NEW Ideas in College Ministry????

We all have our tribes and circles in which we travel and communicate.  That is natural and usually helpful.  This week in visiting with a ministry colleague, he told me he was being given a sabbatical to study what others were doing in his area which is youth ministry.  He said he was wrestling with where to go and who to talk to in trying to learn and see some new ideas.  He said, "I have visited some really large ministries in the past and they are just a bigger version of what I am already doing."

One well worn definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result".  Thinking inside the same boxes results in recycling the same thoughts.  Here is an outside the box thought:

LEARN FROM THOSE WITH WHOM YOU DISAGREE.

We may disagree with someone's theology or methodology, but does that mean they have no good ideas?  Does that mean they do not do anything right or well?  As we continue to try to learn and grow in understanding this generation and reaching this generation, who are others doing it?  Where is some ministry doing it well?  Even if you disagree with their methods, seeing what they do might give you an idea that would benefit your ministry.

Is there another very different ministry whose large group worship event you could visit?

Do other college ministries have written materials you could read?

Is there an affordable regional or national seminar put on by this group that you could attend?

Could you go to a nearby campus and take the leader of a totally different ministry to lunch and get their thoughts on how and why they do what they do?  (They might even learn something from you.)

I am all about learning from people in situations similar to ours and with those who share similar philosophies.  But, if you are looking for new and different thoughts or ideas, look in new and different places.  A ministry's theology may be totally different than yours but their methodology is genius....or maybe at least offers a few good ideas.

An easy way to mine ideas from different ministries is to go to a large university campus with lots of college ministry centers and simply walk through each one and see how their facilities are arranged, what their posters say, announce, what handouts are available, etc.

I am crazy enough to believe no one ministry or group has all the good ideas!  Really!!

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