Two Different Types of Students

 Following a worship event recently, I saw one student standing by himself looking for someone to connect to.  He is awkward, not good at conversation, and sometimes not dressed quite appropriately.  He is a great reminder to me.

I am all about strong student leaders.  I have been blessed to have lots of strong, even charismatic type student leaders.  If you read any of my stuff, you know that I rale on about the necessity of reaching and building up student leaders and how that benefits the ministry.

I have shared previously an experience from the past where at the end of one of our worship events, the person speaking had us join hands to sing and close in prayer.  One one side, I was holding hands with one of the prettiest and most sought after girls on campus.  On the other side, I was holding hands with a girl with physical deformities and a grating personality.  

It was a BIG God Moment for me.  Our college ministries are supposed to be like that.  I hope you are reaching leaders and growing them.  But, I also hope your ministry has some students that no one else on campus cares about.  For sure, it is complicated and sometimes calls for delicate conversations.

Last year I was waiting to visit with a college ministry friend and asked how he was doing.  He said, "I just had one of those hard conversations where I had to tell a guy if he was going on our Spring Break Mission trip, he had to take a shower every day.  Those are not fun conversations.

But, I think they are God conversations.  A college guy who does not know to take a shower regularly needs to be told and taught to do so.  He also needs friends around him and that will help him feel loved and included.  I was glad he was getting to go on their Spring Break Mission Trip and I was glad the College Minister was tough enough to have that conversation with him.

What about your ministry?  Do you have a few students nobody else wants?  Are you saying things lovingly into their life they need to hear?  No, a college ministry is not supposed to be just a gathering place for those who have no other place, but just as it is building up leader types, it needs to be speaking love and godly counsel into some that are not charismatic leaders.

College ministry is hard, but wonderful!

Arliss Dickerson's book, Reaching MORE College Students, is available at Amazon.com/dp/B0MW8NPMN and Tips for College Freshmen is at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9.