There are things always below the surface that make a ministry successful and impactful for God's kingdom in the lives of students. Here are three:
1. OWNERSHIP - Students take ownership of the ministry and therefore are willing to invest themselves in it. And as a result they grow more personally in their relationship to the Lord. Plus, they grow in developing their life skills....and ministry skills. Some argue the number one task of a college ministry is developing leaders for the church in the years to come. When our students feel ownership, they invest more, they grow more, and we reach more. Ownership means their input and decisions are important. Are you helping your students experience and practice ownership?
2. IDENTITY - Many alums of our college ministry have told me in one way or the other that they found out who they were as a result of the opportunities and challenges afforded them. If you ever ask for a show of hands at a Christian gathering of how many there know what their Spiritual Gift or gifts are, you will see few hands go up. Yet, God's will for our lives is usually written into our spiritual gifts. How can someone be who and what God has called them to be without knowing their spiritual gifts? Part of the role and action of a healthy college ministry is giving students the opportunity to try different things and experience affirmation in some of them.
3. EXAMPLE - The single greatest influencer in a person's life is the influence of others. We are a result of our parents' influence. Who and what we become as young adults in college is usually the result of the influences of those we choose to follow. What are you doing to influence students by your example? Students are watching you all the time....ALL the time. What are you doing to teach students to be a godly influence in the lives of other students? Albert Sweitzer said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others; it is the only thing.".
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Thursday, February 23, 2017
When You Want to Hide at Your Own Ministry....The 4 Laws of Announcements
Ever felt like hiding at your own ministry or pretended you were not there? If so, it likely happened during the announcement time. Honestly, a time or two it happened during a student testimony. But, the most common time was during announcements. Since lots of us have been through that experience, there are many ministries that say, "We don't do announcements at our main event.". I am not of that school. Since there are things we need and want everyone to know, we have to have some announcements.
A prime example came several years ago when I had been invited to speak on a campus for a weekend and they had arranged for me to come and speak at their large group event on Thursday night. They had asked me to speak on a topic I had done that had significant student interest. They had done a great job promoting it and inviting students. There was a large crowd and I was told there were lots of new faces. Shortly before time for me to get up and speak, the "Announcement Team" took the stage and did a twenty minute skit containing the announcements with lots of corny and inside jokes. The longer they went the more I was calculating what I would cut out of my talk to stay within their allotted time. When they finished, the leader of the ministry got up (obviously frustrated) and said, "We are going to go overtime tonight to allow our speaker to have his full time and do what we asked him to do.". We have all been there in one way, time or another.
The Four Laws of Announcements:
1. Make NO more than four announcements!
The more you make.....the less people hear. If one announcements is the KEY announcement, do it at a different and separate time.
2. The person making the announcements should know and understand what they are announcing.
All of us have heard someone read announcements off a sheet in the world's worst monotone. Or, we heard someone "promoting" an event they obviously did not have a clue what it was.
3. The announcements should be such that a first time attendee understands what is being announced.
Often, the announcements seem to be in "insider code". Only a few in the crowd understand what it is about. It adds to the discomfort and the "Maybe I don't belong here." feeling.
4. The announcements should not become the main event or distract from the worship.
Obviously, a twenty minute announcement skit has been a time issue. But, I also think about the time our worship team had an ice breaker where there were volunteers swallowing all sorts of things quickly. To see the lead vocalist throwing up at the side up the stage before going back up to sing was just a bit distracting to the worship event.
Announcements can be done in a quick video which insures the proper amount of time. They could be run at the beginning and end of the event. Each person could be handed a annoucement flyer as they leave. But, mostly someone who knows what is going on and is comfortable on stage making no more than four announcements they understand will almost always work. One idea is to pick out four or five of your students who do a good job with this and rotate them around making announcements. Then, maybe you will not have to pretend you don't know who is in charge of this ministry!
A prime example came several years ago when I had been invited to speak on a campus for a weekend and they had arranged for me to come and speak at their large group event on Thursday night. They had asked me to speak on a topic I had done that had significant student interest. They had done a great job promoting it and inviting students. There was a large crowd and I was told there were lots of new faces. Shortly before time for me to get up and speak, the "Announcement Team" took the stage and did a twenty minute skit containing the announcements with lots of corny and inside jokes. The longer they went the more I was calculating what I would cut out of my talk to stay within their allotted time. When they finished, the leader of the ministry got up (obviously frustrated) and said, "We are going to go overtime tonight to allow our speaker to have his full time and do what we asked him to do.". We have all been there in one way, time or another.
