Southern Baptist College Ministry Numbers

Bill Noe, Southern Baptists' college ministry leader, recently released these figures as compiled from the different Baptist State Convention reports.
:
Students Impacted       492,389
Students Involved         70,472

Small Group Bible Studies 3,026

Students in Bible Studies   28,827
Students in Leadership        2,790

Preparing for church related Vocations  3,045

Campus Ministries            768

Students  Converted        3,557
Others Converted            3,468

Church College Minsters
Full Time College Only    268
Full Time Combination     954

BCM Campus Ministers
Full Time                           484
Interns, Etc                         172
Part Time                            384

International Students Involved 13,592

Students in Summer Missions/Semester Missions 4,051

Given/Raised for Missions  $6,912,726.79

Students on Short Term Mission Trips 7,624


Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry coach, blogger, and author.  His new book, ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT COLLEGE MINISTRY, is available at amazon.com.  Type in his name or the title.

Some Historical Perspective and a Correction

In my Blog post about Lifeway doing away with the college ministry leadership position, I was not accurate in my dating of the beginnings.  I mistakenly said, "leading and serving college ministry was assigned to Lifeway by a vote of the Southern Baptist Convention around 1970."

A friend sent me some information from the Baptist Student Union Collection by Taffy Hall, Archivist at the Southern Baptist Historical Society Library.  It stated that Baptist Student Union officially became a mission of the Baptist Sunday School Board (now named Lifeway) in 1921.  The first national leader was Dr. Frank Leavell, who first opened an office in Memphis, Tennessee.  In 1950 Broadman Press published a book entitled, "Dr. Frank; An informal biography of Frank H. Leavell, leader of Baptist Youth" by Claude U. Broach.

From 1968 to 1970,there was a two year study by the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention as to the leadership role of college ministry.  At the conclusion of it, "the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention concluded oversight would remain with the Baptist Sunday School Board."

Where did Baptist Student Union begin is always an interesting discussion.  Dr. Charles Ball, Professor of Missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, made a motion at the Texas Baptist State Convention in 1914 to establish The Baptist Student Missionary Movement.  Following that, at the Southern Baptist Convention in 1915 a committee was appointed to further consider this movement as a ministry to the United States and Canada.  Some have argued that the earliest beginnings of this ministry was in Mississippi.  One favorite story told is of Marion Leavell,who sat in an open vehicle at Ole Miss in the 1920's with heated bricks wrapped in newspapers to stay warm.  From this "office" she counseled students and loaned books.

Southern Baptists have long had a heart for college ministry and the need to impact young lives with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The question should not be, will we keep doing it.  The question must be, how will we BEST keep doing it?  In these earliest discussions with the changes at Lifeway, there is some feeling that this ministry must establish a very separate and independent office. That way it would not be affected by changes not related to college ministry.

Yet, others feel it must continue to be officially tied to the organization of the Southern Baptist Convention with the kind of visibility and support that goes with a national ministry that reported more than 489,000 students impacted last year.  Is now the time for Southern Baptists to back away from leadership in young adult ministry or to double down?

Pray for our State Student Directors Association officers who are working to fill the void left by the loss of the Lifeway leadership role and pray for the right ministry role for Bill Noe for the future.

Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry coach, blogger, and author.  His new book, ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT COLLEGE MINISTRY, is available at amazon.com.  Type in his name or the title.

A Major Change in Southern Baptists' National College Ministry

Bill Noe, who serves as Southern Baptists' National Collegiate Ministry Leader, has been notified by Lifeway Christian Resources that his position will end July 15th.

 Lifeway is an agency of the Southern Baptist Convention that funds all of its ministries from the sales of literature and services.  Due to the Covid19 pandemic, Lifeway began to see consecutive weeks of steep revenue decline in March.  As a result, Lifeway announced plans for budget cuts of $25-30 million including spending freezes and staff layoffs.  They have also announced the cancellation of many events and camps, including BeachReach and Collegiate Week at Falls Creek in Oklahoma and that they will no longer host them in the future.

Lifeway has indicated they will "continue to serve churches in ministering to college and university students by providing ongoing Sunday School curriculum and short term Bible studies."

