Our Back-2-School Retreat usually came about three weeks into the start of the fall semester. I called it the end of the beginning. I have always loved all the special outreach events and connections made at the start of the fall semester. There is the excitement of meeting so many new students and connecting to ones someone had told you about. There is a special energy that goes with the start of the fall term.
But, I always was glad to see the end of the beginning. For one thing, no one can maintain the pace that goes with the start of school events that happen continually and take extra planning and energy. But, I have learned that it also can give a false sense of where things are in your ministry. Just as students have what I call "Reality Week" the end of the beginning is reality week for college ministries. Reality Week is what I call about the third week of school where students start having their first round of tests. Many who have not done much studying to this point....particularly freshmen....realize they cannot continue on the 24/7 fun cycle. That study and even sleep has to enter the equation.
It even affects your upper class leaders as well. Where they have been available to work in the ministry almost 24/7 their reality of school kicks in as well and they have less time to give to the ministry and your errands and ideas.
But, I liked getting down to business.....getting down to where we do what we do. So, here are some suggestions or questions for you to think about if you are at "The End of the Beginning".
1. Who have we not seen we saw that first week that was so full of promise and possibilities?
2. Are you giving as much thought to excellence in your regular events as you did in your special outreach events?
3. Have you settled into a regular schedule of meeting with student leaders in encouraging, training and praying with them?
4. In outreach to new people sometimes, we have not seen some upperclassmen who have been very involved the previous year. Any familiar faces missing?
5. Is there a leader or two in key roles that showed during the first couple of weeks that they need some special attention and encouragement? Or, they may have even decided to drop out of their leadership role and good...not just hasty.....thought must be given as to what to do. AND, help them not to let this run them away from the ministry with a sense of failure.
6. If you have not already, start scheduling times to meet with and hear the stories of those who served in summer ministry....camp counselors, Summer Missionaries, etc. For some coming back is hard. For others, the summer was painful and they need to process it and decide what all it means and what they need to learn from it. Often, students who served in the summer do not process it properly and the lessons of the summer are lost.
7. Take a couple of extra hours for a make-up lunch with your spouse or to do something a little special with your kids.
"Being Confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion....." Philippians 1:6
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is an Amazon book aimed at helping ministries go to the next level. It is available in print or eBook form.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
Monday, August 28, 2017
Evaluating Your Start of School Events.....2 Questions to Ask
I have done and participated in a ton of start of school events in my 40 plus years in college ministry. As Interim College Minister at my church this year, I am doing several and I am attending events done by others.
Usually we do not evaluate them well because we are just blindly rushing to the next event. Through the years I decided some events were great fun and had a big crowd.....but...in the end when I really evaluated them.....they were not worth the time, effort, and sometimes, the expense.
The most common question or point of evaluation of a college ministry start of school event is, "Did we have a good crowd?". I stopped having some events where we had "a good crowd" but when I looked at it on a deeper level I realized, it did not benefit our ministry. We used to have a big Luau. It was fun and we had big crowds. After a few years we stopped having the Luau and had our first Worship event with food afterwards. We did what we do and we were who we were. Most who had come to our Luau did not know who we were or what and why we were. I am not in any way opposed to Luau's or any type fun event if it is serving the purpose for which you are holding it.
Here are the two questions I think we must ask about our start of school events:
1. Did it benefit the students who attended in any way?
I honestly think one of our purposes in start of school event is to benefit the students. Survival is one of those type events with its "Survival Tips", etc. We might say an event did not accomplish much for our ministry but it was a help and blessing to those who attended. We are doing college ministry to help and bless college students.
2. Did it benefit our ministry?
Honestly, about ninety percent of why we do start of school events is to inform students about our ministry and or draw them to our ministry. So, the question is not, "Did we have a big crowd?" or "Did everyone have a good time?". The question is DID IT BENEFIT OUR MINISTRY? Were students informed about what we were doing OR did the event cause them to want to connect to our ministry?
