College http://www.butte.cc.ca.us (Oroville, CA): 7061 students
9. Chabot College|http://-1] (Hayward, CA): 6852 students
10. Humboldt State University http://www.humboldt.edu (Arcata, CA): 6800 students (1355 in dorms)
11. Cabrillo College http://www.cabrillo.cc.ca.us (Aptos, CA): 6638 students
12. Sonoma State University http://www.sonoma.edu (Rohnert Park, CA): 6445 students (1971 in dorms)
13. College Of The Sequoias http://giant.sequoias.cc.ca.us (Visalia, CA): 6295 students
14. Santa Clara University http://www.scu.edu (Santa Clara, CA): 6229 students (2014 in dorms)
15. Evergreen Valley College http://www.evc.edu (San Jose, CA): 6118 students
16. San Jose City College http://www.sjcc.edu (San Jose, CA): 5713 students
17. College Of San Mateo http://ocsm.net (San Mateo, CA): 5619 students
18. Yuba College http://www.yuba.cc.ca.us (Marysville, CA): 5593 students (60 in dorms)
19. Laney College http://laney.peralta.cc.ca.us (Oakland, CA): 5549 students
20. [Merced College http://www.merced@cc.ca.us (Merced, CA): 5482 students
21. California State University-Stanislaus http://lead.csustan.edu (Turlock, CA): 5443 students (353 in dorms)
22. Shasta College http://www.shastacollege.edu (Redding, CA): 5251 students (124 in dorms)
23. University Of The Pacific http://www.uop.edu (Stockton, CA): 5242 students (1791 in dorms)

Talkin’ ‘Bout Generations

When we talk about today’s students, we’re trying to identify the characteristics that distinguish this crop of students from previous ones. In other words, we’re talking about generational issues. It is possible to make too much of generational distinctives; after all, people are people. However, it is certainly possible to give too little credence to generational distinctives. Before we look at the unique attributes of this generation, we’ll spend some time discussing the Biblical, sociological, and common-sense underpinnings of generational theory.

There seem to be some natural stopping points in campus ministry--places that growth stalls out.

The Stopping Points

• 12: at this point the group has a hard time viewing itself as anything other than a cell group. In fact, it's dangerous to start having a large group meeting at this size. Some people can pull it off, but it would be better to get two or three Bible studies going and then combine them when you launch a worship service. See Launching College Ministry.
• 30: at this point the group values intimacy and community so much that they begin to sabotage growth (unknowingly). You need to teach that it's okay not to know everybody in the group. In addition, it's at this point that a college minister first begins to feel the strain of meeting everyone's needs. You must build a team of leaders! Remember Jethro And Moses!
• 70: something usually sticks here - either your worship isn't on par with the preaching, or the fellowship times aren't as fun as the worship is good, or some other critical factor is missing. Find it and fix it.
• 120: at this point the obstacle to growth will not be how you relate to your students but how you relate to your leaders. Your student leaders need to undergo the same paradigm shifts as regards the leadership as they did regarding the group as a whole. In fact, what has probably happened is that the ones who were there at 30 never really had to give up the community that they treasured so much--they just all became leaders together. Now the intimacy of the leaders is threatened. Go back over the same stuff with the same people... (get used to this theme in ministry, by the way).
• 200: at this point your group should have an extremely well-developed small group system, a deep leadership pool, awesome worship, and be taking several missions trips a year. So what stalls? Vision. The group is everything people hoped it could be. Also, the group is becoming more and more inwardly focused and less and less outwardly focused. Consciously assign staff and money to outreach even if it means making some of your members unhappy.
• 400: it's just hard to get past this point. Most campuses don't seem to be able to sustain a group past this point in non-revival periods. Do a bunch a stuff and let us know what works. :)
• Beyond?: they probably exist beyond this point, but very few college ministries ever have to worry about them. See Mega College Ministries.

Spiritual Life of Collegians

1. See also Understanding College Students
2. 52% attended religious services regularly before going to college, but by their junior year only 29% still attended regularly. (source: SIHE)
3. Only 1 out of 3 high school students expects to continue being involved with church once they're living on their own. (source)