The Four Laws of Announcements:
1. Make NO more than four announcements!
The more you make.....the less people hear. If one announcements is the KEY announcement, do it at a different and separate time.
2. The person making the announcements should know and understand what they are announcing.
All of us have heard someone read announcements off a sheet in the world's worst monotone. Or, we heard someone "promoting" an event they obviously did not have a clue what it was.
3. The announcements should be such that a first time attendee understands what is being announced.
Often, the announcements seem to be in "insider code". Only a few in the crowd understand what it is about. It adds to the discomfort and the "Maybe I don't belong here." feeling.
4. The announcements should not become the main event or distract from the worship.
Obviously, a twenty minute announcement skit has been a time issue. But, I also think about the time our worship team had an ice breaker where there were volunteers swallowing all sorts of things quickly. To see the lead vocalist throwing up at the side up the stage before going back up to sing was just a bit distracting to the worship event.
Announcements can be done in a quick video which insures the proper amount of time. They could be run at the beginning and end of the event. Each person could be handed a annoucement flyer as they leave. But, mostly someone who knows what is going on and is comfortable on stage making no more than four announcements they understand will almost always work. One idea is to pick out four or five of your students who do a good job with this and rotate them around making announcements. Then, maybe you will not have to pretend you don't know who is in charge of this ministry!
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
By Request: 7 Reasons Why Students Attended a Christian Event the First Time
Some years ago, a group of BCM Directors working as part of one of the BCNet committees (a national college ministry development and organizational group made up of teams of church and campus based College Ministers) did a survey of 400 plus college students in different states. Why did they attend a Christian event the first time? The responses equal more than one hundred percent because students could give more than one answer. Here are the top seven responses.
7. Website 10%
6. Mail 12%
5. Social Media 17%
4. Advertising 34%
3. Food 35%
2. Appealing Event 46%
1. Someone Invited Me 77%
For some, the obvious take-away from this is to only operate by personal invitations. While I totally believe the most effective form of enlistment is a personal invitation, I am not of the school that says do that only. A church college minister I was working with was aware we did a variety of things to reach students and he wanted me to tell him the best one. His intent was to do only that one. It is not that simple. I am of the opinion that some of these other things help make a personal invitation so effective.
Often, when students would come to one of our events for the first time, I would ask how they knew about it or why they came. A common answer was, "I have been wanting to come, but I did not know anyone who came.". They had seen advertising or social media, etc. The personal invitation finalized it.
One of the things that I had to finally understand was that core students do not automatically invite students to events. They have to be trained, encouraged, and reminded to invite others. I call it "developing an Invite Culture". Having an "Appealing Event" as listed as the number two reason students came makes it much easier for core students to invite others.
7. Website 10%
6. Mail 12%
5. Social Media 17%
4. Advertising 34%
3. Food 35%
2. Appealing Event 46%
1. Someone Invited Me 77%
For some, the obvious take-away from this is to only operate by personal invitations. While I totally believe the most effective form of enlistment is a personal invitation, I am not of the school that says do that only. A church college minister I was working with was aware we did a variety of things to reach students and he wanted me to tell him the best one. His intent was to do only that one. It is not that simple. I am of the opinion that some of these other things help make a personal invitation so effective.
Often, when students would come to one of our events for the first time, I would ask how they knew about it or why they came. A common answer was, "I have been wanting to come, but I did not know anyone who came.". They had seen advertising or social media, etc. The personal invitation finalized it.
One of the things that I had to finally understand was that core students do not automatically invite students to events. They have to be trained, encouraged, and reminded to invite others. I call it "developing an Invite Culture". Having an "Appealing Event" as listed as the number two reason students came makes it much easier for core students to invite others.
Monday, February 20, 2017
Some Materials to Consider
One of the questions we all ask each other all the time is, "What materials are using?". It may be for small groups or materials to give students for their individual and personal study. Here are some new things I am aware of and have a good first impression of them.
Janae Shatley Camp is a church staffer in Florida who does lots of girls ministry. If you are looking for something for your girls groups, you might check this out. She has a set of materials she has called, THE IMAGE BEARERS BIBLE STUDY. There are DVDs with eight teaching sessions and a student workbook. Also, individual teaching sessions can be downloaded as needed. You can look at samples, etc by going to http://www.janaeshatleycamp.com/image-bearers/
Lifeway has a new set called THE DISCIPLES PATH which contains six different study books. They are:
The Beginning - This is first steps for new disciples...good to give to new Christians, etc. It addresses some basics for believers from the centrality of Christ to being in community
The Way - This is a study focused on Jesus' Disciples and being a disciple.
