More than 60 years of faith, fellowship, and community at Fort Hays State University
Dedicated on
January 12th, 1961
Our History
For more than six decades, the United Methodist Campus Ministry Center has been a place where Fort Hays State University students can find community, explore their faith, serve others, and build friendships that last beyond their college years.
What began as the Protestant Campus Center in the 1960s has continued to evolve alongside the university and the students it serves. While the ministry has carried different names and partnered with different Christian traditions throughout its history, its purpose has remained remarkably consistent: to provide students with a welcoming place to belong, grow, and live out their faith.
A Place for Students to Gather
The story of today's United Methodist Campus Ministry begins in the 1960s, when the Protestant Campus Center opened near the Fort Hays State campus.The Center provided students with a dedicated place for Christian fellowship, worship, conversation, and community. At a time when campus ministry was becoming an important part of college life across the country, the Protestant Campus Center became a home away from home for generations of FHSU students.The Protestant Campus Center
By 1970, the Protestant Campus Center was an established part of student life at Fort Hays State. The FHSU University Archives preserves a photograph from 1970 showing students standing outside the Center—a wonderful visual reminder of the students who made the ministry their own.The Center offered students opportunities for worship, fellowship, and spiritual life while providing a welcoming space just off campus.The ministry's history during this period reflects a broader tradition of campus ministry: meeting students where they were and giving them a place to ask questions, build relationships, and grow in faith.
A Ministry in the Heart of Campus Life
The 1980s were a period of active ministry and outreach.
The Ecumenical Campus Center became a place where students could come not only for religious services but also for conversation, counseling, study, and community. In 1986, the Center's director described its mission as serving the campus and being available to students who needed someone to listen.
The ministry also became a place where difficult questions could be discussed openly—a tradition that remains important to campus ministry today.
Continuing the Tradition
Through the 1990s and 2000s, the ministry continued its presence at Fort Hays State, adapting to changing generations of students while maintaining its commitment to Christian community and service.The names, programs, and faces changed, but the Center remained a physical gathering place where students could eat together, worship, study Scripture, ask questions, and form friendships..
A Growing United Methodist Campus Ministry
By the 2010s, the ministry was operating as United Methodist Campus Ministry at Fort Hays State.
A 2013 Great Plains Conference report gives us a glimpse into the ministry's activity during this era. Campus Minister Steve Johnson reported that nearly 100 students participated during a typical week through Bible studies, game nights, service projects, and community meals.
The ministry's emphasis on worship, study, service, fellowship, and community continued the traditions established by the earlier Protestant and Ecumenical Campus Centers.
The ministry also benefited from broader investments in United Methodist campus ministry facilities, including renovations at Fort Hays State.
A Ministry for a New Generation
Today, the United Methodist Campus Ministry Center continues the tradition that began more than half a century ago.The ministry remains a place for students to gather around a meal, study Scripture, ask honest questions, build friendships, serve the Hays community, and grow in faith.The Center has also continued developing partnerships with Fort Hays State University. In 2022, the FHSU Language and Literacy Institute moved into space under the campus ministry's roof, creating new opportunities for students and community members to connect.The ministry has also been involved in broader community outreach, including partnerships that connect FHSU students with English-language learning and tutoring opportunities.Today, the Center remains part of the wider Great Plains United Methodist campus ministry network, which lists Fort Hays State among its active campus ministries.
Dave Brookman, minister of the Ecumenical Christian Ministries, listening to Lisa Duncan, a Lakin junior, in the Union. The Listening Post was operated in the Union and Forsyth Library.
Students Standing Outside of the Protestant Campus Center - 1970
