Upgrading Your End of the Year Mailing and Thank You Notes

 If you know me, you know I am all about thanking those who have helped you or blessed your ministry.

One updated way to do that is with picture cards.  Many of us send Picture Christmas Cards to family and friends with pictures of our family, the new baby, our trip to the beach, etc.  Why don't you do that with a ministry card?  It can also be a New Year's card, if this week is already scheduled out.

You can put one or more pictures made at your ministry on the card.  It can be a big group picture, a picture made at one of your programs, etc. A picture is worth 10,000 words.

Who Could Such a Card Be Sent To?

-All the pastors in your area

-The pastors of all the churches that support your ministry

-All the individuals who gave money during this year.

-All the volunteers who served meals at your ministry.

Fair Warning:  These cards are a little expensive ranging from a little over a dollar to two dollars.  However, one way to cut that expense would be to just make a bunch of pictures and stick one in all of those HANDWRITTEN thank you notes you are doing.  You know how cranky I am about writing handwritten thank you notes!  Those pictures would cost you about 40 cents each.

Don't Forget:  There are people who get end of the year bonuses, often on the last day of the year and quickly make donations to qualify for the tax deduction this year.  Is your ministry even on their radar?

So, what kind of thank you notes and messages are YOU sending out?

Merry Christmas!

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.

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The Healthy Spot Between Who Cares & Never Satisfied?

 There was an excellent article recently warning College Ministers against pragmatism or simply doing something because it draws a crowd and not trusting the Lord.  I wrestle with that in that I am very pragmatic.

Some years ago a student said, "We should name our worship band Free Beer and we could advertise Free Beer on Thursday Night."  That certainly would have drawn a crowd for one night....and gotten me fired the next day.  Obviously, that would be an over the top extreme example of doing whatever to draw a crowd.

Is there a healthy point between just doing stuff that gets students to come and just trusting the Lord in our ministry?  I think there has to be.  

-If there are 5,000 students on our campus, we must care about 5,000 students.  Every situation is different.  In some settings with a good budget and a nice facility in the deep south, reaching a fairly large number is possible.  On a 5,000 student campus with no budget, no facility and an antagonistic administration, reaching a much smaller crow is likely.  Yet, I believe God can be and is at work in both situations.  

We must each be responsible to our particular setting and situation.  I have a friend who regularly receives large checks out of the blue from his alums.  He can do almost anything he chooses to boost the ministry.  Another friend said he worked to have funding to serve Iced Tea after his event once a month.  Their situation is different.

A friend shared that he was visiting with a BCM College Minister who led a small ministry and told him some things their large ministry had done for Welcome Week.  The leader of the smaller ministry tried some of the suggestions and had more students visit his ministry the first couple of weeks than ever before.  But, he did not do anything different with follow-up, etc and they immediately went back to the number they had always had. Were those the ones the Lord wanted there or was it a failure of practice?

Keys to a Healthy Balance:

1.  Are we continuing to learn from others?  No matter how long we do college ministry, we can keep learning.  Learn from old vets.  Learn from new guys and gals that have new thoughts.  Keep learning!

2.  Remind yourself every year cannot be bigger and better than the year before.  It just cannot.  The campus schedule changes.  Student leaders graduate and new ones are still learning.  Recovering from the blows of the Covid Years takes time.

3.  Be faithful and work hard.  Keep doing the things you know to do and trust God in the process. Sometimes, it just takes multiple years for things to develop and mature.  I could do things at Year 10 that were not remotely possible before that.

4.  Do not compare your ministry to other ministries....particularly the "Poster Ministry of the Year". One of the greatest killers of College Ministers is comparison.  No two situations are alike.  Resources vary, campus situations are different.  Our gifts are different.  Learn from others, but do not compare!  Years ago a ministry was held up as an example of things to do because of their large numbers.  Some time later we learned the College Minister was lying about his numbers!  Just wow!!