The Call - The focus is what Jesus did and the priorities and cost of being a disciple.
The Truth - Some studies include, "The Doctrine of God"; "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit"; and "The Doctrine of the Church".
The Life - This is a study in living the disciples of community, serving, prayer, etc.
The Mission - It speaks to the mission of Christ and disciples being part of that mission.
There are two or three different formats in which these studies can be purchased. So, check out all your options. You can get all of them or just one two which meet a particular need you have.
Don't hesitate to let me know something you have found that our tribe of College Ministers might find useful or meet a particular need.
Thanks for those who are sending me questions, comments suggestions for my current writing project, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY. You can email, Facebook, or call me. Love to have your input!
Arliss
arlissdickerson@gmail.com
Janae Shatley Camp is a church staffer in Florida who does lots of girls ministry. If you are looking for something for your girls groups, you might check this out. She has a set of materials she has called, THE IMAGE BEARERS BIBLE STUDY. There are DVDs with eight teaching sessions and a student workbook. Also, individual teaching sessions can be downloaded as needed. You can look at samples, etc by going to http://www.janaeshatleycamp.com/image-bearers/
Lifeway has a new set called THE DISCIPLES PATH which contains six different study books. They are:
The Beginning - This is first steps for new disciples...good to give to new Christians, etc. It addresses some basics for believers from the centrality of Christ to being in community
The Way - This is a study focused on Jesus' Disciples and being a disciple.
The Call - The focus is what Jesus did and the priorities and cost of being a disciple.
The Truth - Some studies include, "The Doctrine of God"; "The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit"; and "The Doctrine of the Church".
The Life - This is a study in living the disciples of community, serving, prayer, etc.
The Mission - It speaks to the mission of Christ and disciples being part of that mission.
There are two or three different formats in which these studies can be purchased. So, check out all your options. You can get all of them or just one two which meet a particular need you have.
Don't hesitate to let me know something you have found that our tribe of College Ministers might find useful or meet a particular need.
Thanks for those who are sending me questions, comments suggestions for my current writing project, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY. You can email, Facebook, or call me. Love to have your input!
Arliss
arlissdickerson@gmail.com
Thursday, February 16, 2017
4 Things that Make a Leader Meeting Work
Leadership meetings are a huge part of what makes a college ministry what it needs to be. It empowers student leaders in the current ministry and it prepares them for service to come. But, not all leader meetings are helpful. We have all been to those and when we are honest we have been the leader of some of those.
Here are four things that make leader meetings work:
1. A REASON for the meeting.
-All of us have been to meetings there seemed to be no reason or purpose for other than it was scheduled. My all time favorite boss and mentor had a personal rule: "Every committee meeting had to have at least one vote.". He said people know there was a reason for them to be there. They decided something with their vote.
2. A PLAN for the meeting.
-How many meetings have you been to that opened with, "Ok, what do we need to do?"? Too many is my answer. The fancy name is "agenda". The simple name is "a list". These are the things we need to talk about and decide. One way to determine what needs to be on that list is to ask two questions: 1. What has happened in the past we need to talk about, evaluate, etc? and 2. What is coming up in the future we need to prepare for or simply be aware.
3. A good LAUGH.
-For someone like me who loves a good meeting, that may surprise you. But, I like to laugh and I have learned that when people laugh they are most themselves, at ease, and genuine. That doesn't mean each meeting should start with a joke....but there are worse starts. But, take a few moments for something personal or ask someone to share something silly, etc. Genuine laughter is to a good meeting like oil is to a well running motor. It affects the feel of the whole meeting.
4. PRAYING for specific things....not just "an opening prayer".
-Take a few moments to pray for specific people and concerns of the group. It is one of the things that make our meetings "different". Plus, it is the reminder that we are about people and God's movement and work in their and our lives.
Let's hope people laugh IN your meetings....not AT your meetings!
Here are four things that make leader meetings work:
1. A REASON for the meeting.
-All of us have been to meetings there seemed to be no reason or purpose for other than it was scheduled. My all time favorite boss and mentor had a personal rule: "Every committee meeting had to have at least one vote.". He said people know there was a reason for them to be there. They decided something with their vote.
2. A PLAN for the meeting.
-How many meetings have you been to that opened with, "Ok, what do we need to do?"? Too many is my answer. The fancy name is "agenda". The simple name is "a list". These are the things we need to talk about and decide. One way to determine what needs to be on that list is to ask two questions: 1. What has happened in the past we need to talk about, evaluate, etc? and 2. What is coming up in the future we need to prepare for or simply be aware.
