The Number ONE Tool of Your College Ministry

 Nothing will affect a college ministry more than the person leading it and who they are as a person.

The longer you serve in the leadership role of whatever ministry you lead, the more it will reflect your strengths and weaknesses.  The ministry will become a picture of you.  Also, the more the ministry grows and is known, the more people will look at you as the face of the ministry  Your priorities will show in the ministry.  That is why as the leader, you must always be working on you.

Four factors in being the best tool and leader of your ministry:

1.  Your relationship to the Lord

If the ministry you lead is to truly be a ministry and not simply a club for college students, your relationship to the Lord is key.  At the heart of the ministry is the leader's relationship to the Lord. There is the temptation to pretend to be more than we are.  But, students quickly see through that.  Be you with the Lord and how you walk with the Lord. One part of this picking a scripture that is central to who we are and what we want our ministry to be about.  For me that verse is II Timothy 2:2, "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."  I would encourage you to choose a "Life Verse" to guide you in your relationship to the Lord and in focusing your ministry.

2.  Your personality

God gave all of us a personality. I believe that our personality is both a result of how we are raised and part of it just is "born in" as someone has said. That is God's hand in us and is usually best represented in our gifts.  We will tend to attract students who are like us or drawn to our personality.  If your personality is an outgoing one, there will likely be lots of outgoing students in your ministry.  If you are more introverted, there will likely be more introverted students in your ministry.  One of the challenges of college ministry is to make sure that our ministry is not just limited to those who share our personality.  Part of how we broaden our ministry past our own personality type is by demonstrating that we value gifts and abilities different than our own.  We must demonstrate that we value a wide variety of students and provide leadership opportunities for them.

3.  Your personal strengths

So, part of your personality shaping the ministry will obviously be your strengths.  What do you do best?  What are the gifts God has placed in YOUR life?  Are those being given the time and priority to be at their best? It is at the heart of my beliefs that God has placed gifts in each of our lives and that He wants to utilize them and that they are the heart of His use of us.  It also means identifying and being honest about what your shortcomings are as well.  It means making room for and giving the freedom to others to do what is not at the heart of your gifts and strengths.

4.  Your relationships

The more people we know, the the more it will benefit our ministry.  The more students we know the more we are likely to reach.  We must be intentional about working at and developing a wide variety of relationships.  Relationships are the currency of ministry.  The more we have, the more we can spend.  There are a variety of students, administrators, campus leaders and potential supporters that we can and should develop positive relationships with that will benefit the ministry and our lives personally.

Some questions for self evaluation and development:

What are my priorities for the ministry?  Are those being demonstrated in the ministry?

What are my personal gifts and strengths and are they being demonstrated in the ministry?

How is my personality shaping the ministry in positive and negative ways?

This article is adapted and condensed from "A College Ministry Success Formula" amazon.com/dp/B091F5S1RF .

Arliss Dickerson's college ministry books are available at amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX