Q&A: The best kind of campus community Mary Jacobs, Nov 10, 2009
Bill Hughes
In an attempt to revitalize campus ministries, some United Methodist Wesley Foundations are building dormitories to offer a resident component to their programs.
The Rev. Bill Hughes, pastor of the Wesley Foundation at the University of Kentucky, has offered a dormitory for 49 students since 1986. This approach offers two advantages: a deeper experience for the students and an ongoing revenue stream (housing fees paid by the students) that supports the ministry.
Mr. Hughes spoke recently with staff writer Mary Jacobs.
How did you get the idea for a Wesley Foundation dormitory? I was driving around campus one day and there was a for-sale sign in front of a sorority house. I thought, “That would be an awesome place to have a Christian dorm.” So we bought this building in 1986. We have three floors and a basement; the first floor has a dining room, kitchen, living room. The second floor is the girls’ dorm and the third floor is the guys’.
I think this is the best way to do campus ministry today—to have a residential dormitory where everyone can live in a Christian community. It keeps everybody accountable and it’s a great community.
What kind of response are you getting? We don’t advertise, and we have a waiting list every year. A lot of people don’t know about us; if they did we’d turn away more people.
We let people know up front that this is a Christian dorm, run and owned by the United Methodist Church. Our students heard about us through the word of mouth in the churches. People say, “You should live here.” There’s an application process and we ask them to write out their Christian testimony. Some are still searching for God. They’re honest and say, “I just don’t know what I believe right now,” and that’s OK. Our selection is first-come, first-served. Many of our residents have come out of our conference camps. Some of our residents work as camp counselors and they meet high school seniors and juniors who learn about the dorm.
How difficult is it to maintain a Christian atmosphere at the dorm? We’ve never had a problem with that. I think it’s because of our reputation; people know what they’re getting into. Students who do really well here love to live here. They look forward to living here. Those who don’t do that well are the ones whose parents wanted them to live here. They don’t last very long. We always have a few residents who are very private, so studious that they never engage much in the community. That’s OK. That’s the way God wired them to be.
One of the joys of being here is the international students that come. We have residents from Japan, Haiti, Nigeria, Russia, Germany. It is amazing what they add to our living environment. Just this year, we got a call from the University of Kentucky. They had a Nigerian student coming on full scholarship. He was refusing to live in the dorm and insisted that he wanted to live in a Christian dorm. They asked, “Can you please fit him in?” We were full, but now he’s rooming with our head resident.
What do students get at Wesley House that they might not in a regular dorm? There’s no class at the University of Kentucky about how to be a good mom or dad. There’s no class on how to be a great husband or wife. We’re able to talk and learn about the things of life you just don’t take a class for.
How does this work financially? The revenue stream from the room and board more than covers our two full-time director salaries. We do receive a nice, healthy check from the Kentucky Conference. They are very generous to us.
Why is this best way to do campus ministry? Because it’s literally 24/7 discipleship. To me, that’s the greatest way to make disciples of Jesus. It’s living together in Christian community in a family kind of atmosphere.
We have 49 students in the dorm, but a total of 250 attend our programs. Most of our non-resident participants at Wesley Foundation will come for one two-hour worship service per week, then it’s back to the dorms and all the crazy stuff that goes on in the dorms. Those who live in the dorm get a full-time experience.
One of the alumni from our dorm came back to our building. He was standing in the living room and getting nostalgic, and he said, “This is the only place I ever lived where I couldn’t fake my Christianity.” Everybody knows you here. They hear your cellphone calls, they see what you are looking at on the computer. There are no secrets. It’s not like they’re watching over like the police. It’s just that everybody just knows what you’re doing. Like in a family.
What kind of rules do you have? Our rules are less strict than the dorms. We try very hard not to be parents to the dorm residents. It’s better this way. They are more self-policed. They watch out for each other. I tend to teach and preach some old-fashioned values. I tell the guys to help the girls carry in their stuff, for example. The residents do all their own cooking here, which is nice. It’s not like a cult, but it’s good, healthy communal living. The residents are also very conscious about being a green dorm. They want to recycle and they are always reminding us how we can be better stewards of our resources.
Bill Hughes
How difficult is it to maintain a Christian atmosphere at the dorm? 
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