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The rise and fall of the Student Volunteer Movement
1950s: the end is nigh.
In 1953, the USCC asked the SVM to become its Missionary Department, as the next step toward a fully ecumenical student movement in America. Under the leadership of Dr. R. H. Edwin Espy, the Movement agreed, and it was formalized in 1954—but this arrangement did not affect its administrative autonomy or its financial independence. It also did not increase the SVM’s influence: in 1956, the SVM policy committee was concerned that USCC members such as the Presbyterians and Methodists relied more on their own student departments than on SVM for missionary education.
Finally, in 1959, the USCC, SVM, and the Interseminary Committee merged and formed the National Student Christian Federation, with the SVM as the Commission on World Mission. It was tasked with promoting missionary education, fellowship and enlistment and continued to hold conferences. Its 19th Ecumenical Student Conference in Athens, Ohio in 1964 had 3,000 students attend. In 1966, however, the Federation was recreated as the University Christian Movement.At that time, the SVM—now the Commission on World Mission—“was among the first to act on the formation of a movement fully representative of the churches, and agreed that the sense of mission was sufficiently embodied in the student movement for the Commission to cease a separate existence.” (Neill, Anderson, and Goodwin 1971)
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Justin, thank you for a well researched SVM article. Over the past 30 years I have had an enduring interest in this history, as a scholar, practitioner and mobilizer. http://www.jaygary.com/students.shtml
But now I think the student generation following World War I also made good choices regarding the gospel. While Robert Wilder chose fundamentalism, Sherwood Eddy embraced both the gospel and social justice, and rallied the church to work with marginalized urban youth. As 21st century Christian leaders, we must not let this divide between evangelism and social action divide us any longer. Even as evangelicals, both WEA and Lausanne have dealt with this both theologically and practically for 30 years now. There are new paradigms of global engagement emerging. We must not be frozen in the 19th century, but open to our own paradigms becoming more biblical and integral.
Second, whatever calls to come to a new generation, their watchword must deal substantially, in a post-Bosch world, on how the gospel must change both the evangelized and the unevangelized. Jesus linked both the rich man and Lazarus in his parable. We must link our overconsumption with the destitution of the developing world, and consider ways to create sustainable enterprises that are culturally relevant, environmentally appropriate and wealth generating among the bottom of the pyramid. See the work of Stuart Hart in this, his book _Capitalism at the Crossroads_ http://www.stuartlhart.com/frameworks%20and%20t...
I am encouraged by your work from Asia. May God continue to give you strength to sound the trumpet.
–Jay, Program Director, M.A. in Strategic Foresight, http://www.regent.edu/global/msf
Assistant Professor, School of Global Leadership & Entrepreneurship, Regent University