The fall semester is finally here and if you are in a College Ministry this is metaphorically the Super Bowl. Students are coming back in droves. Campuses are busier than they will be the rest of the year and students are extremely nervous and extremely excited all at the same time.
As I was putting together a plan of what I would be trying to do over the next few weeks, I started to think about some of the personal habits that help me get through the long days of the fall and still be a functioning human. Most of the events that tend to be a hit are things with free pizza, pancakes, ice cream, and one of my favorites is a "Death by Chocolate" event. While all of that gets a buzz, surviving on pizza, chocolate and energy drinks might not be the best long term strategy.
Here are a few keys to surviving the hustle.
1. Master the 14 hour day. I calculated my schedule out and in the new two and half weeks, I am going to put in well over two hundred hours. It's just that time of year when the time you spend now compounds later. So, put in the work now and allow for more family and personal time later on as you reap what you sowed.
2. Pray. Pray. And Pray some more. Pray over ever label, flyer, path, pack of ram and bottle of water that you pass out. Every chair that is sat in for worship events or pizza parties. God uses it all. I was reminded of this as we sent out text messages for this fall asking students if they wanted to receive updates about events this semester. One person responded back, "Yes, I need to know when you all are doing stuff because I've been frar from God and need t reconnect with him." Wow! One simple text asking about events turns into that. Never underestimate what God is doing behind the scenes.
3. Prayer walking campus in the earlier hours before campus starts moving. There are a couple reasons it is good to prayer walk the campus. First, in the south it's hot so it's the best way to get some exercise in without feeling like you are going to melt on the sidewalk. Second, often times the big events are set up on campus the night before. I've been on several campuses and while I try to stay informed, the schedule is busy and something wasn't on your radar can all of the sudden get on it when you see a massive tent in the middle of campus with chairs under it.
4. Arrive early, stay late and walk slowly through the crowd. Often times when a lots of things are happening back to back over many days, I tend to turn into the biblical character Martha, who gets scolded by Jesus for working too much and not sitting at his feet like her sister, Mary. We all have to set up for events, which is the reason to arrive early, but there is something to being able to get off of focused on the tasks and focus on the people. Now is the best time to hear a story, find out something new about someone, and just listen to all that God is doing to bring peple to these particular moments. And the only way to hear them is to walk slow. Don't neglect to shake all the hands you can. But take your time. Think of how Jesus interacted with people. He had a goal and a mission but he was never in a hurry.
5. Healthy habits help the long haul. Let's face it. Unfortunately, eating healthy and sleep are gong to be a minimum the next couple weeks. I was told early in my college ministry career that during Welcome Week you'll almost want to sleep at the BCM Center so that you can have more time on campus. And the longer I do campus ministry work that proves to be true. The more time I spend on campus in the early days of the fall the more impactful those days seem to be on the rest of the year. Because of this, in order to keep the pace with long days in the hot and being mostly outside, I increased my workout regimen, especially cardio by a significant amount. This helps me have the energy I need and also not be as exhausted going from one day to another. Consider things you can do to help stay healthy in a busy season.
6. Don't waste your meals. There are two strategies for meals during this time. Think about your meals on campus and with your family. And the first may happen more with the first than the second in this season. Never eat alone. You don't have to spend all kinds of money eating the campus dining, but I would eat some. And I would invite as many students to each meal as you possibly can. Even if you roll in with a sack lunch. Don't eat alone. I will eat on campus twice most days and it will mostly be for lunch and dinner. For my family, I am planning on having breakfast with them. If your family is like mine, we tend to roll pretty quick in the morning. With two kids in elementary school, I'm not going to get as much time with them at meals as I normally get. But, the meals I can have with them, I'm going to make it a priority and to be present.
7. Have a game plan. This is may be the most helpful thing. Map out each day for the next three weeks. It does not have to be extremely detailed but a morning, afternoon, evening, night plan. Several yeas ago I worked at a major chain company for coffee and they had a cadence for what we were supposed to to in 30 minute intervals. Well it didn't take long before you had the pattern memorized and embedded into your brain. But every so often, I would come in and I was just off. I couldn't remember stuff. Everything seemed to break. I was working hard but not working right. When that happened, I would go to the back and write the cadence for work down on a napkin and literally follow it step by step and remind myself exactly what I was supposed to be doing. In a similar way, mapping out a game plan before the madness starts can help a whole lot. I can tell you that you are about to get way more than you can handle. So, having a plan already designed helps you stay on course for the 2-3 week haul of the fall kickoff.
Adam Venters is the Baptist Campus Minister at the University of South Carolina.
Arliss Dickerson's book, Reaching MORE College Students, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN and A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV.
