Now at the end of the 2-3 weeks of intense outreach to freshmen and other new incoming students, some are celebrating some record numbers and others are a little frustrated that their efforts did not bear as much fruit as they had hoped and prayed.
As you think through and evaluate your initial outreach, here are some possibilities that can help you reach MORE and Yes; #5 is guaranteed!
5 Ways to ENLARGE your ministry:
1. Add another staffer (full or part-time) with the sole responsibility and job description of reaching out to a totally different group on campus such as a Freshmen Dorm, Greeks, the band, etc. Or, could there be another ministry team formed for that sole purpose?
2. Add a different time or night to your weekly big event. Have a 7:00 o'clock worship and a 9:00 o'clock worship. This is an obvious option to those that are seeing that their space is likely limiting their numbers. If you meet on Tuesday night, what about a Thursday night repeat of the same event. But, beware that each of these take either more student leaders/volunteers or a greater time commitment on the part of your leaders, band, etc.
3. Reduce your number of events to focus on one or two. It is possible to have so many different events that the quality is diluted, as well as the promotion and preparation. Should you drop something to bring sharper focus to your main event?
4. Combine multiple events into one night. Many ministries have small groups that meet at different times throughout the week. What if your Discipleship Groups or Freshmen Family Groups met following your large group event? All that energy is directed at one night. BUT, that limits everything to students who are available on one night? Does that increase or decrease your outreach?
5. Lie about your numbers! It works. Everyone loves stories of huge crowds. Several years ago there was a national program developed based on the huge success that a College Minister had developed on a small campus. He was "promoted" to a nationally known flag ship campus and his method was touted and emulated nation wide. No one had the success he had had. Later it was discovered that he had lied about his fabulous numbers. For the record, I don't recommend this method.
Here is the bottom line: Have you considered doing something different to reach more....not work harder.....not be on campus 24/7......do something different? Remember, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
An Opportunity: Right now several of my college ministry books are marked down to Amazon's lowest allowed price for the next few days. They range in price from $9.85 to $5.75. You can check it out starting here: Amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.
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