Where Did College Ministry Start?

 Who did college ministry first and where?  There are many anecdotes told about this person and that church beginning a ministry to college students.  One Baptist story is that Marion Leavell sat in an open vehicle on the Old Miss campus in the 1920's with heated bricks wrapped in newspaper to stay warm. From this "office" she counseled students and loaned books.

Following is a brief summary of the start of different national college ministries in their early days:

Dr. Charles Ball, Professor of Missions at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, made a motion at the Texas Baptist State Convention in 1914 to establish The Baptist Student Missionary Movement.  Following that, in 1915 at the Southern Baptist Convention, a committee was appointed to further consider this movement as a ministry to the United States and Canada.

Wesley Foundation, which is a ministry of the United Methodist Church, began in 1913 at the University of Illinois.  It claims ancestry to the Holy Club, a group of students at Oxford University, formed in 1729 by John and Charles Wesley.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship traces their roots to a movement of British university students starting at Cambridge University in 1877.  InterVarsity was on campus in Canada in 1928.  In 1937 the Canadians sent Stacy Woods, the Canadian Director, to meet with students at the University of Michigan where they formed the first U. S. chapter.

Bill and Vonette Bright founded Campus Crusade for Christ in 1951 at UCLA.  In 1952 Bill Bright wrote The Four Spiritual Laws, which is likely the most widely known and used Christian tract of modern times.

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes began in Oklahoma in 1954 when the Basketball Coach at Eastern Oklahoma A&M wrote a letter to 19 well known athletes and coaches stating his dream of a ministry to and with athletes.  The national headquarters was established in Kansas City in 1956.

The Navigators was established in 1958 at the University of Nebraska by Leroy and Virginia Eims.  Eims later wrote the best selling and still widely used book, The Lost Art of Discipleship.

Chi Alpha, a ministry of the Assemblies of God, was established at Missouri State University in 1953.  J. Robert Ashcroft and J. Calvin Holsinger were the original organizers.

Campus Outreach began in Birmingham, Alabama in 1978 by a local church.

Student Mobilization was started at the University of Arkansas in 1986 by Steve Shadrach.

There are a wide variety of more regional ministries such as MBSF, RUF, and Church of Christ ministries with a variety of dates and starting points.

Where did college ministry start? It started in the heart of God who planted it in the hearts of many men and women across the world.

This information is taken from a variety of informal histories, dates under pictures, etc. and is adapted from Almost Everything About College Ministry Amazon.com/dp/b08CMD9CXX.

Four Reasons We MUST Do College Ministry

 1.  A significant number of Christian college students walk away from church and even their faith in college.

Some walk away due to questions and doubts that come as a result of being in a new environment and hearing questions raised they have never heard before.  Many simply never connect to a faith group either on campus or in an area church.  Ministries being on campus or aimed specifically at students make a difference in connections and helping student grow as a result of their doubts and questions.

2.  As the number of non-Believers grows, college is a key time to share Gospel News with them as they search for what will shape their lives in the years to come.  

Studies show that as a person grows older they are less and less likely to come to Christ.  College is the last "good opportunity" for many to hear and respond.

3.  The number of pastors, missionaries and other vocational ministers retiring or aging out of fulltime ministry is at a high level.  College Ministry is sharing the call to ministry and discipling the future leaders of our churches.

A growing number of churches indicate increased difficulty in finding a pastor or other church staffers.  The need to be talking with Christian young people about God's call to vocational ministry must be a high priority.  Discipling them during their college years will be key to their ministry preparedness and success.

4.  There are 1,057,188 International students from 210 different places of origin studying in the U. S. this year  Most will return to their countries to become the financial and political leaders of their countries.  We can share Christ with the world by reaching out to and ministering to this group.

If we were to do International Student ministry well and on a large scale, it would not be necessary to send missionaries to other countries.  Many of these students come from countries that are not open to Christian Missionaries.  One missionary shared the story of a move to remove all missionaries from the country where they served.  The Vice President of the country had been a student in the U.S. and was befriended by Christians.  He intervened on behalf of the missionaries and they were allowed to stay. 

