A ministry built around the belief that young adults matter.
Our History
For decades, churches in Jacksonville have believed that college students deserve a community of faith.
JCM exists because generation after generation of people have decided that investing in young adults is worth doing.
The ministry has changed over the years. Campuses have changed. Students have changed. Programs have changed.
But the basic conviction has remained:
College students are not the future of the church. They are the church right now.
It started with a simple idea
In 1972, the idea of Jacksonville Campus Ministry grew out of a partnership among local Christian communities who wanted to reach students on Jacksonville's college campuses.
Rather than asking students to come find a church, campus ministry brought Christian community to students where they already were.
Over the years, JCM served students through worship, Bible studies, meals, retreats, service opportunities, and relationships with local congregations.
The ministry became a place where students from different Christian traditions could meet one another and explore faith together.
2018: A turning point
Then, in 2018, JCM was in trouble.
The ministry had approximately $30,000 in its bank account, and the board of directors was ready to close the ministry completely. There was a very real possibility that mainline denominational campus ministry in Jacksonville would simply disappear.
Instead, the board made a seemingly impossible decision: Let's try something different.
Pastor Sarah was called to revitalize the ministry. The goal wasn't simply to keep an existing organization alive.
It was to ask: What would campus ministry need to become if we were starting again today?
That question changed everything.
Rebuilding around relationships
The revitalization of JCM began with a simple shift: Students first.
Instead of building ministry primarily around programs, JCM began building around relationships.
Food became a way to build community. Bible study became a place to ask difficult questions. Retreats became opportunities to get away and go deeper. Campus presence became a priority. Students were invited not simply to attend JCM, but to help shape it.
And gradually, something began to happen.
People started coming.
A community takes shape
As the ministry grew, so did the ways students could participate.
Food for Thought: What began as a meal and conversation became one of JCM's central weekly gatherings.
Queer Bible Study: JCM created a space where LGBTQ+ students could explore Scripture and faith without having to separate their faith from who they are.
Market Days: JCM began showing up on campus in ordinary, low-pressure ways—meeting students where they were rather than waiting for them to find us.
Retreats and trips: Students began traveling together, serving together, worshiping together, and building relationships that went far beyond a weekly meeting.
Student leadership: Students increasingly moved from participants to leaders, helping shape the community they were part of.
The ministry grew, and so did the vision
JCM eventually expanded beyond a single campus.
Today, JCM serves students across four Jacksonville-area campuses:
University of North Florida
Jacksonville University
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Edward Waters University
The ministry also became increasingly connected with congregations, denominational partners, and community organizations throughout Northeast Florida.
What had once been a ministry struggling to survive became a growing ecumenical community.
A place to live: Redeemer House
In 2023, JCM opened Redeemer House, creating affordable student housing in Jacksonville.
The idea was simple: Housing can be ministry, too.
Students shouldn't have to choose between affordable housing and meaningful community.
Redeemer House became another expression of JCM's belief that ministry happens in the ordinary parts of life, not just at worship services or organized events.
You live together. You eat together. You argue about dishes. You help each other through hard weeks. You celebrate birthdays. You become a community.
That's ministry.
A place to discern:
St. Andrew’s House
In partnership with St. Andrew's Lutheran Church by-the-Sea, JCM launched St. Andrew’s House in 2026. It is a place designed for graduate students who are discerning a call to ministry and other forms of professional Christian vocation.
The vision is more than affordable housing.
It's a place where people who are asking “What is God calling me to do with my life?” can live alongside others who are asking the same questions.
Students can share meals, worship, study, serve, and learn from one another while they navigate graduate school and vocational discernment.
From surviving to building
In 2018, JCM was trying to survive. Today, we're building for the future.
~$30,000
JCM's approximate budget in 2018
$100,000+
Current annual ministry budget
$2 million
Long-term endowment goal
The numbers matter because they tell a story: people have chosen to invest in this ministry.
Congregations.
Denominations.
Parents.
Alumni.
Foundations.
Community partners.
Students.
JCM exists because people kept saying yes.
We're still becoming.
JCM isn't finished. We're continuing to grow our presence on Jacksonville's campuses, develop student leaders, create affordable housing, strengthen partnerships, and build a ministry that can serve generations of students to come.
The question that guided the ministry in 2018 still guides us today: What does campus ministry need to become for the students who are here now?
We don't know exactly what JCM will look like ten years from now.
That's okay.
We know who we're here for. We know what we're about. And we're still saying yes.