As you begin to come to "the end of the beginning", ask these two questions about your events.
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is an Amazon book aimed at helping college ministries go to the next level. It is available in print or eBook form.
Usually we do not evaluate them well because we are just blindly rushing to the next event. Through the years I decided some events were great fun and had a big crowd.....but...in the end when I really evaluated them.....they were not worth the time, effort, and sometimes, the expense.
The most common question or point of evaluation of a college ministry start of school event is, "Did we have a good crowd?". I stopped having some events where we had "a good crowd" but when I looked at it on a deeper level I realized, it did not benefit our ministry. We used to have a big Luau. It was fun and we had big crowds. After a few years we stopped having the Luau and had our first Worship event with food afterwards. We did what we do and we were who we were. Most who had come to our Luau did not know who we were or what and why we were. I am not in any way opposed to Luau's or any type fun event if it is serving the purpose for which you are holding it.
Here are the two questions I think we must ask about our start of school events:
1. Did it benefit the students who attended in any way?
I honestly think one of our purposes in start of school event is to benefit the students. Survival is one of those type events with its "Survival Tips", etc. We might say an event did not accomplish much for our ministry but it was a help and blessing to those who attended. We are doing college ministry to help and bless college students.
2. Did it benefit our ministry?
Honestly, about ninety percent of why we do start of school events is to inform students about our ministry and or draw them to our ministry. So, the question is not, "Did we have a big crowd?" or "Did everyone have a good time?". The question is DID IT BENEFIT OUR MINISTRY? Were students informed about what we were doing OR did the event cause them to want to connect to our ministry?
As you begin to come to "the end of the beginning", ask these two questions about your events.
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is an Amazon book aimed at helping college ministries go to the next level. It is available in print or eBook form.
Friday, August 25, 2017
Why College Freshmen Drop Out of Church
In recent years surveys have indicated that most college freshmen active in church in high school are not connecting to church in college. Some said, "Nine out of ten are dropping out." Another said it's not nearly that bad, it is "ONLY seven out of ten". So, why is it happening? For most, I believe it is a combination of things. Here are some reasons that I observe.
1. High school seniors feel they have graduated from church.
My church does a beautiful Senior Sunday with a slide show in the services, introduction of each senior, often a special message or speaker directed toward them and then a really nice banquet type meal for students, parents and grandparents after the service. It is first class. This past May following that great Sunday, one of the graduating seniors attended Sunday School again over the rest of the summer. They were done.
2. College is busier.
I am convinced most do not go with the plan to drop church. It is just a fact that college is busier than high school with either increased academic expectations or activities or both. It is easy for a college freshman to just assume that church will fall in somewhere there, because it has in the past. The first month passes and they have not connected anywhere and that usually is the end of it. A Christian student has to be intentional about connecting to a church. Intentionality is key!
3. Parents ok dropping out.
I always hate saying this because it is an unfair statement in many ways. Here is what I mean. Many parents who are active believers and very involved in their church dropped out while they were in college and so they assume that their son or daughter will drop out but will come back as they did. Somehow, somehow that message is communicated to the students. I encourage parents to talk about and encourage faith involvement the same as they talk continually about keeping up their grades and maintaining their scholarships, etc.
4. A moral failure.
Most college students go to college looking for friends and fun. Often in finding friends and fun they are exposed to and participate in things they had considered wrong just a month before. Sometimes, students get drunk or have sex due to new friends and an attempt to find a place they fit. This "moral failure" on their part produces a sense of guilt or failure that drives them away from their faith involvement. I tell College Ministers that all their early talks and messages must include talk of forgiveness...even when that is not the topic.
5. Bigger college churches.
It is just a fact that the majority of churches are small. Students have often grown up in and attended what I call "Cousin Churches". They knew everyone in the church and their aunt was their Sunday School teacher. At college most churches reaching out to students are larger and students who visit often feel uncomfortable and compare it to their home church. It is different and feels very uncomfortable.