Adapted from Almost Everything About College Ministry Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.

Arliss Dickerson

Bored During the Holidays?

  Looking for a quick read that will benefit you and your ministry? They are listed in order of the most popular by sales.

Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9

This is a book that churches give on Graduate Sunday and as a graduation gift by individuals.  Each tip is just a paragraph or two long.  Some college ministries use it as a gift to a n incoming student who will give them their contact information.

Almost Everything About College Ministry Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX

"Almost" was written as a resource with chapters aimed at veteran College Ministers and others aimed at newbies.  It has been used as a class text and as a staff book for discussion.

Doing College Ministry Better/College Ministry Basics (Kindle) Amazon.com/dp/B00EO5MDSO

This was my first book distilling the best practices of some the more successful campus based College Ministers.

Fixing a Broken College Ministry Amazon.com/dp/1521876665

A College Minister called me and said, "I can't find anything on bringing a ministry back that is really down." I looked and found there was not any such material.  

A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV

This includes 10 common mistakes College Ministers make and what I believe are the five building blocks of all strong ministries.  It includes my most requested talk for College Minister conferences which is, "The Four Seasons of a College Minister."  It is how to do college ministry at any age.

Reaching MORE College Students Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN

There are 12,000,000 full time college students (and 6,000,000 part time) in America.  The best guess is that all Christian ministries are reaching about 5 percent. It was written both as a challenge AND with ideas how to increase the number being reached.

Thanks for being a part of the great College Ministry Family.  I am sorry I cannot give a copy of each of these to all of you.  Many blessings to you and yours during this Thanksgiving and Christmas Season.  

REMEMBER: God is ALWAYS doing more than you realize through you and your ministry!

Arliss

3 Views of Your College Ministry This Semester

I am all about evaluation at the end of a semester.  There are 3 views of the semester you need to consider.

VIEW 1:  Ask your student leaders their view of the semester as a whole.  

     1. What spoke to them and where did they see God at work?

      2,  What was the best thing that happened all semester?

      3.  What is one thing we should change or tweak?

VIEW 2:  Invite 4 or 5 freshmen for cokes or coffee and ask them their thoughts.

    1.  How did they hear about the ministry and what caused them to come the first time?

    2.   What was their VERY FIRST IMPRESSION?

    3.    What was the main reason they stayed involved the whole semester?

    4.     What helped them the MOST?

VIEW 3: Your thoughts and feelings now.

    1.  What made the biggest difference for good this semester?

    2.  What was not worth what it cost in time or money?

    3.  Is MY TIME being spent the best way possible? Remember, you are the NUMBER ONE tool and asset of the ministry.

    4.  Is there one tweak or change that needs to be made to our large group event?

    5.  Who all do I need to thank with a personal note, a phone call or take them to lunch?  

Arliss Dickerson's book, Almost Everything About College Ministry, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXXand Reaching MORE College Students is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.

Young Adult Ministry is MESSY!

 A young couple just out of college is living together.  They are attending a church and the church will not do their wedding.

I shared the story a while back about a friend who called to ask, if I could help her son.  He and his girlfriend live in another city and attend a large church there.  They go to a young couples Sunday group and she is in a Women's Bible Study and they contribute to the church  They made an appointment at the church to talk about a possible wedding, but received an email the day before the appointment to say that no one on the church staff would do their wedding or pre-marital counseling.

"What's the difference between them and a couple who maintain separate apartments but sleep together a couple nights a week?" my friend asked. Her point is that her son and his girlfriend are more honest.

If a couple comes to you to ask, if you will perform their wedding, do you ask if they currently sleep together occasionally?  Or, do you ask, if they live together?  Is there a difference?  Or, do you ask any questions?

