Reaching Freshmen: Topics for Freshmen

 I am all about speaking to and using topics in college ministry.

First, topics are a part of speaking to specific needs.  In our recent concerns about the biblical illiteracy of this generation, many College Ministers are doing more "preaching". I fear that we are not doing as good of a job speaking to some specific freshmen needs and concerns. Obviously, I am not speaking against biblical preaching.  But, I do believe one difference in church as a whole and a college ministry is that we are addressing their specific concerns and needs.  And, those are very different than a church congregation as a whole.

Second, I am about using topics and promoting them. Why should the average student, that is not a Believer or a committed Christian, want to attend something promoted as, "Worship Service" or "Large Group Bible Study".  A survey of students who attended a campus Christian event the first time found that the number one most listed reason they went was, "someone invited me".  In that survey, we also learned that students were most likely to attend if it were, "an appealing event.".  It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure that your core students are most likely to invite someone, if it is "an appealing event".  I think titles help make an event appealing and easier to invite someone to attend.

HERE ARE SOME TOPICS FOR FRESHMEN:

The Difference in Real Love and Hormones

Five Ways to Mess Up Your Life

4 Ways to Max Relationships

The 5 Most Common Mistakes of Freshmen

How do Decide What to do with My Life

5 Things Every Student Ought to Know About Sex

Making Peace with Your Parents (The Jerks)

Sex Isn't New...But You Wish it Was...Starting Over

How to Decide WHAT to Believe and WHO to Believe About God

Is DOUBT a Four Letter Word?

Defending My Faith with Professors and Other Skeptics

How to be the Best You

Dealing with Conflict in a Group 

I Love Jesus, But the Party Life is Calling

Answers to Tough Questions About God

How to Take Relationships Deeper.

When I Have Messed Up...How Do I Get Past it and FEEL Forgiven?

Making Social Life, School, and Church Work

What Should I Believe About the Bible?

Speak and or preach the basics of the Bible....but make sure you address some of the specific questions and concerns that freshmen have.  That is a key part of being a college ministry.

Arliss Dickerson's brand new book, A COLLEGE MINISTRY SUCCESS FORMULA, is available at amazon.com.

Reaching Freshmen: 10 Principles of Freshmen Ministry

                                         10 PRINCIPLES OF FRESHMEN MINISTRY

Many freshmen shipwreck their lives during the first month of college.  Ministering to a campus is all about reaching into the lives of those most promising...and most vulnerable.

1.  Freshmen are more available the first three weeks of the fall than at any other point in their college career.

2.  Freshmen must be met where they are emotionally and spiritually, then loved while challenged to grow.

3.  College freshmen are easier to reach than any other group and easier to lose than any other group.

4.  Freshmen most often respond initially to large well done group events, but are retained to a ministry by the individual and personal relationships.

5.  An aggressive outreach to Freshmen will be surprising in who responds and frustrating in who does not remain.

6.  Relationships help determine where freshmen go and don't go.

7.  Most decisions are made by freshmen in regard to how it will benefit or affect them personally.

9.  Who does the Freshmen Ministry will help determine who responds to the ministry.

10. Freshmen respond to that which offers help in their specific felt needs.

Arliss Dickerson's brand new book, A COLLEGE MINISTRY SUCCESS FORMULA, is available at amazon.com.

Reaching Freshmen by Stacy Murphree

 Good college ministry falls are made in the summer.  College freshmen have the greatest needs and are most open to ministry connections and witness during those first two weeks of the fall.  Here are Stacy Murphree's great thoughts on Freshmen Ministry.  Stacy is the well known and much respected BCM College Minister at Austin Peay University.

8 QUICK FRESHMEN MINISTRY TIPS

1.  Go into it with a plan.  You must have a set plan and strategy for reaching Freshmen.  It's not something you can just "wing" and expect results.  It is strategic ministry that needs our time and attention.  Freshmen students can be easy to reach but also easy to lose.  Having a plan is essential.

2.   Have a strong Welcome Week.  We all know the importance of the first 2-3 weeks of Fall semester ministry.  Have a good mix of events that include things that will draw a crowd and things that will allow for intentional one-on-one conversations.  Don't miss the "window of Welcome Week". That window will close and you will not get that time back.

3.  Capitalize on the free time Freshmen students have.  They have more freedom and more free time than any other college student.  Involve them, mobilize them, and give them a job to do.  Freshmen students are often more open to to community and the gospel.  Take advantage of the free time they have to truly invest in them.

4.  Pray for incoming Freshmen.  This is simple but begin praying for Freshmen students by name as soon as you begin gathering contacts over the summer.