6. We do not have a good "next step" system.
Many Youth Ministers feel their job is done when the student graduates. Many churches do not have a good transition group or strategy from youth to what is next. It is difficult to go from a high school Bible study group to a "Singles Group" with 30 year olds. Where do they fit?
7. Exposure to a variety of questions, different beliefs, and doubts.
Obviously, one of the things that happens at college is students are exposed to different beliefs, religions and skepticism about Christian faith. A professor may openly ridicule Christian ideas and beliefs. We must help students know that doubt and honest questions are not contrary to a healthy faith and that everything a professor says about faith and the Bible is not necessarily accurate. But, it is easy to feel the person up in front of the class is an expert in all they say.
8. Feeling overwhelmed.
A freshman girl said to me this week she was just scared. It is not one thing she is scared about; it is just the bigness and change of it all. Consequently, students tend to withdraw and isolate themselves because it just is overloading their system.
9. Churches have separated youth from the rest of the church.
I believe a huge mistake that we are making in attempting to do the best job of youth ministry is that we are separating youth from the rest of the church. We have special youth everything. That is part of why they feel they have graduated from church when they graduate from high school. I had a text message today asking me to check on a certain freshman guy who was not doing well. He had visited a church Sunday but said, "there was a bunch of old white people there." He is white and the church he grew up in has a bunch of "old white people" in it. We must integrate our youth into the church as a whole.
Some of these reasons are issues we must address in how we do church and youth ministry. Some of it goes to helping and encouraging parents in working with their sons and daughters prior to and while in college. Part of it goes to understanding all that is happening in the lives of college freshmen and doing all we can to connect people to them who get it.
It has been said that the two greatest times of change in a person's life are birth to age one and high school graduation to Christmas. We don't leave new born babies on their own and expect them to survive. Why should we expect college freshmen to be fine on their own? The University President said to me once, "Parents have every right to expect someone to look to the spiritual welfare of their children. I cannot do that, but I can help you do that.". Most colleges are not geared to or planning to help students spiritually. That is up to us. We have to do a better job of it.
Arliss Dickerson's book, Tips for College Freshmen: 124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades, is available at amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9.
1. High school seniors feel they have graduated from church.
My church does a beautiful Senior Sunday with a slide show in the services, introduction of each senior, often a special message or speaker directed toward them and then a really nice banquet type meal for students, parents and grandparents after the service. It is first class. This past May following that great Sunday, one of the graduating seniors attended Sunday School again over the rest of the summer. They were done.
2. College is busier.
I am convinced most do not go with the plan to drop church. It is just a fact that college is busier than high school with either increased academic expectations or activities or both. It is easy for a college freshman to just assume that church will fall in somewhere there, because it has in the past. The first month passes and they have not connected anywhere and that usually is the end of it. A Christian student has to be intentional about connecting to a church. Intentionality is key!
3. Parents ok dropping out.
I always hate saying this because it is an unfair statement in many ways. Here is what I mean. Many parents who are active believers and very involved in their church dropped out while they were in college and so they assume that their son or daughter will drop out but will come back as they did. Somehow, somehow that message is communicated to the students. I encourage parents to talk about and encourage faith involvement the same as they talk continually about keeping up their grades and maintaining their scholarships, etc.
4. A moral failure.
Most college students go to college looking for friends and fun. Often in finding friends and fun they are exposed to and participate in things they had considered wrong just a month before. Sometimes, students get drunk or have sex due to new friends and an attempt to find a place they fit. This "moral failure" on their part produces a sense of guilt or failure that drives them away from their faith involvement. I tell College Ministers that all their early talks and messages must include talk of forgiveness...even when that is not the topic.
5. Bigger college churches.
It is just a fact that the majority of churches are small. Students have often grown up in and attended what I call "Cousin Churches". They knew everyone in the church and their aunt was their Sunday School teacher. At college most churches reaching out to students are larger and students who visit often feel uncomfortable and compare it to their home church. It is different and feels very uncomfortable.
