5 Things I LOVE in College Ministry

I recently wrote "5 Things I HATE in College Ministry".  The fact is I love College Ministry and would even confess to something Kelly Minter says in her study of 2 Corinthians, ALL THINGS NEW, "I realize that sometimes I love the work of Jesus more than I love Jesus."  I do struggle with that.

5 Things I Love:

1.  The Different Seasons
There is the fall and start of school which is so charged with energy, excitement, and optimism.  There is the Christmas Break which is a time of reflection and evaluation of the semester just finished.  There is summer which has a looser schedule when I read and study more and connect with incoming students, plan and re-adjust.  It is energizing.  I have always felt for my pastor friends who basically do the same thing 365 days a year.

2.  The Variety of Every Day
It is crazy the different things a College Minister will do in one day...often back to back.  I always remember the time when I was on the phone with someone about the possibility that his church would make a $100,000 gift to the new campus center we were trying to raise the money to build.  When I hung up, I walked out of my office to embrace a student who was in tears over a $25 parking ticket she had just gotten.  I have gone from talking with the University President to a meeting with a freshman guy who thought having to be at class at 11:00 three times a week was just ridiculous.

3.  The Combination of Youth and Adulthood in Students
They are old enough to do whatever, but they are ready to pivot and go a different direction when they sense it is God's call on their life.  They have not landed in the proverbial rut yet. They can watch cartoons for two hours and then go to the lab where they are a key assistant working on cancer research.

4.  The Passion of Students
When college students get turned on about something....they are all in!  Let's go do it...let's go do it now!  One of my guys lived out in the bush in a foreign country all last summer sharing the Gospel.  It did not occur to him it might be dangerous or too rough.  He came back planning to go to seminary to go back to places like that.

5.  College Students are the Most Interesting People in the World
I had rather talk to college students than anyone else.  Old people conversations are incredibly boring!  It is same old, same old.  Not with students!  Bang!  Let's talk about this and let's talk about that and what do you think the unforgiveable sin is and have you seen this funny video with a cat?

6.  I know I said 5...but....When you are with college students, it is ok to eat french fries!

I am sad for people who have not experienced the joy of doing college ministry and just talking with college students all the time!

Arliss Dickerson is a part time college ministry consultant for Lifeway Christian Resources and the author of five books on college ministry in eBook and print at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).