"5 Things That Affect Campus Ministry Everywhere" by Darrell Cook

Instead of trends or outside factors, I focused on chosen attitudes and approaches of the campus minister.

1.  Be PATIENT with the PENDULUM.
-Sometimes it can be a theological pendulum swing.
-In your patience you see correctives come.
-In your patience you may see yourself make adjustments you did not think you could make and thrive in ways you did not think you could thrive.

2.  Show APPRECIATION, give ENCOURAGEMENT generously.
-I would tell 24 year old Darrell Cook to put this at the top of the list.
-It is essential for a good culture.

3.  Balance MINISTERING and AD-MINISTERING.
-Take it farther:  ad-ministering is ministering.
-Some see it as unspiritual, but administration is listed as a spiritual gift.
-Without administration, ministry becomes response only and loses intentionality.

4. Good campus ministry is STUDENT LED, CAMPUS MINISTER LED, HOLY SPIRIT LED.
-Virginia's historical emphasis had defaulted toward student led.
-Too heavy a dose of director led shortchanges leader development in students.
-I've never had people complain of too much Holy Spirit.

5.  KEEP learning.
-It can get easy to think "I've seen it all", but keep learning from students.
-Not just the latest Christian book, take a class, audit a class.
-If you stop learning, you are greatly increasing your likelihood of irrelevance.

BONUS:  Students will always be students AND learn and adjust to each generation.

Darrell Cook is the Baptist Campus Minister at Virginia Tech.  This is adapted from a presentation to Arkansas Baptist Collegiate Ministers on January 26th.

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