Are You RE-BUILDING, BUILDING, or JUST DOING a College Ministry?

We all know what RE-BUILDING a ministry is.  It is taking over one that is down and giving it a new start.  Or, it is knowing our ministry had a less than good year last year and so we are making plans and adjustments for a better year to come.

But, what is the difference between BUILDING and JUST DOING?  Just Doing is continuing to do what we have always done.  It is working pretty well and maybe there is no point messing up a pretty good thing.  Let's keep on.  I am all about faithfulness and long term in college ministry.  The benefits are huge. But, there is a difference in faithfulness and just being on autopilot.  

Here is my definition of BUILDING:  It is learning from last year and seeing how to take it another step.  It is that the ministry is a little stronger in some way....or at least, you are trying to make it stronger than it was. But, every year cannot and will not be better than the year before.

Here are some questions to ask to be BUILDING:

1.  What was the best thing we did last year?  The difference in building and just doing is learning from that which went well.....not just looking at failures.  Try to learn from your successes and don't take them for granted.

2.  Is there some lesson to take away from what went the best last year that could be applied to something else this coming fall?

3.  Am I DOING something just out of habit or because we have always done it?  Is there a reason, a GOOD reason you are going to do everything your ministry is going to do this fall?  If not, are you wasting some time, energy, and resources that could go somewhere else?

4.  Every good College Minister knows the importance of the first 2-3 weeks in outreach!  But, are you just going to be DOING it this fall or are you going to BUILD it?  What are one or two ways that your start of school outreach could go one more step?  Come on, what is it?

5.  If you have a building/Center, is there one area, wall, or gathering place that could be freshened up with some new paint or a new arrangement?  What about a Coffee Bar?

BUILD it.....Don't just do it!!!  Use your experience and insight to BUILD the ministry.  

Check out "A College Ministry Formula" here:  Amazon.com/dp/B0FFTHL6HP and "Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades" Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9

More Tips and Truths for College Freshmen and their Parents

3 Common Misconceptions About College

 1.  Everyone can get a degree in four years without taking summer classes or going an extra semester.      It is rare for a student to be able to fit everything just right into eight semesters (4 years) and that is without switching majors.

2.  Everyone must have a major to start.  With or without a major, it is best to take basics at the very start.  If students jump into classes for a major in the beginning, and they change later, then that delays graduation even more.  Those basics have to be taken some time and it is best to take them at the start when college adjustment is going on.  Sometimes, jumping into a major at the start forces students into harder classes and can make for a tougher adjustment period.  Plus, those basics still have to be taken, even if it is senior year.

3.  If you don't pledge a Greek organization your first semester, you cannot later.  A student can go through the Greek process at any point in their college career.  

3 Common Mistakes

1.  Making class or schedule changes without the advice of an Advisor.  While the student is ultimately responsible for all class decisions, it is the job of an Advisor to make them aware of school policies, class rotations, graduation requirements, etc.  Not taking classes in the proper rotation can cause a student to have to wait a whole year for a certain class to be offered again. 

2.  Dropping one or more classes that puts them below what is classified a fulltime students (Usually 12 hours).  Not being classified a fulltime student can make insurance invalid, scholarships null and void and even possibly not be allowed to live in school housing.  I know of a situation where a student dropped a class putting her below 12 hours.  Heading home that weekend, she had a fender bender and the insurance company said her insurance was not in force due to her no longer being a full time student.

3.  Failing to drop a class properly and then receiving an F on your transcript at the end of the semester..  Students decide to drop a class and  sometimes just stop going and forget that they have not officially gotten out of the class.  It is a hard reminder when that F pops up on the grades at the end of the semester.

Want MORE freshmen help?  Go to Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9

Why Do College Freshmen Drop Out of Church?

 Various studies indicate that the majority of college freshmen make no spiritual connection at college.

  First of all, you have to realize that many of them disappeared prior to high school graduation.  Many seniors who walk across church stages on Senior Sunday have been missing for awhile. But, for those involved in church through high school graduation, what happened?

Often, high school seniors feel they have graduated from church. 

Many youth ministries have more and more become separated from the church as a whole.  Wednesday night youth services usually have more youth than Sunday morning Bible Study and Worship.  When they leave the youth group, their church is gone.  Senior Sunday often feels like a graduation rather than a passing to another phase.

College is busier.  

College just has more going on and more new things to adapt to and students do not take the intentional steps to make sure it is a priority and their schedule just fills up and church is not a part of it.  Students go to college looking for two things:  friends and fun.  The friends and fun they find usually determines the rest of where they go.  Students have to be intentional about making church a part from the start.  Christian groups on campus and college churches will have fun get acquainted events in the start.  Encourage them to look there.

Freshmen go where their friends go.

It is simple.  If none of their new friends to go church, why would they?  Going to a new and strange church is hard!  Going to a new and strange church by yourself is even harder.  Making Christian friends connections in the beginning is a huge factor. Christian upperclassmen who are involved in a church can take them.

College churches are often much larger.

The majority of churches are about one hundred people are less.  Most college churches that reach out to college students are much larger.  Even when freshmen go once, they often don't return out of a feeling of not belonging or how different it was from what they are used to attending.

Freshmen are exposed to a wide variety of ideas, questions and even to those who are critical of faith.

One of the things that can happen at college is students are exposed to different beliefs, religions and skepticism about Christian faith.  While some professors will be openly Christian in their expressions, and another may be openly critical of faith.  The student sitting next to them my be a Buddhist or Witch in their beliefs.  Who knew all those different ideas were out there? And, they seem so sincere.

Freshmen often just feel overwhelmed.

It is not unusual for freshmen to say they are just scared.  It is not just one thing....it is the bigness and change of it all.  Consequently, they just pull back and try to simplify their life as much as possible.

Students sometimes mess up and drop church out of feelings of guilt.

In an attempt to fit in, they might be drunk the first time or have a sexual experience and all that is contrary to who they have been prior to that and their sense of guilt just pushes them away. Help them know that messing up does not have to be the final word of who they are and will be.

A Few Suggestions:

Help students to understand the importance of being intentional about making faith connections during those first couple of weeks.

Make sure the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, another ministry, or college church has their name and contact info PRIOR to school starting.

Call and encourage them during those first couple of weeks and help them to know someone cares and they are not alone.

Parents can make plans to go to church with them on Move-In Weekend and Parents or Homecoming Weekend.  Let them know this is part of the weekend schedule.  It is easier for them to go back to somewhere they have already been.

Help them know that doubts about faith are normal and can even be a source of growth in their faith.  Remind them:  Just because you don't know an answer to a question does not mean there is not an answer.

Arliss Dickerson is a college ministry speaker, writer, and friend to freshmen and parents.  Check out Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9 and 7 Red Flags In A Dating Relationship at Amazon.com/dp/B0DTTRJH38.

YOUR College Freshman Probably WON'T Go to Church!

Some surveys say 7 out of 10 high school seniors active in church make NO spiritual connections in college.  Other studies say, it is ONLY 6 out of 10 that don't go to church after high school. So, odds are, that includes your son or daughter.....or grandkids.  That basically does not count those who disappeared after turning 16 and getting their driver's license.

 When I have shared this statistic at Senior Sunday lunches and other Christian graduation events, the parents always smile at me.....which I used to not understand.  My wife explained it to me, "They all think it is their kids that will go."

But, I think there is also  ANOTHER REASON:  Parents don't care!  I don't mean to be harsh  I have realized that many parents did not go to church while they were in college and they came back to church.  So, they just assume the same thing for their daughter or son.  I believe in some way or other, that is communicated to their son or daughter.  Or, at the very least, there is not communicated any expectation or encouragement to be involved in church and/or a college ministry.

There are two problems with this.  First, If they do come back, they bring the issues that developed during this time without spiritual encouragement.  Second, they come back with the decisions they made during this "vacation from spiritual connections."  They make life choices and often pick a spouse during this time.  But, here is another problem:  Studies today indicate that many are not coming back after college as many formerly did.  I am not saying they will not ever...but.

