1. Declining Funds
Less money is being given to many churches and they are looking for places to cut. More ministries are raising money and all of us are getting more requests for special giving apart from what we give to our church. Some worthy projects suffer.
2. Over Assignment
Denominational College Ministers are being asked to do more and more things outside of their college ministry assignment such as serving as youth consultants to area churches. One such College Minister on a large nationally known campus told me he is now away from campus two days each week. This is placing greater stress on work and family life. Some formally fully funded College Ministers are now being asked to raise a part of their salary from alumni which puts an additional strain on time.
3. Teens Dropping Church Before High School Graduation
Many church youth groups now report few to no high school seniors active in their youth ministry. Many college ministries, particularly those in the deep south, in the past could count on a strong group of committed active freshmen coming to campus looking to be involved. Now, College Ministers are being asked to re-enlist those who have walked away from faith prior to high school graduation, in addition to sharing Christ with non-believers.
4. Too Many Experts!
Every plus has a back side minus. Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc serve a wonderful plus in allowing the sharing of information, ideas and articles. The back side of that is that not all information shared through these outlets is good and helpful. Just because someone is super active on social media, it does not mean that their writings about college ministry are all gospel. Beware of experts....including this one! Just because an article is trending does not mean it is a good idea for your ministry.
5. Decentralization of Support Groups and Agencies
In Baptist life there were formally offices with large staffs that either worked with or benefited college ministry. There were speakers available at no cost. There were consultants who came on their expense. Due to different shifts and changes this is no longer the case or has significantly declined.
6. A False Argument
There is a false argument today that is greatly harming college ministry. It is the "Which is the best way to do college ministry...is it campus based or campus church plant?" question. It is false in that some situations are best served by campus based and some are best served by campus church plants. This argument is hurting both causes.
7. Fewer People Going Toward College Ministry
Seminary classes related to college ministry that formally had 25 to 30 students in them now have 5 to 10. Those who recruit and hire College Ministers report there are fewer people available. Why is this? The word on the street is that there are few jobs in college ministry. We are doing such a good job in signaling the need for church planters that other callings are being drowned out. Are you challenging your students to consider God's call to the college campus?
8. Some Campus Attitudes and Policies Toward Religious Groups
Within the last couple of years some college campuses have adopted rules and regulations that have negatively affected campus based or Recognized Student Organizations which are religious ministries. These are policies about who can serve as officers, etc. Some argue that there has been a move particularly against Christian groups.
9. Increasing Working Hours by Students
As college costs more, students tend to work more hours. As a result, they just are not as available as they once were.
10. Growth of Community Colleges
Many states now are advocating students attend community college their first two years at reduced or even near zero cost. Then, they transfer to a four year college. This causes two problems. First, many of these students will continue to live at home and will only be on campus for classes and then gone. They are hard to find and to connect. Second, it increases the number of campuses that need a campus ministry presence.
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