6. We do not have a good "next step" system.
Many Youth Ministers feel their job is done when the student graduates. Many churches do not have a good transition group or strategy from youth to what is next. It is difficult to go from a high school Bible study group to a "Singles Group" with 30 year olds. Where do they fit?
7. Exposure to a variety of questions, different beliefs, and doubts.
Obviously, one of the things that happens at college is students are exposed to different beliefs, religions and skepticism about Christian faith. A professor may openly ridicule Christian ideas and beliefs. We must help students know that doubt and honest questions are not contrary to a healthy faith and that everything a professor says about faith and the Bible is not necessarily accurate. But, it is easy to feel the person up in front of the class is an expert in all they say.
8. Feeling overwhelmed.
A freshman girl said to me this week she was just scared. It is not one thing she is scared about; it is just the bigness and change of it all. Consequently, students tend to withdraw and isolate themselves because it just is overloading their system.
9. Churches have separated youth from the rest of the church.
I believe a huge mistake that we are making in attempting to do the best job of youth ministry is that we are separating youth from the rest of the church. We have special youth everything. That is part of why they feel they have graduated from church when they graduate from high school. I had a text message today asking me to check on a certain freshman guy who was not doing well. He had visited a church Sunday but said, "there was a bunch of old white people there." He is white and the church he grew up in has a bunch of "old white people" in it. We must integrate our youth into the church as a whole.
Some of these reasons are issues we must address in how we do church and youth ministry. Some of it goes to helping and encouraging parents in working with their sons and daughters prior to and while in college. Part of it goes to understanding all that is happening in the lives of college freshmen and doing all we can to connect people to them who get it.
It has been said that the two greatest times of change in a person's life are birth to age one and high school graduation to Christmas. We don't leave new born babies on their own and expect them to survive. Why should we expect college freshmen to be fine on their own? The University President said to me once, "Parents have every right to expect someone to look to the spiritual welfare of their children. I cannot do that, but I can help you do that.". Most colleges are not geared to or planning to help students spiritually. That is up to us. We have to do a better job of it.
Arliss Dickerson's book, Tips for College Freshmen: 124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades, is available at amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9.
Monday, August 21, 2017
College Ministers and the News.....And Being Crazy Tired!
This is very different than any of my usual Blogs which are "how-to's" and "why's" of college Ministry. This is opinion.
I have recently read different College Ministers (some I know and respect and others I do not know) saying we should not read or watch the news. They say it is distracting.
I wholeheartedly disagree. As Christians we must be very much aware of the world and what is going on around us. Scripture admonishes us to pray for our leaders. Being aware of what is going on makes for better praying.
Christians are often accused of being out of touch. If we do not keep up with current events, we are out of touch. Now, can you watch too much cable news and become too into what is going on hour by hour? Absolutely! Also, remember that surveys indicate that people today want to watch news with which they agree. Beware of just watching news that slants it your direction. Watch and read news....not just opinion people.
That's the end of that rant.
I have just returned to a local college ministry position as the Interim College Minister at my church after just being a College Ministry Consultant. You know a consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you what time it is. I must admit that I had totally forgotten the crazy tired feeling that goes with the start of school...all the events you are doing or connecting to, etc. When I got out of bed this morning I felt like I had been in a football scrimmage yesterday. It took me a few steps to be able to even walk straight! Hope you can walk straight.
Blessings to all....Keep Doing it!
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is available on Kindle as an eBook or in print. It was written to help ministries re-build or to take them to the next level.
I have recently read different College Ministers (some I know and respect and others I do not know) saying we should not read or watch the news. They say it is distracting.
I wholeheartedly disagree. As Christians we must be very much aware of the world and what is going on around us. Scripture admonishes us to pray for our leaders. Being aware of what is going on makes for better praying.
Christians are often accused of being out of touch. If we do not keep up with current events, we are out of touch. Now, can you watch too much cable news and become too into what is going on hour by hour? Absolutely! Also, remember that surveys indicate that people today want to watch news with which they agree. Beware of just watching news that slants it your direction. Watch and read news....not just opinion people.