Some College Ministers and Pastors I know have certain stipulations they give and will perform the ceremony, if those are met.  Some will not perform the wedding of a Christian and non-Christian.  But, they will perform the wedding of two non-Christians, if they consent to pre-marital counseling which involves presenting the Gospel.  Others say they will do a small more informal wedding for a couple who have been living together.  Some indicate they will do the wedding, if the couple commits to live apart leading up to the wedding.

I think there are good arguments on all sides of this discussion.  But, here is one thing I think should be a universal answer, "I will be glad to do your pre-marital counseling.  Thank you for asking me." All of us in ministry are concerned about the state of marriage and the number of divorces.  If we perform the wedding of a couple who lives together, are we condoning that behavior? How do we draw people in and not push them away?  How do we stand on our principles and beliefs....with Grace?

It is messy!  I called a friend in that city and he said he would be glad to meet with them and possibly do the ceremony......and at the very least, he would offer to do their pre-marital counseling. 

So, how do you operate?  Will you do the wedding of anyone who asks?  Do you ask any questions?  Do you have any stipulations?  Here is the point, IF YOU HAVE NOT FACED THIS SITUATION, YOU WILL.

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh."  Ephesians 5:31

Arliss Dickerson's book, A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV and Almost Everything About College Ministry is at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.

How L-O-N-G Should You Speak AND H-O-W Can You Speak Better?

In recent years there has been a trend for Christian speakers to speak longer. It is sometimes insinuated that if someone does not speak for a lengthy time, they are not being deep in what they say.  I worked on a national collegiate program where we had to change the schedule because the speakers kept going over their allotted time and fouling up the rest of the session.

Is there a perfect time length to speak?  Maybe not perfect, but here is what some "experts" know and say.

TED Talks are 18 minutes long.  Nobody gets more than 18 minutes.  TED Talk Curator, Chris Anderson, says, 18 minutes is "short enough to hold people's attention, precise enough to be taken seriously, and long enough to say something that matters."

Biologists say the brain starts to tune out after 10 minutes.  So, it is at the 9-10 minute mark that a gear has to shift, a prop used or something done to bring the audience back again. One speaker who speaks at large events says when he sees an audience's attention beginning to wane, he holds up one finger and says, "Let me tell you a joke."  Or, he says something startling.

TIPS FOR SPEAKING WELL FOR 15-20 MINUTES:

   1.  Tell a story.  Students love a story.  Ed Seabough, who was one of the famous Christian campus communicators of the 70's was one of the best story tellers I have ever heard.  He told me that he practiced telling his stories.  They did not just come off the top of his head and consequently, he told them with maximum impact.

    2.  When their heads go down, they have quit listening.  There is something in a college student's makeup that causes their head to drop when they quit listening.  It is at that point that you do something to draw them back or give up and quit.

    3.  Start by asking for a response or telling a story.  "How many of you have ever embarrassed yourself in front of a thousand people?" or it can be as simple as, "Have any of you skipped class this week and will admit it by holding your hand up?"  When I do something like this, I usually have a $10 or $15 Gift Card to a popular student fast food place and give it to the one or one of the ones who held their hand up.

    4.  The BEST Tip: Never do a talk without having practiced it out loud at least twice....just exactly as you plan to do it.  Stand up in a room by yourself and pretend you are speaking to a crowd and do it.  You will find some things don't sound right and need to be changed.  Change them and do it again..

    5.  Know exactly what you will say to close.  Often speakers don't close, they just quit.  Plan what you will say to close..

How LONG do you speak?  Why do you speak that length?  What is one thing you could do to speak better? 

Arliss Dickerson's book, Almost Everything About College Ministry, is available at amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX and Reaching MORE College Students is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.

The Character of a College Minister

 "As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."  Ephesians 4:1-3

Most of my writing in college ministry is focused on the competency and the College Minister, yet I believe that we must acknowledge and point to the equal importance of the character of the College Ministers.

"Live a life worthy of your calling" is a reminder to all of us who serve in ministry that who we are will always affect our ministry.  We cannot ask or expect students to be more than we are attempting to be.  If a leader does not demonstrate character, then the ministry will not demonstrate character.  The ministry will always to some degree or other be a reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of the leader.

