Working Wisely in College Ministry

College Ministers have more to do than they can do.  Consequently, some ignore one area to focus on another.  The classic and over used example is the two extremes.  There is the College Minister who is always out on campus talking to students and hanging out.  Then, there is the College Minister who never leaves his/her office while doing reports, budgets, newsletters, etc.

A friend who leads a multi-person staff has spoken of helping his younger staff members understand its not about putting in forty hours a week, but being there when they need to be and getting things done that need to get done.....and usually that takes more than forty hours a week in most ministry situations. I believe we must have BOTH very structured time and very unstructured time.  And, the unstructured time needs to be planned into our schedule. 

Our weekly schedule could be divided into three categories.
-Making the Trains Run on Time
-Building Deeply into the Life of a Few
-Unstructured out On Campus Time

MAKING THE TRAINS RUN ON TIME
This is doing the things that keep the ministry going.  It is doing the budget, seeing that bills are paid, evaluating and planning related to our weekly events.  There are reports and newsletters that need to be done.  It is doing the preparation to speak at your weekly event or doing the prep for the Bible Study/Discipleship groups that you lead.  It is the everyday tasks that many people will not see but that make the ministry touch a larger group than you touch individually on a deep level.

BUILDING DEEPLY INTO THE LIFE OF A FEW
We must build deeply into the life of a few for BOTH the benefit of our ministry AND for the benefit of the ministry of churches where these will serve as vocational and lay leaders in the years to come. AND, for their personal benefit.  We should never take more from a student leader than we try to give them in our investment in their personal lives.  When we meet individually with out student leaders to plan, encourage, and disciple, we multiply our time and ministry.  When we don't prioritize and schedule this time, we short change our students and our ministry.

UNSTRUCTURED OUT ON CAMPUS TIME
One of my principles/sayings is, "Walk across the campus and thru the Student Center Every Day."  We must be meeting people all the time.  It can be faculty, staff, students, etc, etc.  One of the easiest ways is eating where students and faculty eat. Someone you know will introduce you to someone you do not know.  It is having certain days and time planned to eat in specific locations.  Sometimes, it will be arranged lunches with someone for a specific purpose and other times it will just be eating and seeing who shows up, etc.  This is about widening our circle of acquaintances.  The wider our circle of acquaintances is the wider our influence will be.  Someone complimented me recently by saying, "You know everybody."  I don't know everybody.....BUT....I am trying to know everybody.

Do you have a plan or structure to your week?   Does it have all three categories in it?

Arliss Dickerson is the author of five books on college ministry available in eBook format for 99 cents each at Amazon.com