3. A good LAUGH.
-For someone like me who loves a good meeting, that may surprise you. But, I like to laugh and I have learned that when people laugh they are most themselves, at ease, and genuine. That doesn't mean each meeting should start with a joke....but there are worse starts. But, take a few moments for something personal or ask someone to share something silly, etc. Genuine laughter is to a good meeting like oil is to a well running motor. It affects the feel of the whole meeting.
4. PRAYING for specific things....not just "an opening prayer".
-Take a few moments to pray for specific people and concerns of the group. It is one of the things that make our meetings "different". Plus, it is the reminder that we are about people and God's movement and work in their and our lives.
Let's hope people laugh IN your meetings....not AT your meetings!
Arliss Dickerson's book, A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV and Reaching MORE College Students is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.
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Tuesday, February 14, 2017
SOME Campus Based College Ministry Influencers
As I indicated in my previous Blog, I was in a meeting of college ministry folks from around the country when the question was asked, "Who are some of the college ministry influencers today?". It is not to say they are the only ones doing well or that any of them would claim to have it all figured out. They are just some that others look to for different reasons and benefit from what they are doing, writing, or both.
SOME CAMPUS BASED COLLEGE MINISTRY INFLUENCERS:
Paul and David Worcester - Paul is at Chico State and David is at San Diego State. Someone has described them as "Beasts of Social Media" with all the materials and information they post. Many are currently using their model of "Gospel Appointments" on campus. Paul has a free Ebook, "How to Start a College Ministry".
Clayton Bullion - Clayton is at Tarleton State University in Texas where many consider him to be a model of doing traditional campus ministry with excellence.
Jack Blankenship - Winthrop University (South Carolina)
Gary Stidham - University of Texas, Arlington. Gary is known for evangelism and having significant success on what many consider primarily a commuter campus.
Kendall Danford - Francis Marion (South Carolina) is known for his work in evangelism, but also in the area of racial reconciliation and in reaching a wide variety of students.
David Buschman - Princeton. Busch is often given as an example of someone having great influence on a "Non-Bible Belt campus". He also is a leader in reaching athletes.
Tim Casteel - University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is the Cru Director and is noted for his writing and sharing of materials and an example of all of us working for the benefit of college ministry as a whole...not just our particular tribe.
Other names that continually come up are, Joel Bratcher, (large ministry & Internationals) Texas A&M; Steve Masters (Freshmen), LSU; Michael Ball (just built a 500 seat Center) & June Scoggins (expert in Lunch Programs), Mississippi State; Keith Cating (men's discipleship) McNeese State; /Darrell Cook, Virginia Tech, working with alums/building staff.
Again, no list is complete and the point is not to elevate or put down anyone, but just to help all of us learn from each other and see who is doing something well where we may be struggling. All our ministries have particular strengths....usually related to our own spiritual giftedness AND our campus situation. Can you say what the strength of your ministry is? It is important to do so in making sure it is being maximized! Make sure what you do well is being done well. It is easy to slack in our area of strength...don't do it! Be a model.
SOME CAMPUS BASED COLLEGE MINISTRY INFLUENCERS:
Paul and David Worcester - Paul is at Chico State and David is at San Diego State. Someone has described them as "Beasts of Social Media" with all the materials and information they post. Many are currently using their model of "Gospel Appointments" on campus. Paul has a free Ebook, "How to Start a College Ministry".
Clayton Bullion - Clayton is at Tarleton State University in Texas where many consider him to be a model of doing traditional campus ministry with excellence.
Jack Blankenship - Winthrop University (South Carolina)
Gary Stidham - University of Texas, Arlington. Gary is known for evangelism and having significant success on what many consider primarily a commuter campus.
Kendall Danford - Francis Marion (South Carolina) is known for his work in evangelism, but also in the area of racial reconciliation and in reaching a wide variety of students.
David Buschman - Princeton. Busch is often given as an example of someone having great influence on a "Non-Bible Belt campus". He also is a leader in reaching athletes.
Tim Casteel - University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is the Cru Director and is noted for his writing and sharing of materials and an example of all of us working for the benefit of college ministry as a whole...not just our particular tribe.
Other names that continually come up are, Joel Bratcher, (large ministry & Internationals) Texas A&M; Steve Masters (Freshmen), LSU; Michael Ball (just built a 500 seat Center) & June Scoggins (expert in Lunch Programs), Mississippi State; Keith Cating (men's discipleship) McNeese State; /Darrell Cook, Virginia Tech, working with alums/building staff.
