The 5 Chimps Theory and College Ministry

The 5 Chimps Theory that I tweeted recently is, "You are emotionally, physically, financially, or otherwise the average of the five people you hang out with most.".  This comes from a new book, "Ten Habits of Successful People".

I think there are two really pertinent applications of this to College Ministry.

1.  College Ministers need to connect with other College Ministers who will help them grow and continue to develop in the best ways to reach their campus.  And, these five people do not all need to be people in your same locale and state who see and hear exactly the same things you do.  Some of our closest connections must be with people who share similar commitments, etc, but are seeing and experiencing some different things.  If you are a BSU/BCM Director, develop and cultivate friendships with a College Minister or two who serve in another state.  If you are a church College Minister, connect with a couple of College Ministry friends who are in another state or either another denomination.  Each of you will benefit from this cross sharing of ideas and approaches.  Hearing and doing the same old same old leads to......the same old, same old!

2.  College students....particularly freshmen....need to have strong Christian students in their lives who will help them become strong Christian students.  The best thing we can do in the life of incoming freshmen is to connect them in some way to upperclass students who are walking with the Lord.  It may be a Freshmen Bible Study led by an upperclassman or it may be one to one discipleship partners.  Non-Christian students can be impacted by upperclass students who take seriously the idea that they can literally be a life-changer in the life of an incoming freshmen.  What are you planning and doing to help put "5 Christian Chimps" into the life of a bunch of incoming freshmen in just a few weeks?  Doing the same old same old leads to the same old, same old!

Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry coach, blogger, and author.  His new book, "ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT COLLEGE MINISTRY," is now available at amazon.com.  Type in Arliss Dickerson or the title.