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Welcome

About Us

Student Venture is the middle and high school ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. It originated on a national scale in 1966 and came to Chattanooga in 1968. Our mission is simple: Turning lost students into Christ-centered laborers.

Today’s teenagers are growing up as a generation without direction, and that’s tough when our culture is filled with sexual pressures, drug abuse, violence, and disintegrating family life. They are the “Least Parented Generation”. Never has a generation been as detached from family life as teens are today. They yearn to be loved and belong.

“This generation of kids has spent more time on their own than any other in

recent history” - Patricia Hearst, Author, A TRIBE APART

When you think about the amount of time teens spend on social media and video games, it’s easy to see how true this quote is for teenagers in our culture. Being a generation that spends so much time on its own with very little parenting has led them to be a very tolerant group of teenagers.

Without guidance, their beliefs and behavior are determined by how they feel and what their culture says, rather than a true standard of right and wrong.

You’ve probably heard the stats:

  • Over half of teens say they have been sexually active.
  • Over 40 percent of 15-year-olds have had intercourse. In the 1970s it was less than 5 percent.*

    • *U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

    Honestly, it is a pretty depressing read, but it’s the reality of the situation. However, we remain hopeful because what’s made these students the most broken has also made them ready for Jesus. So you see, they are still an “Open Generation”. About 75% of all people who have consciously, intentionally, and personally chosen to embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior did so before their 18th birthday. We believe that the following quote illustrates how ready this generation of teenagers is for the gospel.

    “Teenagers are like wet cement, waiting for someone to leave a lasting impression on them.”

    Because teenagers are so receptive, we want to broadly sow the Gospel into their lives. On any given day in the U.S. more than 90 percent of the 12 to 18 year olds can be found on a campus.

    This is why Student Venture focuses on campus ministry, reaching students right where they live.

    Our vision is to build spiritual movements so that every student on every campus has the opportunity to know and follow Jesus Christ.

    There are five steps to building spiritual movements…

    1.TRUSTING THE LORD TO REACH THE WHOLE CAMPUS

  • “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”- Jesus (John 4:35)
  • We become students of the campus, learning how teens relate in the context of many smaller groups on campus: classes, clubs, cliques, and teams. We then reach teens in the context of these group relationships as well as through campus-wide outreaches.

    • 2.CONNECTING WITH STUDENTS

  • Develop trust through love and truth. We want students to know we are going to be there through the good and hard times. When their parents get divorced; when they lose a loved one; when their team goes to the championship; when they finally graduate; when they go through the typical drama of high school and middle school. We aren’t just “people that came to school once.” We go through life with the students...and we’re not going anywhere.

    • 3.BRINGING STUDENTS TO CHRIST

  • However, we do not only befriend the students…we share the Gospel with them and are continually giving students opportunities to respond to Christ’s gift of love.

    • 4.BUILDING STUDENTS IN THEIR FAITH

  • We equip teenagers through the Word and life-on-life discipleship.

    • 5.SENDING STUDENTS TO STUDENTS TO BRING OTHERS TO CHRIST

  • We help teenagers invest their lives in the Great Commission.