Again, no list is complete and the point is not to elevate or put down anyone, but just to help all of us learn from each other and see who is doing something well where we may be struggling. All our ministries have particular strengths....usually related to our own spiritual giftedness AND our campus situation. Can you say what the strength of your ministry is? It is important to do so in making sure it is being maximized! Make sure what you do well is being done well. It is easy to slack in our area of strength...don't do it! Be a model.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Some Church Based College Ministry Influencers
A frequent question all of us get is, "Who does _______ well in college ministry?" or "Who do I ask about this?". I was in a meeting recently where the question was asked, "Who are some of the college ministry influencers...those that others either ask or just look at what they are doing?" Sometimes, they are seen as an influencer due to the size of their ministry. Other times, it is due to some unique thing they do or seem particularly successful at doing. Several around the table threw out some names and sometimes what it is particularly that person is known for or recognized for as doing well. Please be aware, anytime there is a list like this someone is not on it that should be. These lists can never be complete and are subjective according to who develops the list or comes up with the names. The purpose of my sharing this list is not to promote these people or put anyone else down. These names were thrown out in a group discussion. I share the list simply as a help for all who continually are looking how to grow in what God has called them to do and are willing to learn from others. All of these are some way related to the Southern Baptist network. That is not to say they are the only ones from which we can learn....it was just a Baptist meeting where the names were thrown out. I would love to hear other names.
SOME CHURCH COLLEGE MINISTRY INFLUENCERS:
Steve Lutz, Pennsylvania, (Penn State) author, church staffer, preparing to plant a campus church.
Jeremy Horton, College Minister, Calvary Baptist, Tuscaloosa, AL who has a large weeknight gathering.
Austin Wadlow, College Minister, First Baptist Denton, TX, large weeknight gathering/known for his attractional topics/series and getting ready to move to Iowa to be part of the Salt network.
Keith Weiser, Lead Pastor, Washington, has a large student church meeting on five different campuses,
Chase Abner, part of the Salt network in Iowa and a leader in producing the Collegiate Collective.
Linda Halfacre Weir, College Minister, Pine Lake Church, Mississippi with five different locations. Known for her expertise in small groups.
Matt Getty, College Minister, Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Waco, TX.
Chris James, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, a hybrid in that he leads both a campus based ministry and a student church.
My next Blog will list the "Campus Based Influencers" list.
Part 2 Next Week: Campus Based Influencers
ATTENTION: To receive an email reminder of each new Blog, scroll to the bottom of the page and submit your email. Thanks!
SOME CHURCH COLLEGE MINISTRY INFLUENCERS:
Steve Lutz, Pennsylvania, (Penn State) author, church staffer, preparing to plant a campus church.
Jeremy Horton, College Minister, Calvary Baptist, Tuscaloosa, AL who has a large weeknight gathering.
Austin Wadlow, College Minister, First Baptist Denton, TX, large weeknight gathering/known for his attractional topics/series and getting ready to move to Iowa to be part of the Salt network.
Keith Weiser, Lead Pastor, Washington, has a large student church meeting on five different campuses,
Chase Abner, part of the Salt network in Iowa and a leader in producing the Collegiate Collective.
Linda Halfacre Weir, College Minister, Pine Lake Church, Mississippi with five different locations. Known for her expertise in small groups.
Matt Getty, College Minister, Travis Avenue Baptist Church, Waco, TX.
Chris James, University of Massachusetts-Lowell, a hybrid in that he leads both a campus based ministry and a student church.
My next Blog will list the "Campus Based Influencers" list.
Part 2 Next Week: Campus Based Influencers
ATTENTION: To receive an email reminder of each new Blog, scroll to the bottom of the page and submit your email. Thanks!
Monday, February 6, 2017
A Huge Need Campus Based College Ministry Can Help Meet!
Recently, I was visiting with a pastor of a church that has a long history of ministering to college students and partnering with the on-campus ministry. He himself experienced his call to ministry while serving and being a leader in the local campus based ministry.
He said he had just recently read that the average age of pastors in American had gone from 44 to 55 over the last few years....wow! If that is correct, we are not many years out from a desperate shortage of pastors. Many smaller churches now are experiencing difficulty in finding pastors.
This pastor said he thinks a key player in all of this can and should be campus based college ministries with their history of doing discipleship well. Often, campus based ministries do not have the resources or staff that a church ministry has. Part of the campus based philosophy is to empower, train, and allow students to lead in every day ministry roles. As these students meet with their campus minister for training, encouragement, and evaluation God often speaks to them in terms of their vocational calling. And, their practical experience gives them a head start in ministry. Will one of America's great pastors come out of your ministry? You might even be surprised who it is!