That's the end of that rant.
I have just returned to a local college ministry position as the Interim College Minister at my church after just being a College Ministry Consultant. You know a consultant is someone who borrows your watch to tell you what time it is. I must admit that I had totally forgotten the crazy tired feeling that goes with the start of school...all the events you are doing or connecting to, etc. When I got out of bed this morning I felt like I had been in a football scrimmage yesterday. It took me a few steps to be able to even walk straight! Hope you can walk straight.
Blessings to all....Keep Doing it!
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is available on Kindle as an eBook or in print. It was written to help ministries re-build or to take them to the next level.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
0-50 or 50-100: Which One Are You? By Ben Neiser
Many people ask me about my particular calling to Utah and how I discerned and continue to know that God has called us to this context. How does one know that you are a right fit for a particular ministry? There are several keys to calling in ministry but I would like to focus on just one today--Spiritual Awareness. How self-aware are you? Many of us know our spiritual gifts and use them daily.....if not multiple times a day. A lot of us know our strengths and our weaknesses. We may also know our spiritual blind spots and presuppositions. that can lead to difficulties and barriers in ministry. But, what I want to address is the total package of all these things and how they have played out in ministry over the life of your faith in Jesus. How does the sum of these things help us discern whether the ministry opportunity is right for us?
There are two basic categories in my mind: The 0-50 Minister and the 50-100 Minister. Yes, I mean 0-50 and 50-100 people. These are two distinct types of ministers. Trouble usually arises when the 0-50 tries to be the 50-100 or vice versa. I've been in both roles before. Before 2010, God placed me in specific roles for 7 years where I was a 0-50 Minister. In 2010 I spent a year as an Interim Youth Pastor of a large church. The group was 75 students and more than a dozen adult volunteers. The church was very supportive. The youth were engaged and the adults were encouraging. But, I realized the Lord had not equipped me to lead a group dynamic like that. I served there for a year.
The 0-50 Minister:
The 0-50 is comfortable and excited about self-starting or acquiring something very small. They are not anxious about the size and losing sleep over how to grow it overnight. They enjoy the tight relationships with each individual in the ministry. They are shepherds at heart. The are Mentors at heart. The enjoy the grind of deep growth in a new or young believer. The usually will have an evangelistic bent. The 0-50 Minister gravitates towards all things new, small, or non-existent.
When the 0-50 Minister gets put in the position of having to be a 50-100 Minister problems occur. Immediately anxiety starts to manifest. They don't want to reinvent the wheel so they continue to build on another's foundation. The systems, the structure, the events, the volunteers, the leadership - all of they keep not for their sake but for the sake of others. But this is a position they have never been placed in before. Before they entered into situations where there were very vague expectations and any growth numerically and spiritually would be a plus. Now they come in with very clear expectations on how the growth numerically and spiritually should happen. Most of the time the 0-50 Minister, if given enough freedom, will kill a major event or branch of the ministry to build something else or something similar from scratch. WHY? Because that is who they are. That is how God has gifted and wired them. They also can be seen as playing favorites because of a few close relationships that they have among the congregants, leadership or volunteers. But they aren't playing favorites! Again, it is who they are! This is how they have always functioned in ministry.
Reality Check:
Just like Paul argued that the ear shouldn't desire to be an eye, the 0-50 Minister should know who God has wired them to be and leverage that for His Glory in Kingdom growth. There is a reason why Paul sends Timothy to pastor at Ephesus and doesn't go himself. Inevitably, the 0-50 will take a crack at the 50-100 position. They will think that they have paid their dues in the smaller churches/ministries and they are ready for the ministry "Big Leagues". If you are wired like me, then you will get to a point when you won't want to do it any more.
What Happens When the Ministry Has Outgrown You?