5.  Feeling alone and no one else cares causes us to do and think dumb things! This is the other big killer of College Ministers. Find and develop two or three friends who get college ministry that you can talk to and share your thoughts, frustrations, etc with.  But, don't dump it all on your spouse!

Being in the Healthy Spot is always a work in progress.

At the risk of sounding way too pragmatic, Reaching More College Students is FREE THIS WEEK.  GET IT HERE:  Amazon.com/dp/B0CDHP4MD1.  By the way, you would do me a huge favor, if you would write an honest review on the Amazon site.

Arliss, arlissdickerson@gmail.com

By POPULAR DEMAND, Sue's Sausage Ball Recipe

 SUE'S SAUSAGE BALL RECIPE

2 and 1/2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix

1 Pound Hot Sausage

1 Pound shredded cheddar cheese (4 cups)

Mix all ingredients together (large Kitchen Aid Mixer works well)

Form mixture into small balls and bake at 350 degrees in oven until golden brown (15-20 minutes approximately).  You may make all the balls ahead and freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet until firm and then store them in the freezer in a zip lock bag until you are ready to bake them. 

 This makes about 4 dozen pieces depending on the size you make them.

Sue says the SECRET is the hot sausage.  She prefers the Williams brand but cannot always find it.  

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

 

 

Does Your College Ministry Have a Lid on It?

 The lid is a number you just cannot grow past.  Students graduate and you reach new students, but the number being reached stays about the same.  Or, you grow up to a certain number and then fall back.

Some Causes to a Ministry Lid:

1.  Bad Reputation on Campus - Often a bad reputation is caused by misbehavior or perceived misbehavior by students involved in the ministry.  Or, it can be some enthusiastic attempts to share the Gospel that violated some campus rules or standards.  Stressing to student leaders the importance of their behavior and how they are seen as representative of the ministry can be key here.  If campus rules have been broken, it is imperative to work at making it right with campus administrators.  An unfair cause is what some other campus ministry has done and all ministries are perceived that way

2.  Time and Day of your Large Group Event - Campus schedules change, campus rhythms change.  A bloc of classes is now scheduled on your big night.  Or, maybe the night or day is still good, but the time is not.  Look at what is happening on campus at your time.  Or, is it too early or too late in the week?

3.  Resources - It just may be that your budget is the cause of your lid.  One way to work at changing that is to lay out a plan or some options that could be accomplished with some additional funding.  Share that with alums or other stakeholders.

4.  Student Leadership Organization - It takes more leaders to reach and keep more students connected.  Have you maxed out your leadership structure.  There are some options for this in my Reaching More book.  Amazon.com/dp/B0BMW8NPMN.

5.  Wrong Strategy -  Strategy is the intentional plan for the ministry.  There are two common mistakes in strategy:  Copying another ministry with different resources in an entirely different campus setting and the strategy has not been tweaked and adjusted as the campus has grown or changed.

6.  Your Facility or Your Setup - If you have outgrown your meeting space, is it time to move?  Can you rent somewhere?  Can your borrow a church or large conference room?  Arrangement is another thing that establishes a lid.  Experiment with setting up your meeting room in different ways.  I know it may sound over simple, but the "feel" of a room often has more effect than we know.  Or, is it dirty or need a new coat of paint?

What would YOU like to see Arliss write about?  Send him your suggestion at arlissdickerson@gmail.com.

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

Four of My Guiding Principles in College Ministry

 1.  I am committed to the idea that it is not the grand gesture or event done occasionally that makes the difference but rather, it is the little things done right again and again that makes the difference.

2.  Raising up capable godly leaders is not rocket science but rather it is teaching and challenging them to do things well.

3.  We must help students be who they are.

4.  God is always doing more than you know.

Arliss

You can check out A 3 Part College Ministry Success Formula at Amazon.com/dp/B0BZ6Q7HSV and Almost Everything About College Ministry at Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX