The Episcopal Church campus ministry support overhaul is taking shape inside Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe’s new Mission Program division. Leaders aim to rebuild young adult ministry support with shared networks, clearer grants, and stronger diocesan help. The Rev. Lester Mackenzie, whom Rowe appointed after taking office in November 2024, says the old system felt uneven. He says it relied too much on informal relationships, so the first year centers on organization.
Realignment shifts roles and pauses familiar structures
The Office of Young Adult and Campus Ministries previously sat in the Formation Department. Rowe dissolved that department as part of a major staff realignment announced about a year ago. Mackenzie began mapping next steps with Myra Garnes, now the youth, young adults and campus ministry officer. The young adult and campus ministries officer position ended in February 2025. The Young Adult and Campus Ministry Advisory Council stopped actively advising, but former members remain open to helping as details emerge.
A network model aims for shared staffing and capacity partners
Mackenzie says Mission Program will integrate these ministries with other ministry networks and tailor support to diocesan needs. He describes shared staffing, a shared framework, and clearer partnerships. He wants an “equal-dignity network” so every diocese can participate to its capacity. Low-resourced dioceses would gain shared pools of resources and relationships. Stronger dioceses would become capacity partners, not gatekeepers, and support would depend more on shared practices and coordination.
Campus ministers cite confusion, isolation, and conference losses
Some longtime campus ministers say the transition has created uncertainty and frustration. Ten campus ministers interviewed described feeling isolated and under-resourced, and some lamented the pausing of initiatives budgeted for 2026. The Rev. Stacy Alan said the annual conference can be the only time ministers connect with peers. In June 2025, the church joined a joint conference with Lutheran and Presbyterian partners. General Convention budgeted $40,000 for an Episcopal event in 2026, but no Episcopal conference is planned, so the church will sponsor attendance at other gatherings. The Rev. Allen Doyle said he misses the support he once felt.
Grants, accountability, and a long arc of restructuring
The church awarded $135,000 in grants to 19 ministries in March 2025, with input from the advisory council. The Rev. Allen Wakabayashi said earlier talks sought a more strategic grant program, but he believes those plans vanished. Mackenzie says a new granting process is coming with clearer criteria and accountability. He insists campus ministry and young adult ministry are not being abandoned, because he wants sustainable infrastructure. The Episcopal Church has debated these questions for decades, including ESMHE’s history and recurring General Convention support, and leaders now aim to move campus ministry support overhaul efforts from isolation to a durable connection.
Church developing new framework for campus ministry support as ‘equal-dignity network’
Image: Pamela Reynoso
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