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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