The task of leading and serving college ministry was assigned to Lifeway by a vote of the Southern Baptist Convention around 1970 . At one point, the National Collegiate Ministry office at Lifeway had a staff of 15-20 full time staffers with consultants in many different roles.  As changes developed over the years, the National Student Directors Association (an organization of the College Ministry Leaders of each Baptist State Convention) began to fund some initiatives and hired a part time contract worker to coordinate the work of several volunteer committees to do what had previously been done by the much larger staff at Lifeway.  Their purpose was to fill the void left by the loss of these college ministry staffers.

When Bill Noe was notified of the upcoming loss of his position, he and Lifeway officials began discussions with the officers of the National Student Directors Association about how they might pick up some of the overall direction and services previously provided by Bill and four part time contract workers that had served with him.   The contract workers positions were terminated by Lifeway at the end of April. 

The Collegiate Ministries Summit has been a once every three year event sponsored by Lifeway and it had previously been announced for May 5-7, 2021 in Nashville.  Lifeway has indicated that event will still be held and that Bill Noe will be employed as a part time contract worker to make it happen as planned.

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS AS COLLEGE MINISTERS HAVE HEARD THE NEWS:

-One common question has been, does providing young adult Sunday School and other short term Bible study materials fulfill the assignment given to Lifeway by a vote of the Southern Baptist Convention?

-A few years back some had asked whether the role of college ministry should be assigned to the North American Mission Board.  But, their focus has been on planting campus based church plants.  How would that work with promoting and benefiting the work of the 600 plus BCM/BSM/BSU ministries?

-Should the contract worker position provided by the National Student Directors Association be upgraded to a full time position? Weaver McCrackin currently serves in that role. And, is there money available to do that?  There is some discussion that they will hire an additional part time contract worker to do social media, maintain collegeministry.com, etc.

-New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary has been a major supporter of college ministry and two years ago announced plans to endow a Collegiate Ministry Chair.  Would they be interested in possibly hosting a college ministry office and position at the seminary and/or possibly tying it to the Collegiate Ministry Chair?

-When there is a question about college ministry, who at Lifeway is the contact person about college ministry?

-One idea that has circulated in recent years has been, should the College Ministry position be assigned to the Executive Board of the Southern Baptist Convention rather than just one agency?  Would this be possible now?

My point in sharing this is for information and to help us as the college ministry family in charting the best way forward.  As young adults continue to walk away from faith and church, the college campus must be one of our prime mission points.  As resources change, how do we do this best?

Arliss Dickerson's new book, ALMOST EVERYTHING ABOUT COLLEGE MINISTRY, is available at amazon.com.

A WARNING for College Ministers

WARNING:  The greatest danger for you for fall is to try to compare it in some way against other falls.  It just cannot be done.  There are multiple reasons.

I am a huge proponent of keeping records that show involvement and attendance for each week for different events.  It helps to see Week 5 compared to Week 5 last year, two years ago, etc.  But, that is all out the window for this fall.

There has been no fall like this one.  Normal contacts cannot be made at Summer Orientations, etc. Senior Sundays were cancelled or done remotely, etc. College Ministers in the past who received hundreds of names in some instances are now scrambling just to get some contacts.  Fewer students likely will have received any information about your ministry prior to coming.

Students are coming with baggage that has not been brought to college before.  What will the cancellation of the last nine weeks of school, no friend good-byes in many instances, and the fears of parents in sending their freshmen off to school cause attitudes and thoughts to be?

Finally, many college administrations will have different rules in place that may affect the size of crowds, events, etc.  This has never happened before.

Begin now realizing this fall will be like none other and do not, DO NOT try to compare it against any other fall.  It will be painful to your soul and is not fair.  Don't do it!

Begin now to pray, "Lord help me to be available to you and your Spirit this fall."  Make your best plans and options and then be prepared to adjust from there.  But DO NOT COMPARE ANYTHING THIS FALL TO PAST YEARS!

Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry/leadership consultant and the author of five books on college ministry available at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).  "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.

Taking Over a New College Ministry this Summer?

Spring and early summer is the time that we see messages about College Ministers moving to a different campus or a different church, etc.  I visited this week with a College Minister who has just been at his new church just a couple of weeks and we were talking about the best ways to begin.  I was impressed with his questions and first thoughts.

What would I do, if I were moving to a new college ministry situation this summer?  Here are some thoughts and some of what I shared with my new friend.

1. I would have some "Listening Sessions" either formal or informal with students in general and with the leadership students in particular.