5.  Have a solid plan for follow-up.  Make it a goal for your BCM to follow up individually with each Freshman that attends a Welcome Week event with a text or message.  Take that a step further and challenge your team to follow up individually for coffee or lunch for a gospel appointment conversation.

6.  Connect Freshmen students to other Freshmen students.  They need community and friends right where they are in life.

7.  Know the places on campus where Freshmen are likely to do life and target those areas.  Freshmen dorms, the places on your campus where they are likely to eat and hang out out, etc.

8.  You can never over-emphasize a small group strategy for Freshmen.  Have discipleship/family groups just for for Freshmen led by upperclassmen.  Equip your leaders to know that this is not just about leading a Bible study for Freshmen, but this is about being able to minister to one of the most strategic groups on our campus.

Matthew 9:37-38 "The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."  What a privilege it is to be a laborer in the harvest field of Freshmen ministry at such a crucial time this year.  It might just be the most important thing you  do all year to befriend a new student for the sake of the gospel!

Stacy Murphree

Arliss Dickerson's book, Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith& Good Grades, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B09QF89DJ9 and A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.

The BE Attitudes of a College Minister

 1.  Be Intentional

Have a plan for your ministry and be working that plan.  Part of a good plan is setting priorities for the ministry and then planning to be about those priorities.  Be intentional about the use of slower times in the summer.  Build in some extra family time.  Do what needs to be done in connecting to new freshmen and last year's sophomores who will be like freshmen.

2.  Be Grateful

No ministry succeeds to any degree without help from others.  Write thank you notes.  Tell people who helped this year that you appreciate it.  A good rule is:  When you get a surprise check from an individual or a church, don't deposit it until you have written and mailed a thank you.

3.  Be Prompt about returning messages.

We all know the frustration of needing to talk with someone who is not returning our messages.  When someone sends a message that does not NEED a response, it never hurts to say "Thanks" or "OK".  They know you got it.  Your promptness tells them that they matter to you!

4.  Be in Contact with Alumni

Why?  You can continue to encourage and bless them. They can always speak to the value of your ministry to others.  They can send students to you.  They can give.  You can continue to be a spiritual mentor to them.  Homecoming is the simplest.  Have a pre-game Drop-In at an on-campus center.  A church ministry can have sweet rolls and coffee during Sunday School hour on Homecoming Weekend for alums, parents and students.  Parents can be a friend to your ministry.  Don't forget parents.  They look at Facebook too.

5.  Be Evaluating

Every year can teach us something.  Sometimes it teaches us that what worked great for the previous two years did not work this year.  Always be evaluating.

6.  Be Tweaking

As a result of evaluating, make some adjustments.  Most of the time, they are not major things...just adjustments.  Adjusting every year avoids total overhaul every 4 or 5 years.  Nothing stays totally the same on college campuses these days.

7.  Be Aware YOU are the Best Tool of the Ministry

As a result, realize you are never off duty.  You are always the face of the ministry.  Don't be a pretender or actor, but realize how people feel about you will pretty well determine how they feel about the ministry.  In my book, A College Ministry Success Formula, I say that one part of the formula is who you are.  Your personality, abilities, relationships, and knowledge will shape the ministry.

8.  Be Aware that Student Leaders are Volunteers

Don't every take for granted the time and effort that student leaders give.  Express your gratitude and appreciation to them in word and deed.

9.  Be a Witness

By word and deed.  Our deeds validate our words.

10. Be a Friend

Friends (besides just students) are a huge part of emotional health.  To have friends, be a friend.

Could your college ministry be reaching more students?  Check out Reaching MORE College Students:  Next Level College Ministry at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.

Walk Across the Campus EVERY Day!

 One of my deeply held personal principles of college ministry is, Walk Across the Campus and Through the Student Center Every Day!  Why does that matter and what is the big deal about it? There is no magic sauce in college ministry....but.....this comes close for me. Here is why;

-Every college campus is unique and has its own climate and culture.  Learning and knowing your campus is key to doing an effective ministry on that campus.  No two campuses are identical.  You must be a student of your campus.  

-The more you do it, the more you will start meeting people and developing relationships.  Stop and buy a coffee or coke and talk to the person serving you.  When you are standing in line, visit with those around you...but don't be creepy. 

-Bump Visits happen.  A Bump Visit is when you see that student that says, "I've been needing to talk to you."  Or, when you see that student who has not been around in a while and you get to visit and encourage them in a non-threatening, not where you have been kind of conversation for two minutes.

-You run into your core students  who say, "Have you met my friend?'.

