8 Factors in College Ministry Growth and Size

 "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain." Psalm 127:1 

 The movement of God's Spirit in and through a ministry is the most important and significant factor in any kind of ministry.  Yet, I learned a long time ago, sharper instruments are the most productive.  Is your ministry as "sharp" as it can be?  Or, are you asking God to overlook the "dullness" of your ministry. 

1.  Staff Size - We can cut it any way we want to, but it just makes a big difference in how many people are reaching out to students, connecting with students, and having time to build into their lives. Part time and Senior Assistants are options when full time staffers is not.  

2.  Appropriate and Workable strategy -  There has to be a plan that shapes the work, events, and overall ministry of what is being done. The strategy has to be consistent with the gifts of the minister or ministry staff and it must be applicable to that campus.  Harvard events and approach does not work at Commuter Tech and vice versa.

3.  Quality and Investment/Ownership of Student Leaders - To build the ministry, we must recruit, develop and build up student leaders.  A significant number of highly bought in student leaders can offset a lack of staff.  

4.  Financial Resources - Resources can affect everything from the food or lack of food served at events, mailings and publicity, to the appearance of the meeting area to quality of events held during the critical first two weeks of the fall semester.  Money does not make a ministry, but it is hard to have much ministry apart from the needed finances.

5. Campus Atmosphere, Type, and Administration Openness - Again, there is a big difference in the atmosphere, students, and opportunities at Harvard and Commuter Tech.  On some campuses, the administration is helpful to campus ministry groups, other places they are neutral and in some, they are hostile to religious groups.  Every campus is different and the ministry must recognize and work with that difference.  Commuter campuses are harder to reach than residential ones.  There is a large difference in the attitudes, availability, and types of students at commuter campuses and residential campuses.  Make it a priority to work at a positive relationship to campus administrators  

6.  Other Options - Some campuses literally do not have much happening and others are overrun with activities.  Some campuses have only one or two ministries reaching out to students.  Other campuses have several ministries reaching out to the students. Plus, a college ministry with a bad reputation can have a negative effect on ALL ministries.  When there are a variety of quality ministries, it is essential to establish and build on the strength and uniqueness of your ministry. One key issue when there are multiple ministries is the number of student leaders available to invest in the different ministries.

7.  Long Term Tenure of the Ministry Leader - There are a lot of reasons that the larger and more established ministries are led by long term leaders.  They build respect on campus.  They know the campus.  Others know them and are willing to invest.  People send students to campuses with well known and long time respected leaders.  

8,  Consistency Over Time - I do not think we give enough credit to the value of a ministry being consistent over the long haul on a campus.  That is part of what earns it trust which benefits it both with campus administrators, with supporters and with students.  This also ties to the long term tenure of the leader.

"There are 12 million full time and 8 million part time college students in the United States.  The most optimistic figure given by college ministry leaders is that all of the evangelical ministries combined (both campus and church) are reaching approximately 5% of the student population."  from Reaching MORE College Students Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.

Should the size of the campus be a factor in the number of college ministry staffers?

Are you and your ministry working on those areas within your control?

Arliss Dickerson's book, Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9 and  A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV.