The resolution to change MVP’s campus ministry affiliation came to the floor with the unanimous recommendation of MVP’s Mission to North America Committee, and an 8-2 vote of the current Mississippi Joint Committee on Campus Work (MJCCW).

At its stated meeting on May 3, held at Grace Chapel, Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss., the Mississippi Valley Presbytery (MVP) voted overwhelmingly to affiliate its campus ministries with Reformed University Ministries (RUM) of the PCA General Assembly. Rod Mays, Coordinator of RUM-GA was in attendance and fielded many questions.

The vote came at the end of a long and difficult chapter in the history of campus ministry in Mississippi and surrounding states. Tensions between the three Presbyteries and among the campus ministry staff led to the resignation of longtime Coordinator James “Bebo” Elkin, effective in June of this year.

The resolution to change MVP’s campus ministry affiliation came to the floor with the unanimous recommendation of MVP’s Mission to North America Committee, and an 8-2 vote of the current Mississippi Joint Committee on Campus Work (MJCCW). A substitute motion was made by TE William Hughes, which proposed continuing the current structure for one year, under a temporary coordinator, to give MVP time to research the proposed affiliation. After lengthy debate, the substitute motion was defeated. The main motion passed; it required a 2/3 vote since the motion was an amendment to the MVP Standing Rules.

If all three Presbyteries adopt the MJCCW resolution, then each Presbytery will negotiate its own relationship with RUM-GA. However, a new joint committee will continue to exist but with a different structure and oversight responsibilities of campus works.

Given the nature of the issues within the MJCCW and the three supporting Presbyteries, the resolution recommended a fresh start with new members on the newly formed joint committee. The resolution urged that no current members of the MJCCW be elected to the new joint committee, and that Covenant, Grace, and Mississippi Valley Presbyteries elect new members from their respective courts. Further, the resolution recommended that TE J. Ligon Duncan, III, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, be named to the committee as its convener.

Under the new agreement, MVP will be allowed to retain control of a local, undesignated fund to underwrite smaller campus works that are non-self-sustaining, a longstanding unique feature of campus ministry within its bounds that has supported campus works at Belhaven University, Mississippi College, Jackson State, and local community colleges.