Pressure in College Ministry?

Do College Ministers feel pressure?  Those who have any awareness of the realities of ministry would say that pastors have the pressure of budgets, attendance, etc but that other ministers and particularly College Ministers likely do not experience pressure.  Let me correct the record for those of you outside college ministry...AND for those College Ministers who feel YOU are the only one.   Lots of College Ministers feel pressure!

Let me briefly share my story.  When I came to Arkansas State, several churches were critical of the ministry and I felt the pressure to do well and communicate well what we were doing.  Later on as the ministry grew and our on campus Center was too small and outdated, we raised the money to build a new and larger Center.  Then, I felt the pressure of filling the larger building that we had built.  We had said that our limited space was limiting what we were doing.  So, now with the larger building, we should be growing.  While we did grow and get larger in the number we were reaching, I never felt we reached as many as we should and let that nag at me.

Simply put, I believe there are three causes to the pressures many of us feel in college ministry:

EXPECTATIONS OF OTHERS
Some serve on campuses in the south that are well known and high profile for some reason or other and consequently, there is the expectation that those ministries would be large or seen as successful.  They are sometimes called "Flagship campuses'.  Because of their visibility, there is a greater expectation placed on them.  Due to their higher profile, it is easier to draw resources, but the back side of that can be high expectations.

COMPETITION
In some situations there are multiple ministries and the perception of our ministry affects the response of students and the financial support received.  So, it is easy to fall into the trap of feeling we must match or outdo what another ministry is doing.  Comparison is one of the killers of College Ministers.  No two situations are the same or have identical resources.

OUR INNER DEMONS
Someone has said our inner voices are always negative.  So, often we hear the inner voices say we are not doing enough or if we do not have X number attend our events that we have failed. We may have generous supporters and while they feel great about what is happening, our inner voices are saying if we don't reach more, we are letting our supporters down. And, sometimes we just let our desire to do our best get out of hand.

Here are what I believe are some possible helps in dealing with our sense of pressure.

TRUST IN THE LORD
I usually hate this answer when I hear it.  But, I know it is true.  Trust the Lord.  Remind ourselves that He is always doing MORE than we see or know.  Realize that when it is going well, it is not all our doing and when it is struggling, it is not all our fault.  Trust in the Lord and pray asking God to help us see ourselves and the situation realistically and to function as He would have us to.

SET REALISTIC GOALS
Often our sense of pressure is a result of unrealistic goals.  Sue, (my wonderful wife) said to me once when I was fuming...."It is not possible for every year to be better than the year before.".  That is absolutely correct.  Not matter how good, how strong, or how large your ministry is, every year cannot be better than the one before it.  Set realistic goals and remember that working with people always brings a variety of results.  I know a ministry that often receives $50,000 checks from supporters.  Consequently, they can do things most of our ministries cannot.  Set goals consistent with your resources and what has happened in the past.

HAVE A SOUNDING BOARD
All of us need one or two folks who get what we do and to whom we can be totally honest.  Make sure you have one or two like that....besides your spouse.  Obviously, we can share with our spouse about our ministry and we need to.  But, sometimes we are placing more stress on them while it is relieving it on ourselves.  Face to face are the best sounding boards, but cell phone buddies work too.  Have a friend in ministry you can and do sound off to regularly and can even talk about your inner demons.  You need someone to whom you can be totally honest and respect their feedback.


HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
If we work ALL the time, then work will be all we can process.  Make sure you spend time with family (for you and them).  Exercise regularly and have something fun that you do.  Don't say, "My work is my play."  I hope you love your work that much, but it is unhealthy if that is all you have.  Ministers are some of the worst people about having Sabbath in their lives.  We are not meant to work 24/7.  Don't schedule every evening.  Work hard; do the work of the ministry, but make sure there is some time there every week that renews and refreshes you.

Arliss Dickerson's book, Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades, is available at amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9.