I know without a doubt that doing college ministry and reaching students to come to Christ or grow in their relationship to Christ is harder than it has ever been. More Christian students are dropping out of active church involvement in their early high school years. The cost of college forces more students to work more which simply makes them less available. More students do school on line or at a Community College where they simply drive in for class and are there only the bare minimum of time. There is a college student in my neighborhood who attends college on line. He only comes out of his house a few times a week.
Some would say numbers do not matter but rather it is about building deeply into the lives of a few...rather than superficially touching a large crowd. Let me come down hard on the side of superficiality. I am joking.....a little. We do not know all God is doing in the lives of those we have minimal connection to and input into their lives. More correctly, let me say I am for both. Working deeply with some and just ministering to others on a very simple level is my strong recommendation.
That's where I am on numbers. When we are touching more students, there is more chance that God is beginning something in more lives. It may not come to fruition when we will see it. God may put it together with someone else and some other ministry down the road. And as one who has had at least one student leader go to prison, you never know for sure where your "deeper ministry" will wind up.
So, here are some questions to ask about numbers:
1. What number realistically should this ministry be touching with the resources and opportunities you have?
2. Have your numbers increased, declined or stayed the same over a period of three or four years? Is there a message in those numbers?
3. Is there a cap on your ministry that you can address? (A cap is a lid that is a cutoff point. For some, it is their meeting space. For others, it is the budget they have. For others, it is the number of strong student leaders or number of their volunteer non-student leaders.)
4. Should you begin to keep accurate numbers records so you will know for certain where you are? Often, our "loosey goosey estimations" are deceptive. It is sometimes how we sort of fool ourselves. Or, we do not want to know the absolute truth. Be careful of using "new math".
5. If there are other college ministries on your campus or ministering to your campus, are they growing, declining, or steady? The point is not to compare numbers, but to realistically assess your situation. If all ships are rising but ours, that tells us something. If all are declining, that tells us something, etc. Is there a message in what is happening over-all?
I am in a situation right now where the numbers are the smallest I have worked with in years and years. But, looking realistically at our situation tells me our numbers are demonstrating great progress. And, that is my goal right now....progress.
Are you making progress?
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