-You develop relationships with students who are not involved in your ministry.  And, they are part of what the grapevine says about your ministry on campus.

-You meet and know the behind the scenes people that make the campus function like the custodians, counter workers, and the Executive Assistants who schedule meeting rooms, etc.

-You can meet and get to know administrators apart from when you are asking for something.  Then, when you are asking for something, you will likely get a much more positive hearing.

-You get invited to campus events when you bump into administrators who say, "Hey, we are having a drop-in tomorrow; why don't you come."  It is amazing who you meet at those events.

-You learn to not take yourself so seriously.

-You are again and again reminded of the need for your ministry on campus.

-You can pray for needs and people you see on campus.

-You can laugh at the great and funny tee shirts that you see.

-You see the posters or Info Tables of other ministries and have a sense of what is happening in other ministries and it will challenge your thinking about your own ministry.

-It helps you understand the attitudes and assumptions of the students involved in your ministry.

  Walk Across the Campus and Through the Student Center Every Day!

Arliss Dickerson's brand new book,  A College Ministry Success Formula, is available at amazon.com.  If you have read it, would you go to the Amazon book page and post your honest review of the book?  Honest reviews are a plus!

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"5 Steps to Working with Called to Ministry Students"...... by Ryan Scantling

College is a key time for students to hear and respond to the call to ministry and missions.  Here are 5 steps to working with Called to Ministry Students:

1.  Extend the Call to Ministry/Missions Often and Early to Every Student.

I believe there are scores of students who would readily respond to God's call to vocational ministry or missions, if only someone would voice that call to them.  It does not have to be complicated and it does not have to be formal.  In my ministry it has often sounded like, "If you are interested in Exploring a Call to Ministry or Missions, join me at dinner next week."

2.  Give them Space to Explore

Have you ever met a student who is the only one in an academic program or particular field of study....its awkward.  It can also be awkward being the only one who is exploring a call to missions/ministry in a crowd.  Try to give students exploring a call to ministry a space to explore their call and ask questions together.  They will learn as much from each other as they will from you.  During my time at Conway BCM, we did a dinner especially for Called to Ministry students called "Explore Your Call" once or twice a month before our weekly meeting.

3.  Connect Them With Mentors

Universities keep including their student to faculty ratios in recruitment materials because university recruiters keep finding that the next generations want experts who will guide them in a specific field of study.  The same is true with students exploring a call to ministry.  Connect them to ministry leaders, church planters, pastors, missionaries, and academics.  Help the next generation explore their calling by exposing them to older mentors who are living out theirs.  Conway BCM's Explorw Your Call dinners almost always include a local guest minister or stateside missionary that students can interact with and learn from.

4.  Expose Them to Opportunities

Internships, Seminaries, Ministry Jobs, Mission Trips, Volunteer Opportunities.  Start a GroupMe, put all your Called to Ministry Students in it and help them get connected to possibilities.  One of the most common questions I get from students exploring a call to ministry is, "How did you become a campus minister?"  The honest answer:  mentors in ministry just kept connecting me with opportunities.

5.  Answer The Questions They Are Asking

There are a lot of things called to ministry students need to know, however there are some things they are dying to know.  Ask your Called to Ministry students what questions they have....then answer them or bring people in to answer them.

For the last 6 1/2 years Ryan Scantling has served as BCM Campus Minister in Conway, AR.  In that time 42 of their BCM graduates are either serving in paid vocational ministry/missions or are currently enrolled in seminary.  Starting this summer, Ryan will be the BCM Campus Minister at the University of Arkansas.

Arliss Dickerson's brand new book, A COLLEGE MINISTRY SUCCESS FORMULA, is available at amazon.com.

Is NAMB the Place to Lead SBC College Ministry?

This week the North American Mission Board (NAMB) requested that they be given the assignment to lead college ministry for Southern Baptists.  This comes as a result of Lifeway Christian Resources announcing in the spring of 2020 that they would no longer provide a college ministry office and personnel due to the necessity of making a $25 million budget reduction.  This assignment had been given to Lifeway by a vote of the Southern Baptist Convention several decades ago and reaffirmed in more recent votes.

During their recent spring meeting, the NAMB trustees voted unanimously requesting the assignment for collegiate ministry be given to the organization. The proposal as approved by the trustees reads as follows:

Assisting churches in reaching and mobilizing college and university students in the United States and Canada.  Promote the advancement of college and university ministry efforts in evangelism, discipleship, churchmanship, leadership development and missions mobilization through collaborative partnerships.

