2. Context: Mankato, Minnesota; Minnesota State University

Mankato is located in south central Minnesota, a cultural and commerce center surrounded by smaller farming towns and bedroom communities. The Division for Outreach performed a Precepts study on behalf of LCMC in 1994. The study revealed that 44% (22,000 persons) of the Mankato area's population falls in the 15-29 age range - 250% of the national average.

Minnesota State University at Mankato (MSU) is a midsize, public university that sits on a hill overlooking the town. The students and faculty we spoke with described it as a commuter campus, i.e. most students grew up within driving distance and go home to work or see family every weekend, weather permitting. Students are only required to live in the residence halls for their first year, therefore the majority of the student body lives off campus. First year students have the opportunity to be part of a learning community, which is a dorm floor that takes classes together to develop values, friendships, and capacity for thriving in a college environment.

Lutheran Campus Ministry at the Crossroads (LCMC) is located directly across from the performing arts center at MSU. Most of the other campus ministry buildings are within a few blocks radius, including LC/MS, WELS, Newman Center. Parachurch groups (Campus Crusade, Intervarsity, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, etc.) and smaller ministries operate in the school's student center. The varied ministries celebrate an unusually friendly relationship with one another. The ministers support each other, try not to schedule events on top of one another, and in several cases, actively encourage students to attend more than one group. Several students spoke of attending both FCA or CC and Crossroads as a part of their regular week. Together they form a strong web of campus ministries that all strengthen each other, in which LCMC is an integral thread.