Full Disclosure - As I previously stated, I'm a 0-50 guy. I don't want to presume too much about my faithful, Godly and gifted 50-100 Ministers. Please understand my tone is not a negative one.
The 50-100 Minister is comfortable in the crowd. They are usually your "big event" speakers. Most of their time during the week is spent preparing for a sermon or talk to the masses rather than meeting individually with congregants. They love systems and processes that can properly organize and communicate the vision on a mass level. The systems provide proper discipleship and equipping of the saints. They evaluate on every level. They tinker and tweak usually avoiding complete overhauls. Starting from scratch makes them nervous. They are usually anxious communicating in smaller more intimate setting. They get anxious and lose sleep over the rate of growth of the group numerically and spiritually. Over time the Lord has put those ministers in places where a ministry already existed and they have come in and grown, strengthened, deepened, and even multiplied it.
When the 50-100 Minister is put in a place where they have to be the 0-50 Minister then problems arise. They are uncomfortable with small and brand new. They can get easily frustrated when things aren't developing quickly. They are truly out of their element. They are having to ask questions and come up with solutions to issues that they have never faced before. They have to spend more time with people than with message prep. If things don't build quickly enough, then they usually leave for another ministry that has systems in place that they can tweak, fix, or maintain.
The 50-100 Minister isn't a Church Planter.
You might be asking, when would a 50-100 Minister want to be a 0-50 Minister? In the realm of church planting is where I see this mainly play out. Now follow me on this. When I say church planting, I don't mean a transplant or replant. A transplant is where a church relocates 25-50 members to another location to start a church but in a sense they are already a church with systems and trained adult volunteers from day one. I am talking about a team of maybe two or three couples that have to be evangelistic and make disciples from new converts. Then a church is born out of those efforts. I have seen this play out in my state. The 50-100 Minister tries to stick it out as a lead planter with a group of 25-40 attending but only 12 are really bought in to the vision. They plant with the hopes that in less than a year they they will be a a more self sustainable size. When it doesn't happen at the rate they are used to, they usually burn out.
What is the point?
Ok, let's get to the point: Self-Awareness. Know who you are. Be who you are. Which one are you? What positions has the Lord put you in the past? Have you ever started anything from scratch before? I don't care if it was a small group Bible study when you were a college student. Have you mainly taken ministries that are already built and made them better? In what ministry situations do you find yourself anxious? In what ministry situations do you find yourself flourishing?
I have spent 9 years in ministry. I served in leadership in a large campus ministry as a student for 4 years. I currently serve a campus organization that has 25 students in attendance. I'm not looking for the "Big League" ministry position. I know who I am. I know who the Lord has called me and equipped me to be.
Go, and do likewise.
Ben Neiser is the Director of Equipping and Multiplication of First Baptist Church of Provo, Utah. He also serve as a volunteer with an evangelical campus organization at BYU.
There are two basic categories in my mind: The 0-50 Minister and the 50-100 Minister. Yes, I mean 0-50 and 50-100 people. These are two distinct types of ministers. Trouble usually arises when the 0-50 tries to be the 50-100 or vice versa. I've been in both roles before. Before 2010, God placed me in specific roles for 7 years where I was a 0-50 Minister. In 2010 I spent a year as an Interim Youth Pastor of a large church. The group was 75 students and more than a dozen adult volunteers. The church was very supportive. The youth were engaged and the adults were encouraging. But, I realized the Lord had not equipped me to lead a group dynamic like that. I served there for a year.
The 0-50 Minister:
The 0-50 is comfortable and excited about self-starting or acquiring something very small. They are not anxious about the size and losing sleep over how to grow it overnight. They enjoy the tight relationships with each individual in the ministry. They are shepherds at heart. The are Mentors at heart. The enjoy the grind of deep growth in a new or young believer. The usually will have an evangelistic bent. The 0-50 Minister gravitates towards all things new, small, or non-existent.