Here is a less than perfect suggestion:  Parents should expect and communicate that they expect spiritual connections in college.  Does that guarantee it?  Nope.  But, most parents communicate expectations about grades and studying.  Do the same with spiritual conversations.  Just like you ask about grades and going to class, ask about church involvement and attendance.  "Where did you go to church Sunday?'  "Did you go to the Welcome Party at the campus ministry?  You can even tell them in advance that you are planning to ask.  Also, many ministries have a special Freshmen event like a "Survival Conference" with lots of fun activities, get acquainted things and spiritual info.  Some even have pre-school Retreats or Beach Retreats.  Sign them up for one of these.  Besides all the good info and meeting other freshmen, they will get connected to upperclassmen who are involved in the ministry.

If you go for "Move-In Weekend" plan to stay for Sunday and all of you attend one of the local college ministry churches.  It is a whole lot easier to go somewhere that you have already been once and know how and where to get in, etc. And/or, if you go for Parents Weekend or Homecoming, let them know in advance, that Sunday church will be on the agenda and they can let you know where they want to go.

One way you can increase the odds of their making a spiritual connection:  Send their name and contact info to the Baptist Campus Minister or church ministry leader before school starts.  College ministry groups are starting to make contacts now.

What a freshman does and who they connect with during the first couple of weeks, goes a LONG way toward determining the arc of their college career.

Want MORE help for your freshman?  Check out Arliss Dickerson's book, "Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, faith & Good Grades, at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9.

10 Things Parents of a College Freshman Need to Know

 1.  Psychologists say the two greatest times of change in a person's life are birth to age one and high school graduation to Christmas.  Obviously, that is right where your student is.  That is why it is so important to stay connected and involved during this time, but letting them make and learn to make their own decisions.  Yes, it is a balancing act.

2.  College is usually harder than high school for most freshmen and their grades may not be as good as you are used to.  They may be studying just as hard or harder, yet their grades are not quite the same.  Sometime, this is a result of going immediately into harder upper class courses due to coming to school with college credits.

3.The friends and habits a student develops during the first 2-3 weeks often determine or shape their whole college career.  Make sure they understand the importance of starting with a clear set of priorities and realize the importance of a good start.

4.  Studies indicate that 6 out of 10 students active in church as a high school senior make NO spiritual connections in college.  If faith is a priority in your family, discuss the importance of and how to make it a part of those first three weeks.  Most students do not make an intentional decision to drop church and faith.  It just is not an intentional choice at the first.  They assume it will happen automatically.

5.  Parents cannot see their son or daughter's grades without a signed form that can be obtained from the Registrar's Office.  This is part of privacy laws.  It does not matter that you are paying the bill.

6.  Students who live in dorms on campus tend to make better grades.  It is about being connected to college life and feeling like a college student.  Students who commute from home should not have to live on the family schedule, but be encouraged to be a part of campus life.  Some buy a meal ticket or balance card that can be used for meals on campus.

7. National studies show that students who are active in campus organizations are more likely to be happy, stay in school and graduate.  Again, it is all about being connected and feeling a part.  Obviously, students can do too much that distracts from studies, but involvement is a healthy plus.

8.  A recent study shows that students tend to marry someone they date!  Really.

9.  You should know where your student lives and how they can be contacted other than by cell phone.  It is wise to know their dorm and room number or apartment address and number, etc.  How can someone else contact them, if need be?

10.  The average is for students to change their major 2 to 3 times.  It is best to take basics at the beginning before jumping into major classes, if possible.  This allows for adjustment and further determination of a major.

Some Suggestions:

Make sure your student understands, if they plan to drop a class, it is important to officially drop a class....not just stop going.  Also, if a student drops a class and this puts them below what is considered full time (usually 12 hours), they may not be considered a full time student which can affect scholarships, car insurance, living in a dorm, etc.

If joining a fraternity or sorority is an option, consider the possibility of delaying that until after the first semester.  This allows time to adjust to all the new and to have a clear sense of what a group is really like.

If you expect and talk to your student about good grades and study habits, why not talk about good faith practices and ask about them as well.  Expectations affect behavior.

A big help is to make sure the Baptist College Ministry - BCM (They don't care if you are Baptist or not.), some other ministry, and/or a local church has the name and contact information of your student prior to school starting. That can help connect them to some good relationships in the beginning.  Plus, College Ministers can be a great adult friend and guide during  this adjustment and key time.

Want more help for your freshman?  Check out Arliss' book, Tips for College Freshmen:  124 Tips for Fun, Faith & Good Grades at Amazon.com/dp/B09QFB9DJ9