Paul lists five expressions of the character of a Christian and particularly one who leads other Christians:

1.  Humility - This humility that Paul speaks of is not one of seeing no value in ourselves, but rather as Romans 12:3 says, "Think of yourself with sober judgement."  It is to think of ourselves as God sees us both strengths and weaknesses.

2.  Gentleness - Scholars say the term translated gentleness refers to the point between two extremes.  We must be aware of the power of our words and actions and how they affect the students in our ministry and those not yet in our ministry. Quick word spoken in anger can be destructive to relationships and ministry.  When we are out of control in words or actions, we are not honoring the Lord.

3.  Patient (Long Suffering) - This characteristic can be applied to mean being willing to give a ministry time to develop or a student time to develop and mature.  Remember, it usually takes about three years for a ministry to begin to be as we envision it being.  Are you willing to give the ministry time?  Are you willing to give that bright freshmen the time to grow into the potential that you see in them that God can use?

4.  Bearing with one another in love - When we love someone in a godly way, we continue to love them when they do not act in a way worthy of love.  Students will let you down.  Student leaders will sometimes not do what they know to do.  Just as the Lord never gives up on us, we are to be people that never give up on students.

5.  Unity through the bond of peace - There are different ways this may be expressed in college ministry. If there are multiple Christian ministries on a campus or reaching out to the campus, it means knowing and acting on the belief that God's kingdom is bigger than you and your ministry. It can mean not being critical of others ministries and even looking for ways that ministries might possibly work together for the good of the campus.

A ministry will always to some degree be a reflection of the strengths, weakness, and character of the leader.

This post is adapted from my book,  A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula,  Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV.

One of the SECRETS of Successful College Ministers

I wrote an article where I said that the "IT Factor" in College Ministry was respect....not Charisma.

A friend who supervises College Ministers said he agreed, except, I left out the part about hard work.  I agreed with him.  All the College Ministers I know that have done it well for a long time work really hard.  I have heard there are College Ministers that do not work hard, but they usually do not last long in college ministry

Nothing substitutes for hard work.  But, there is more than one way to work hard.  I have a friend who works night and day and weekends.  Then, he will take a week's vacation in the middle of the semester.  I could never do that....not in the middle of the semester.  I paced myself more on a regular pattern.  Our "Work Hard Patterns" are different

Some Suggestions for Working Hard:

    1.  Find what work pattern works best for you.  Are you the go hard night and day and then take a few days break?  Or, are you the consistent schedule person?  Don't just copy your hero or role model. There is more than one way to work hard.

    2.  Don't forget that hard work done wrong or ineffectively is still ineffective.  Beware of trying to substitute hard work for a good and workable strategy.  Being stubborn and hard work often go together, but can be fatal.  A sharp tool accomplishes more.  Work hard smartly.

    3.  Beware of "driving others" with your own hard work ethic.  It is easy for others....especially student volunteers.....to think we have unrealistic expectations.  And, different generations have different ideas about when and how to work hard.  While modeling good hard work for your student leaders, never forget that they are volunteers.

    4.  Don't forget GRACE.  If I am totally honest, there is a little bit of me that feels you need to "earn your way to heaven"......God loves us even when we do not have 500 at our program.  Work hard and trust the Lord.....and accept a little GRACE.

    5.  Have a schedule that makes it possible for others to connect with you and know when that is.  Working from midnight to 9:00 a.m. may work personally for you, but it does not make you readily available to others.....AND, even may give the impression that you do not show up for work much.  I am all about having some posted hours or making it generally known that you are in your office or available at certain hours.  Then, be faithful to that schedule.  Being available is a must.

    6.  Do not cheat your family to work hard.  Sometimes, it is hard balance.  Yet, work at balancing it.  My daughters laughed at all the different times we ate supper together, so I could go back to the campus.  But, we ate together.