When the 0-50 Minister gets put in the position of having to be a 50-100 Minister problems occur. Immediately anxiety starts to manifest. They don't want to reinvent the wheel so they continue to build on another's foundation. The systems, the structure, the events, the volunteers, the leadership - all of they keep not for their sake but for the sake of others. But this is a position they have never been placed in before. Before they entered into situations where there were very vague expectations and any growth numerically and spiritually would be a plus. Now they come in with very clear expectations on how the growth numerically and spiritually should happen. Most of the time the 0-50 Minister, if given enough freedom, will kill a major event or branch of the ministry to build something else or something similar from scratch. WHY? Because that is who they are. That is how God has gifted and wired them. They also can be seen as playing favorites because of a few close relationships that they have among the congregants, leadership or volunteers. But they aren't playing favorites! Again, it is who they are! This is how they have always functioned in ministry.
Reality Check:
Just like Paul argued that the ear shouldn't desire to be an eye, the 0-50 Minister should know who God has wired them to be and leverage that for His Glory in Kingdom growth. There is a reason why Paul sends Timothy to pastor at Ephesus and doesn't go himself. Inevitably, the 0-50 will take a crack at the 50-100 position. They will think that they have paid their dues in the smaller churches/ministries and they are ready for the ministry "Big Leagues". If you are wired like me, then you will get to a point when you won't want to do it any more.
What Happens When the Ministry Has Outgrown You?
Full Disclosure - As I previously stated, I'm a 0-50 guy. I don't want to presume too much about my faithful, Godly and gifted 50-100 Ministers. Please understand my tone is not a negative one.
The 50-100 Minister is comfortable in the crowd. They are usually your "big event" speakers. Most of their time during the week is spent preparing for a sermon or talk to the masses rather than meeting individually with congregants. They love systems and processes that can properly organize and communicate the vision on a mass level. The systems provide proper discipleship and equipping of the saints. They evaluate on every level. They tinker and tweak usually avoiding complete overhauls. Starting from scratch makes them nervous. They are usually anxious communicating in smaller more intimate setting. They get anxious and lose sleep over the rate of growth of the group numerically and spiritually. Over time the Lord has put those ministers in places where a ministry already existed and they have come in and grown, strengthened, deepened, and even multiplied it.
When the 50-100 Minister is put in a place where they have to be the 0-50 Minister then problems arise. They are uncomfortable with small and brand new. They can get easily frustrated when things aren't developing quickly. They are truly out of their element. They are having to ask questions and come up with solutions to issues that they have never faced before. They have to spend more time with people than with message prep. If things don't build quickly enough, then they usually leave for another ministry that has systems in place that they can tweak, fix, or maintain.
The 50-100 Minister isn't a Church Planter.
You might be asking, when would a 50-100 Minister want to be a 0-50 Minister? In the realm of church planting is where I see this mainly play out. Now follow me on this. When I say church planting, I don't mean a transplant or replant. A transplant is where a church relocates 25-50 members to another location to start a church but in a sense they are already a church with systems and trained adult volunteers from day one. I am talking about a team of maybe two or three couples that have to be evangelistic and make disciples from new converts. Then a church is born out of those efforts. I have seen this play out in my state. The 50-100 Minister tries to stick it out as a lead planter with a group of 25-40 attending but only 12 are really bought in to the vision. They plant with the hopes that in less than a year they they will be a a more self sustainable size. When it doesn't happen at the rate they are used to, they usually burn out.
What is the point?
Ok, let's get to the point: Self-Awareness. Know who you are. Be who you are. Which one are you? What positions has the Lord put you in the past? Have you ever started anything from scratch before? I don't care if it was a small group Bible study when you were a college student. Have you mainly taken ministries that are already built and made them better? In what ministry situations do you find yourself anxious? In what ministry situations do you find yourself flourishing?
I have spent 9 years in ministry. I served in leadership in a large campus ministry as a student for 4 years. I currently serve a campus organization that has 25 students in attendance. I'm not looking for the "Big League" ministry position. I know who I am. I know who the Lord has called me and equipped me to be.
Go, and do likewise.