Seven Things Campus Based Ministers Can Do:
1. Speak about calling in your large group setting.
2. When meeting individually with students, ask about their sense of calling in their lives.
3. Bring in different ministry people to meet with those who feel called or are open to God's call to ministry.In our weekly Lunch Program on the ASU campus, we would try to have once a year a panel of different people serving in different full time ministry roles. A large number of our students had grown
up in smaller rural churches and were not aware of all the different full time ministry roles that were options. We also made certain to have at least one woman serving in a full time ministry position, as many of our young women were open to God's call to full time vocational ministry.
4. Give a copy of Jeff Iorg's book, IS GOD CALLING ME?. It is super practical and even if a student has already made a commitment to vocational ministry, it will help them understand and solidify that call on their life.
5. Look for opportunities for them to serve. Are there churches looking for part-time or summer staffers?Are there smaller churches in your area needing someone to preach while their pastor is gone or who are in a time without a pastor? There are smaller churches who have loved on lots of "young preacher boys".
6. Help students process and learn from their experiences of serving in a ministerial leadership role. We often found that students were disillusioned by the conflict or "wrangling" they saw in churches when they served in an "inside role". Help them understand the imperfection of all of us and that these people do not necessarily represent all they will experience.
7. Give some thought to the alums of your ministry now serving in ministry positions and send a word of encouragement to them. Consider inviting one of them to come speak at one of your events who experienced their call to ministry while sitting right where your students are sitting now.
He said he had just recently read that the average age of pastors in American had gone from 44 to 55 over the last few years....wow! If that is correct, we are not many years out from a desperate shortage of pastors. Many smaller churches now are experiencing difficulty in finding pastors.
This pastor said he thinks a key player in all of this can and should be campus based college ministries with their history of doing discipleship well. Often, campus based ministries do not have the resources or staff that a church ministry has. Part of the campus based philosophy is to empower, train, and allow students to lead in every day ministry roles. As these students meet with their campus minister for training, encouragement, and evaluation God often speaks to them in terms of their vocational calling. And, their practical experience gives them a head start in ministry. Will one of America's great pastors come out of your ministry? You might even be surprised who it is!
Seven Things Campus Based Ministers Can Do:
1. Speak about calling in your large group setting.
2. When meeting individually with students, ask about their sense of calling in their lives.
3. Bring in different ministry people to meet with those who feel called or are open to God's call to ministry.In our weekly Lunch Program on the ASU campus, we would try to have once a year a panel of different people serving in different full time ministry roles. A large number of our students had grown
up in smaller rural churches and were not aware of all the different full time ministry roles that were options. We also made certain to have at least one woman serving in a full time ministry position, as many of our young women were open to God's call to full time vocational ministry.
4. Give a copy of Jeff Iorg's book, IS GOD CALLING ME?. It is super practical and even if a student has already made a commitment to vocational ministry, it will help them understand and solidify that call on their life.
5. Look for opportunities for them to serve. Are there churches looking for part-time or summer staffers?Are there smaller churches in your area needing someone to preach while their pastor is gone or who are in a time without a pastor? There are smaller churches who have loved on lots of "young preacher boys".
6. Help students process and learn from their experiences of serving in a ministerial leadership role. We often found that students were disillusioned by the conflict or "wrangling" they saw in churches when they served in an "inside role". Help them understand the imperfection of all of us and that these people do not necessarily represent all they will experience.
7. Give some thought to the alums of your ministry now serving in ministry positions and send a word of encouragement to them. Consider inviting one of them to come speak at one of your events who experienced their call to ministry while sitting right where your students are sitting now.
Thursday, February 2, 2017
The Fifty Spiritually Darkest Campuses in North America: A Daunting and Strategic Initiative
This is a Guest Post by Jonathan Yarboro, Collegiate Team Leader in North Carolina, No Campus Left and Chair of The Planting Team of BCNet (Baptist Collegiate Network).
The Bible boldly and definitively states that not everyone who hears the gospel message will respond affirmatively by deciding to follow Jesus. But it is equally as clear on ur mandate to take the gospel message to everyone. We should be driven by a passion to give every single college student an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.
In 2007, I was leading a campus ministry at Appalachian State University in Boone. That was the year that people far removed from the North Carolina High Country were zealously discussing Appalachian State. It had nothing to do with me. The discussion stemmed from the shock surrounding a now-famous football game on September 1. It was the day that the App State Mountaineers beat the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor to go down in history as one of the greatest college football upsets in history. The significance of this even guarantees that every Michigan fan reading this is considering moving on to another article right now.