Many see this as having both positive and negative possibilities.  On the positive side, it seemed to be the most likely option simply because it is the North American Mission Board.  And, their recent step in establishing a "National Director of Collegiate Evangelism" position and appointing Paul Worcester to that role has been seen as a very positive step.  Paul is widely liked, and is being used in a variety of BCM/BSU/BSM evangelism training events.

The negative concerns expressed privately by many are a result of  NAMB's efforts in recent years in promoting campus church plants as what seemed to be expressed as their view as the only or best way to do college ministry. BCM leaders felt that these campus church plants often functioned as competition rather than a partner.  And, some NAMB leadership seemed to express the view that BCM was an outdated and no longer effective ministry.  So, the primary concern is, will NAMB promote, develop, and be a voice for BCM ministry or simply advocate for campus church plants as the best way to do college ministry in all settings?

The strength of BCM ministry is the wide variety of needs it meets such as leadership training, international student ministry, missions opportunities/promotion, helping local churches with their college ministries, etc. Will NAMB provide encouragement and development in all of these areas or simply be about promoting evangelism and campus church plants? The view is, if NAMB's role will be to simply continue doing what it is doing, then it will be an ineffective overall leader for college ministry.

Some college ministry leaders have advanced the idea of a college ministry leader being attached to the SBC Executive committee under Dr. Ronnie Floyd's direction.  Their thinking was that BCM ministries deal with every aspect of Baptist life and this would best continue that effort.

 Southern Baptist college ministry needs a national home and we need it to be the best and most respected possible. It would seem to be helpful for NAMB leadership to express publicly what their thoughts and plans would be for the future of college ministry and who or what type person the overall leader would be, if they are given that task. 

It is not my intent here to speak for or against the NAMB proposal, but simply to lay out the issue and encourage all of us to be part of the best possible decision being made.

Arliss Dickerson's brand new book, A COLLEGE MINISTRY SUCCESS FORMULA, is available at amazon.com.

 

HBCU College Ministry Position Available

 The Arkansas College and Young Leaders Team of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention is looking for a College Minister to serve at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff.  UAPB is a historically black institution with an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students.  Pine Bluff has a population of 39,000. The BCM ministry at UAPB has been active since the 1960's. 

This position is a full time and fully funded position with additional benefits and is under the supervision of the state wide Baptist Collegiate Ministry in Arkansas.  For additional information or to submit a resume, contact Bruce Venable at bvenable@absc.org.

Arliss Dickerson's brand new book, A COLLEGE MINISTRY SUCCESS FORMULA, is available at amazon.com.

Random Advice for College Ministers

I recently read Carey Nieuwhof's "25 Random Pieces of Advice for Leaders in their 20/s, 30's or 40"s" which I highly recommend.  I thought I would share my random advice for College Ministers.

Show up for work every day when you should and work.

Plan, spend and work the first three weeks of the fall semester like your ministry and life depended on it.....because at least your ministry does.

Don't ignore your critics.  But, don't let them determine your actions.

When you go to conferences, don't spend ALL your time in the hallway.

At a conference find someone who has done it longer or better than you have and ask them a couple of questions.

At a conference find someone who is discouraged and encourage them.

Learn from your hero in ministry, but do not copy them.

Ask your spouse first about their day when you get home.

Be "a gatherer".  If there are other people who do college ministry on your campus or from nearby churches, gather them together occasionally for the benefit of all in prayer, conversation and just being with somebody else that gets it.  Ignore the fact that some are competing AGAINST you or that your theology isn't exactly alike.

Let your student leaders know you appreciate them.  Do not take them for granted.  They are not getting paid.

Look for students who do things you cannot do and turn them loose...with your encouragement and guidance.  Freedom and abandonment are not the same thing.

Avoid the APPEARANCE of improper male/female relationships.

Keep careful records of ministry money and readily share that information with stakeholders and anyone with a concern.

Realize students probably do not think you are cool.  So, just relax and be you.  They also probably think you are older than you are.

Be a friend to students who are not in your ministry.

Be on time for meetings.....and your students are more likely to be on time for meetings.

Go to some intramural games just to watch and cheer.....even though you have some "way more important" things to do.

Mop, sweep, vacuum, or clean your meeting place, if it needs it.....even though you are way too important to do things like that.  And, mow the yard, if it needs it.  But, if someone else is supposed to be doing it, help them know how to do it, if need be.

Start your events on time and finish on time.  Some students study.

Make a list of some books to read this summer.  Order them now.

Arliss Dickerson's brand new book, A COLLEGE MINISTRY SUCCESS FORMULA, is available at amazon.com.