Ben Neiser is the Director of Equipping and Multiplication of First Baptist Church of Provo, Utah. He also serve as a volunteer with an evangelical campus organization at BYU.
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
EVERYTHING You Could Possibly Want to Know About Reaching College Freshmen!
Doing a specialized and intentional Freshmen Ministry is the single best way to reach, influence and impact more college students for Christ. Here are the "QuickNotes" for everything you need to know about Freshmen Ministry.
WHY DO FRESHMEN MINISTRY?
1. Freshmen are more available than any other group of students on your campus.
2. Many students shipwreck their lives during their freshmen year.
FRESHMEN MINISTRY TRUTHS:
1. Freshmen are looking for fun and friends.. The go where the potential for friends and fun is.
2. Freshmen develop their friendships and habits during the first three weeks. College Ministries must make the most of those first three weeks.
3. Many Christian Freshmen violate their personal moral code early in the year as they try to make friends and find a place they fit. Then, their sense of guilt helps push them away from faith and faith connections.
4. Many Christian Freshmen will have doubts about their faith raised due to exposure to different beliefs, questions asked by new friends and professors who may ridicule faith or raise questions about it.
5. Freshmen are often overwhelmed managing their life and adjustment. Your ministry can be a lifeboat for them.
6. Freshmen must understand that doubt and questions are NOT contrary to a healthy faith.
7. The top 3 reasons 400 plus students said they attended a Christian campus event the first time were: #3 Food; #2 An Appealing Event; #1 A personal invitation. Where possible roll all three of these into one. Your upperclassmen will be more likely to invite, the more appealing the event is.
FIVE THINGS TO DO:
Plan to spend wisely extravagantly for the start of the fall semester for events that will connect with freshmen.
Individual follow-up is key. Make it a goal for someone to have an individual connection with a freshman within 24 hours of their attending one of your events.
Train your upper class students to invite, bring, and welcome new students.
Present the Gospel to students who have never heard it.
Speak about forgiveness in your early talks, presentations, and Bible studies (even when that is not the topic or theme).
Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry coach, blogger, and author. His new book, ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT COLLEGE MINISTRY, is available at amazon.com. Type in Arliss Dickerson or the title.
WHY DO FRESHMEN MINISTRY?
1. Freshmen are more available than any other group of students on your campus.
2. Many students shipwreck their lives during their freshmen year.
FRESHMEN MINISTRY TRUTHS:
1. Freshmen are looking for fun and friends.. The go where the potential for friends and fun is.
2. Freshmen develop their friendships and habits during the first three weeks. College Ministries must make the most of those first three weeks.
3. Many Christian Freshmen violate their personal moral code early in the year as they try to make friends and find a place they fit. Then, their sense of guilt helps push them away from faith and faith connections.
4. Many Christian Freshmen will have doubts about their faith raised due to exposure to different beliefs, questions asked by new friends and professors who may ridicule faith or raise questions about it.
5. Freshmen are often overwhelmed managing their life and adjustment. Your ministry can be a lifeboat for them.
6. Freshmen must understand that doubt and questions are NOT contrary to a healthy faith.
7. The top 3 reasons 400 plus students said they attended a Christian campus event the first time were: #3 Food; #2 An Appealing Event; #1 A personal invitation. Where possible roll all three of these into one. Your upperclassmen will be more likely to invite, the more appealing the event is.
FIVE THINGS TO DO:
Plan to spend wisely extravagantly for the start of the fall semester for events that will connect with freshmen.
Individual follow-up is key. Make it a goal for someone to have an individual connection with a freshman within 24 hours of their attending one of your events.
Train your upper class students to invite, bring, and welcome new students.
Present the Gospel to students who have never heard it.
Speak about forgiveness in your early talks, presentations, and Bible studies (even when that is not the topic or theme).
Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry coach, blogger, and author. His new book, ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT COLLEGE MINISTRY, is available at amazon.com. Type in Arliss Dickerson or the title.
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