It was an exciting day for those of us connected to Jerry Moore's Mountaineers. I won't deny that. But for the purpose of this article, I want to look at that day from Michigan's vantage point. Michigan fans were shocked (App fans were, too; don't let them fool you!), but they were also embarrassed. Here are some reasons why:
- It was the very first game broadcast on the then-new Big Ten Network.
- It was only the second time in history that a FCS team had beaten a nationally ranked (5th) FBS team.
- The defeat resulted in Michigan dropping out of the AP Poll altogether.
- It was the first time in history that a top five team dropped out entirely as a result of one game.
- The had doled out $400,000 to App State.
People will argue all over the place about the intricacies of the game, and I'm not going to get into all that. The primary issue is that Michigan failed to prepare. both coach Carr and the team neglected to do a reality check. App went into Ann Arbor ranked number on the FCS, with two back-to-back national championships under their belt, and a 14-game winning streak. Maybe it was a fluke; but App State was accustomed to winning and came in determined to do just that. The Wolverines underestimated the Mountaineers based on some bad assumptions.
My point is simply this: failure to look at reality, or a determination to continue in our assumptions, can lead to devastation. In our ministry context, such a mistake can lead to eternal consequences.
In an effort to face reality and eschew the possibility of misplaced assumptions, the Planting Team of Baptist Collegiate Network (BCNet) has begun an initiative to determine the Fifty Spiritually Darkest Campuses in North America. The project is designed to identify these fifty campuses based on widespread gospel accessibility. We have enlisted the help of a seasoned researcher and people group mapper to lift out what is essentially the darkest 1%. The first step in the research process is to examine all 5,000+ campuses in the U.S. and Canada to determine which ones have absolutely no gospel presence at all. The project has no prejudice of ministry model. A gospel presence can be a parachurch campus ministry, a denominational collegiate ministry, a collegiate church, or a church-based collegiate ministry. If a campus has any of these, it is immediately eliminated as we are only looking for campuses that are completely unengaged with the gospel. The project is also no respecter of classifications; we are looking at residential campuses and commuter campuses, community colleges and regional universities, state-supported universities and private colleges. Every campus has students who don't know Jesus.
Once those campuses with no gospel presence have been identified, we will then look at gospel accessibility by evaluating two variables:
1. Density: How many students are on the campus?
2. Accessibility: How many churches are within a 10-mile radius of the campus?
DENSITY
This variable simply determines how many students are on the campus. How vast is the pool of students we are studying? More students equate a greater sense of urgency.
ACCESSIBILITY
This variable determines how accessible the gospel is to the students on a given campus by recording the number of evangelical churches near the campus. This is not about measuring how effective (or ineffective) these churches are at reaching the campus; rather the purpose is simply to determine how easily a student can access the gospel message.
The initiative is one step in an effort to catalyze the strategic movement of resources traditionally hoarded by churches, denominational entities, and Christian networks in the South to the mission fields that continue to live in famine in other parts of North America. The initiative holds up a end goal of starting gospel ministry on the campuses that are currently the most gospel-destitute. The reality is that if we do not find out where the need is and, in turn, spotlight the need on those campuses, no one will go. If students are to have a chance to hear and respond to the gospel, we need missionaries to go.
Personally, I look forward to seeing the results of this study in June so that I can join the rest of the BCNet Planting Team in efforts to champion the mobilization of teams to take the gospel where it is most needed on our continent. I hope you will join me in praying for the projects and for the campuses that the project will ultimately identify as the fifty spiritually darkest campuses in North America.
Jonathan Yarboro
Collegiate Team Leader in North Carolina, No Campus Left
(The Planting Team of BCNet is Josh Hyde of The Bridge Church in North Carolina, Lucas Aube of Encounter Student Ministries in Quebec, Barry Sproles of Campus Church in Florida, and Kimberly Simpson of The Point Church in Vancouver, and Jonathan Yarboro of the No Campus Left Team in North Carolina.
The following entities have given financial gifts to make this projet possible: Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, Kentucky Baptist Convention, Ohio Baptist Convention, Arkansas Baptist State Convention, and Baptist Collegiate Network.
The Georgia Baptist Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, Lifeway, and the International Mission Board have contributed data to use as a starting place in the research project.)
The Bible boldly and definitively states that not everyone who hears the gospel message will respond affirmatively by deciding to follow Jesus. But it is equally as clear on ur mandate to take the gospel message to everyone. We should be driven by a passion to give every single college student an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.