7.  If you have a boss or supervisor, make sure they know about and are on board with your work hard schedule.  If you are working well into the night and showing up at the office at noon, do they know what you are doing?  Or, do they think you are not working?  I had an Assistant once who came to work at Noon and workedS till ten that night.  She was great at it and we were both aware of what the other was doing.

Keep working hard.  Nothing substitutes for hard work, but be a smart hard worker!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men..." Colossians 3:23

Arliss Dickerson's book, A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV and Almost Everything About College Ministry is at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.

Building an Alumni Data Base for a College Ministry

 "A College Minister should be fired, if he or she does not work with alumni." is my way out there statement.

The most common reason I hear is, "There is no alumni list where I serve."  Someone has to start it and if no one before you started it, then you are the one.  Just start! If there is already one, then you must continue to develop and update it.  Nothing goes out of date quicker than an alumni list.

Starting an Alumni list:

    1.  Just start.  Who have you met at church or in the community that says, "I used to go to the BSU/BCM/Red Wolves for Christ, etc.  Get their mailing or email address.  

    2.  Send out a letter or social media message asking them to send you the names and contact information of any friends who were involved in the ministry when they were.  Even if they do not know any contact info, just getting some names will be helpful. List the names you may have gotten.  

    3.  Keep the letter to one page but just share some of the good things happening in the ministry in a paragraph or maybe two.  DON'T MAKE IT A FUND RAISING LETTER!

    3.  Look at pictures that the ministry may have on the wall or in scrapbooks, etc and make a list of all the names.  Some may be ones you will recognize in the community and you can get an address.

    4.  Buy lunch for any alums you have met and find out if they have contact info for any of those on your list.

    5.  Some colleges publish an alumni book and people have listed organizations they were active in during their time in school. Buy or borrow one and go through it.  

    6.  Another way to start is this spring list all of your ministry graduates and start with them and add to it each graduation.  I am aware of one ministry that adds all of their freshmen to their alumni mailing list, so as to not lose them over the next four years.  That Campus Minister shares that one of his biggest alumni donors was only involved her freshmen year.

    7.  At graduation get a copy of the graduation program that lists all the grads and go through it looking for names of students who were involved some time during their college career, but were not active the last year or two.  Not all that dropped out did so because they did not want to be active.

    8.  Look at annuals from the past and if there is a picture of your ministry group, it will often have names of those pictured.

    9.  Contact former Campus Ministers and ask for any alums they have current info on or ask them to post a request on social media.

Updating and Maintaining an Alumni List:

    1.  Always request an address correction on bulk mailouts.  You will have to pay for those returned, but it will be worth it in getting new addresses or at least knowing not to continue to send to someone at that address in the future. If you find an old outdated list, do a mailing with this request on the outside and it will quickly update your list....most likely paring it down, if there has not been recent mailings.

    2.  When possible, keep a woman's maiden name in the name on your list such as, Sue Pollock Dickerson.  That specifically identifies them and helps when sharing information about them in the newsletter.

    3.  Mail to the specific person, not to Mr. and Mrs. or The Jones, etc.  When there is a divorce or death, you can lose the one who the newsletter was actually intended for.

    4.  In a newsletter do a list of names of those whose addresses you have lost and ask anyone to share an update that has it.

    5.  Having alumni news and fun pictures from the past is the key thing in alums WANTING to receive the information you mail out.

    6.  Always, Always, Always, Always enclose a return envelope to get back any family information for future newsletters, contact info of other alums and possibly a contribution.  We found that those envelopes continued to come back for the next several months.

When do you do some of this work?  December and May are great times for alumni work.  Writing down a quick squib about some news you see on an alum on social media and throwing it in your Newsletter File Folder can be done throughout the year.

 Even if such a list does not bless you in your time on that campus, it can bless your successors.  It will bless the ministry in years to come.

Arliss Dickerson's book, Almost Everything About College Ministry, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX and Reaching MORE College Students is at Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.