-I would ask what they felt the strength of the ministry had been to this point.

-What is something they believe needs to be done differently or begun?

2.  I would try to find out what the "unvoiced expectations" are.  There are always unsaid or "assumed expectations" that are not always voiced.  Sometimes, they only surface when you learn you did NOT meet that expectation.

3.  If it is a church, I would make sure I knew what the pastor's number one priority was for the College Minister.

4.  After listening to the students and student leaders and laid out plans for the fall, I would communicate to the leadership team what my expectations or "requirements" were to be on the leadership team.  And, since these students did not accept their responsibility with these expectations, anyone would have a free pass to step away from their leadership role.

-I would make it clear this is not a "purging' but rather, "Does this work for you?"

5.  In FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY I shared the two opposite views on taking on a new ministry.  One is continue things as they are and make changes after the first year.  The other is to say it is a new day and to make changes from the very beginning. 

-Different situations may go more toward one or the other approaches.  But, in general, I lean toward a hybrid.  Keep what is really working and add something or change something that really fits your gifts or passion.

6.  I would ask people to help me know who may be getting lost in this transition.  I don't know who was involved before.  So, let me know who is not around.

7.  I would do my best to not be seen as being critical in any way of the previous College Minister..

8.  I would keep reminding myself that every situation is different and I cannot just automatically do everything just like I did in my previous ministry.

9.  I would look at any facilities or meeting place with fresh eyes and if possible change, fix, or clean up what is any glaring problem.

10. I would be sure and maintain some quality time with my spouse because the fall will be really busy!

Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry/leadership consultant and the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available at amazon in early summer.

Columbus Avenue Baptist Church Seeking a College Minister

Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco, Texas is searching for a new College Minister.  Some of the characteristics or skills they desire are:
-Giftedness in communication and teaching to young adults.
-Ability to use technology to expand ministry impact and communicate.
-Flexibility in work scheduling to maximize times that students are available for personal interaction and relationship building.

For a full job description, go to cabcwaco.org/minister-to-college-students
 Executive Pastor, DannyWalker@cabc.org


Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry/leadership consultant and the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).  "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.

What's Your College Ministry Eating for Breakfast?

Peter Drucker, the well known management consultant and author says, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast".  What that means is that the "feel" and "vibe" of your ministry will always outweigh your plan. Culture is the feel  of the ministry to those new students who come and the general behavior of those students already involved.

At one time I started to lead a small ministry that had gotten that way over a period of time for a variety of reasons.  As we tried to reach out to new students, I discovered something.  Our current students were not so wild about having more and new students.  Part of why they were there was because it was small and comfortable.  We held an outreach event on campus and made a connection with a fraternity that attended the special event.  The next week one of the members and his girlfriend showed up at our regular worship event.  Nobody much talked to them.  He came back the next week with his girlfriend and her roommate.  Nobody much talked to them.  They did not come back and he did not respond to my messages.

Our culture had defeated my strategy.  How do you change a culture?

First, get honest with what the culture is.  Also, understanding why it is that way can be helpful as well.  Many of our students had gone to large ministries where they felt like a number.  They did not want to see that happen to our ministry.  So, their answer was, stay small.

Model personally what you are hoping to see happen.  A good leader does not expect something they do not model and demonstrate in their own life.

In almost any ministry there are at least one or two students who really want to grow and connect with more students.  Do all you can to promote them and get them out front.  Encourage them as much as possible.

If a new student exhibits some gift or ability that is needed in the ministry, get them into some role immediately that utilizes it.  If they are way friendly and outgoing, invite them to be a door greeter.  They will be a plus in that role and that responsibility helps tie them to the ministry. Meet with them individually for lunch or coffee to encourage and develop them.  It does not hurt to invite them to bring their roommate or best buddy and you get to meet them too.

Do not "preach AT" your students about it.  But, it may be that some of your speaking topics or those of guest speakers could focus on Jesus reaching out to those who were left out.

Consider holding more events in a "neutral setting" that will feel more comfortable to new people and make your current core more aware of the need to reach out to others as they are out of their comfortable setting.

 One of the reasons large college ministries are led by long time campus ministers is that they have been there long enough to develop the culture.  A positive culture and vibe does not develop overnight.  So, be patient and keep working at it.  Remember, it takes about three years for a ministry to take on the vibe, culture and philosophy of the person leading it.  Ask God, if  He wants you to plant your life in this ministry?

Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry/leadership consultant and the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.

FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY eBook is $1.00 at amazon.com for the month of June.

Simple But Profound Things a Leader Does

1.  EXAMPLE
A leader cannot expect anything he or she does not model.  Our actions give validity to our words....or show our words to be....just words.

2.  VISION
A leader must have a vision of where the ministry is going and be able to express and continually express that vision.

3.  AFFIRMATION
For people to follow, they must know they are wanted and have something to contribute. The greatest things we can do (outside of telling them about Jesus, the Christ) is to affirm the abilities and gifts we see in them.  Then, we express our trust in them doing them.

4.  FORGIVENESS
Everybody messes up.  There is a time to forgive and move on.

5.  LISTEN
An effective leader is always willing to listen.  It shows concern and value for others.

6.  EVALUATE
As a leader listens, he or she must evaluate and make adjustments as needed.

Arliss Dickerson's book, Almost Everything About College Ministry, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX and Reaching MORE College Students is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.

College Ministry Witness and Outreach in Tech Times

I had the privilege of being part of a webinar that the Tennessee Baptist Collegiate Ministry did today with Paul Worcester, Stacy Murphree, and T.J. Joy.  Lots of good stuff shared.  Here is some of what I had to say and a few quotes from each of them.

I.  EVERY CAMPUS SITUATION IS DIFFERENT!
This has been true in college ministry in the past and I think is, if anything, more true now.  Learn from others.  Try things others are trying.  But, different things are and will work different places.  The two biggest killers of College Ministers is feeling alone and comparison.  Learn from others, but don't compare yourself or your ministry against them or their ministry. 

II.  AN ENDURING PRINCIPLE
Many years ago when Billy Graham was doing stadium crusades with 50,000 people attending and hundreds making professions of faith, the Graham ministry did a survey about those joining churches.  They were greatly disappointed in the number who were connecting to a church.  BUT, one truth that came through was that a large percentage of them who connected to a church had one or more friends involved in that church that helped them connect.

Friendship and relationships are the prime currency that God uses in the spreading of the Gospel!
Different College Ministers have shared with me that during this strangest of times of college ministry being on line that they are seeing new or previously minimally connected students responding to their on-line events because friends reached out to them and invited them.  Remember, the top two reasons students attended a Christian event the first time were #2 An Attractive Event and #1 Someone invited me.

We must teach our students the necessity of being intentional in inviting and connecting friends.  Paul Worcester stresses to his students the importance of being intentional about connecting to non-Christian friends.

III.  A CURRENT TOOL
I believe Apologetics is a great tool for these days.  The health crisis has raised a ton of faith questions for many people.  Paul Worcester quoted a survey that said 21.5% of non-Christians have started reading the Bible during this time.  I recently posted one of Sean McDowell's brief videos about Doubt on line about a Christian music star who said he had stopped being a Christian.  I immediately got some questions and comments back from some who said they no longer believed.

You can do an on-line brief talks on doubt and questions being raised today. 
"Is God punishing America?"
"Is Anthony Faucci really the Anti-Christ?'
These are two examples of questions I have seen and heard people asking.  There are tons of others.
Sean is a professor at Biola University and speaks for lots of youth and college events.  Check his stuff out, if you are not familiar.

IV  SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER TRYING
Do on-line Survival Tips
Provide some students with materials to do a 3 or 4 week Bible study on tough questions.  (I favor shorter, so students do not wear out.)
Do Freshmen Specific Bible study groups on line
I am a huge proponent of speaking to parents.  Parents are more than ever looking for encouragement and who might be of help to their freshmen.  My all time most read Blog by far is, "10 Things Parents of a College Freshmen Need to Know".  It circulates every summer starting about July 1.  Facebook is the best venue for parents.  Try it.

SOME GOOD THINGS SAID TODAY
"When Paul was in prison, he kept doing ministry. He just started ministering to the guards.  We have the opportunity to reach a new audience."  T. J. Joy

"Instagram has been our best platform."  T. J. Joy

"We are doing 45 minute Survival events with some freshmen and six or eight of our upperclassmen who share a tip and share their faith story."  Stacy Murphree

About an event:  "The night will not be successful, if you don't invite someone."  Paul Worcester

Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry/leadership consultant and the author of five books on college ministry available at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson).  "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.