In 2007, I was leading a campus ministry at Appalachian State University in Boone. That was the year that people far removed from the North Carolina High Country were zealously discussing Appalachian State. It had nothing to do with me. The discussion stemmed from the shock surrounding a now-famous football game on September 1. It was the day that the App State Mountaineers beat the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor to go down in history as one of the greatest college football upsets in history. The significance of this even guarantees that every Michigan fan reading this is considering moving on to another article right now.
It was an exciting day for those of us connected to Jerry Moore's Mountaineers. I won't deny that. But for the purpose of this article, I want to look at that day from Michigan's vantage point. Michigan fans were shocked (App fans were, too; don't let them fool you!), but they were also embarrassed. Here are some reasons why:
- It was the very first game broadcast on the then-new Big Ten Network.
- It was only the second time in history that a FCS team had beaten a nationally ranked (5th) FBS team.
- The defeat resulted in Michigan dropping out of the AP Poll altogether.
- It was the first time in history that a top five team dropped out entirely as a result of one game.
- The had doled out $400,000 to App State.
People will argue all over the place about the intricacies of the game, and I'm not going to get into all that. The primary issue is that Michigan failed to prepare. both coach Carr and the team neglected to do a reality check. App went into Ann Arbor ranked number on the FCS, with two back-to-back national championships under their belt, and a 14-game winning streak. Maybe it was a fluke; but App State was accustomed to winning and came in determined to do just that. The Wolverines underestimated the Mountaineers based on some bad assumptions.
My point is simply this: failure to look at reality, or a determination to continue in our assumptions, can lead to devastation. In our ministry context, such a mistake can lead to eternal consequences.
In an effort to face reality and eschew the possibility of misplaced assumptions, the Planting Team of Baptist Collegiate Network (BCNet) has begun an initiative to determine the Fifty Spiritually Darkest Campuses in North America. The project is designed to identify these fifty campuses based on widespread gospel accessibility. We have enlisted the help of a seasoned researcher and people group mapper to lift out what is essentially the darkest 1%. The first step in the research process is to examine all 5,000+ campuses in the U.S. and Canada to determine which ones have absolutely no gospel presence at all. The project has no prejudice of ministry model. A gospel presence can be a parachurch campus ministry, a denominational collegiate ministry, a collegiate church, or a church-based collegiate ministry. If a campus has any of these, it is immediately eliminated as we are only looking for campuses that are completely unengaged with the gospel. The project is also no respecter of classifications; we are looking at residential campuses and commuter campuses, community colleges and regional universities, state-supported universities and private colleges. Every campus has students who don't know Jesus.
Once those campuses with no gospel presence have been identified, we will then look at gospel accessibility by evaluating two variables:
1. Density: How many students are on the campus?
2. Accessibility: How many churches are within a 10-mile radius of the campus?
DENSITY
This variable simply determines how many students are on the campus. How vast is the pool of students we are studying? More students equate a greater sense of urgency.
ACCESSIBILITY
This variable determines how accessible the gospel is to the students on a given campus by recording the number of evangelical churches near the campus. This is not about measuring how effective (or ineffective) these churches are at reaching the campus; rather the purpose is simply to determine how easily a student can access the gospel message.
The initiative is one step in an effort to catalyze the strategic movement of resources traditionally hoarded by churches, denominational entities, and Christian networks in the South to the mission fields that continue to live in famine in other parts of North America. The initiative holds up a end goal of starting gospel ministry on the campuses that are currently the most gospel-destitute. The reality is that if we do not find out where the need is and, in turn, spotlight the need on those campuses, no one will go. If students are to have a chance to hear and respond to the gospel, we need missionaries to go.
Personally, I look forward to seeing the results of this study in June so that I can join the rest of the BCNet Planting Team in efforts to champion the mobilization of teams to take the gospel where it is most needed on our continent. I hope you will join me in praying for the projects and for the campuses that the project will ultimately identify as the fifty spiritually darkest campuses in North America.
Jonathan Yarboro
Collegiate Team Leader in North Carolina, No Campus Left
(The Planting Team of BCNet is Josh Hyde of The Bridge Church in North Carolina, Lucas Aube of Encounter Student Ministries in Quebec, Barry Sproles of Campus Church in Florida, and Kimberly Simpson of The Point Church in Vancouver, and Jonathan Yarboro of the No Campus Left Team in North Carolina.
The following entities have given financial gifts to make this projet possible: Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, Kentucky Baptist Convention, Ohio Baptist Convention, Arkansas Baptist State Convention, and Baptist Collegiate Network.
The Georgia Baptist Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, Lifeway, and the International Mission Board have contributed data to use as a starting place in the research project.)
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