As I am in my first fall of doing church based college ministry (as an Interim), I have given considerable thought to doing the basics that will benefit whomever comes to this position on a more permanent basis. I want it to be built and strengthen on a solid foundation. A pillar is defined as, "A tall vertical structure used as a support....or a person or thing regarded as reliably providing essential support for something." (Wikapedia)
This has been an interesting challenge for me since I had recently written, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY, and this ministry had gone from being large to being much smaller over a period of about three or four years. I told someone, "I might have to tear up "Fixing" when this is over.". That has not happened yet, but I wish I had had this experience prior to writing "Fixing".
Let me share SIX PILLARS:
1. Good and solid Biblical teaching.
This can and likely should happen in both small groups and large group events. It is the basis of who we are and what we proclaim. I like and am all about students reading the latest good Christian books....but they should not be a pillar of our ministry.
2. A Sense of Mission
One of things that is making our ministry work right now is many of our students have a real sense of mission about our ministry. They are reaching out to friends and working at it being the best it can be. They do not see the ministry as simply their private club.
3. Committed and Capable Student Leaders
No ministry or organization can survive or at least thrive without solid leaders and I believe student leaders are essential to a healthy and strong college ministry. We must enlist, attract, train and empower student leaders. They reach those we cannot. It builds them for future service and it multiplies the leader's time and efforts.
4. A Plan or Strategy
A plan is a road map. Where are you trying to go? Do you have a plan to get there? Just as on a long trip, there may be detours, your plan may change as you go, but having a plan is a must. Just as every map must be unique or specific to the trip you are taking, your plan must be unique or specific to your ministry. It involves your goals, resources, and planned actions. You cannot copy someone else's map or plan.
5. Strong Outreach to Freshmen
Freshmen are the most reachable and most needy. If your ministry is about touching lives for their benefit and the benefit of the kingdom, you must be trying to reach out to freshmen. Yet, I have been very pleasantly surprised at the number of upperclassmen we are seeing that are responding to our outreach and invitations. There is need an opportunity in every class.
6. Consistency
There must be consistency in what is offered and there must be consistency in the leadership. As I state in "FIXING" one of the reasons a college ministry can become broken is continual turnover of leadership (that has happened to the one I am currently leading.). There must also be ongoing consistency in what is offered and how it is done. Students know what to expect and they know what they are inviting friends to attend and commit to. Every good ministry is continually tweaking from one year to the next, but it does not go through wholesale change every semester....or every week. UNLESS, it is broken and needs fixing.
I am not arguing these are the only pillars....but can you say what your pillars are? What is your ministry based on and supported by?
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is an Amazon eBook aimed at helping ministries to to the next level. It is available in or print or eBook format.
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Monday, September 18, 2017
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
8 Reasons College Ministries Often Don't Cooperate
Through the years in different experiences I have been surprised at many college ministries (campus and church based) that do not cooperate with other college ministries. A question I have often gotten when leading a training seminar for church lay people is, "Why are college ministries not more cooperative with each other?".
Eight Common Reasons for Some College Ministries NOT Being Cooperative:
1. Different Theology - Obviously, all ministries and churches do not share identical theology. Some feel that if they cooperate with another ministry in any way, they are indicating approval of the other ministry's theology.
2. Disagreement over Methodology - This is similar to the first in that some ministries feel that others are improper or even unethical in their methods. Therefore, they feel to cooperate would be to indicate approval or agreement with their methods.
3. Totally Self-focused - I have learned that some ministries genuinely wish all ministries well. But, they are going to do whatever they feel is the most effective thing for their ministry, regardless of the effect on others. This is seen sometimes in churches that do not cooperate with their own denomination's campus based ministry.
4. Numbers Pressure - Some College Ministers feel such a pressure (either from supervisors or self imposed) to produce numbers. They fear that their students will see what is happening elsewhere and choose to go there instead.
5. Tunnel Vision - This is best illustrated by a story I heard recently of a church who began reaching members of the football team. The church College Minister went to the athletics ministry person on that campus who served as Chaplain of the football team. They said, "How can we cooperate?". The athletics chaplain said they did not wish to cooperate with that church because they wanted all the athletes to attend one particular church...the one he attended.
6. Desire to Reach More Students - Some believe that if ministries cooperate it will simply lead to all those cooperating working with and sharing the same students and that more students will be reached if everyone just does their own thing.
7. Just Crazy Busy - College Ministers are sometimes so crazy busy that it just is another thing that takes time or meetings. So, in order to simplify their life, they just do not do anything with anybody else.
8. Limited Finances - Often college ministries (both church and campus) operate with very limited budgets. Sometimes cooperative endeavors involve some activity with a budget involved and everyone is expected to contribute. They just feel they cannot afford to do anything that does not specifically benefit their ministry.
I am a strong believer in the benefit of different ministries being unique and I do not advocate the idea of let's just all join together and be one ministry. But, I do believe there are places and times we should cooperate for the benefit of God's Kingdom as a whole and for the witness to the campus as a whole. For example, many ministries join together for Easter or Easter Week events. In many places the different college ministry leaders meet together on a regular basis for sharing, prayer, and exchange of information beneficial to all. We must always be attempting to do what is best for God's kingdom...not just what is best for our own ministry.
"Teacher, said John, we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us. Do not stop him, Jesus said, No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us." Mark 9:38-40 (NIV)
Arliss Dickerson's college ministry books are available at amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.
Eight Common Reasons for Some College Ministries NOT Being Cooperative:
1. Different Theology - Obviously, all ministries and churches do not share identical theology. Some feel that if they cooperate with another ministry in any way, they are indicating approval of the other ministry's theology.
2. Disagreement over Methodology - This is similar to the first in that some ministries feel that others are improper or even unethical in their methods. Therefore, they feel to cooperate would be to indicate approval or agreement with their methods.
3. Totally Self-focused - I have learned that some ministries genuinely wish all ministries well. But, they are going to do whatever they feel is the most effective thing for their ministry, regardless of the effect on others. This is seen sometimes in churches that do not cooperate with their own denomination's campus based ministry.
4. Numbers Pressure - Some College Ministers feel such a pressure (either from supervisors or self imposed) to produce numbers. They fear that their students will see what is happening elsewhere and choose to go there instead.
5. Tunnel Vision - This is best illustrated by a story I heard recently of a church who began reaching members of the football team. The church College Minister went to the athletics ministry person on that campus who served as Chaplain of the football team. They said, "How can we cooperate?". The athletics chaplain said they did not wish to cooperate with that church because they wanted all the athletes to attend one particular church...the one he attended.
6. Desire to Reach More Students - Some believe that if ministries cooperate it will simply lead to all those cooperating working with and sharing the same students and that more students will be reached if everyone just does their own thing.
7. Just Crazy Busy - College Ministers are sometimes so crazy busy that it just is another thing that takes time or meetings. So, in order to simplify their life, they just do not do anything with anybody else.
8. Limited Finances - Often college ministries (both church and campus) operate with very limited budgets. Sometimes cooperative endeavors involve some activity with a budget involved and everyone is expected to contribute. They just feel they cannot afford to do anything that does not specifically benefit their ministry.
I am a strong believer in the benefit of different ministries being unique and I do not advocate the idea of let's just all join together and be one ministry. But, I do believe there are places and times we should cooperate for the benefit of God's Kingdom as a whole and for the witness to the campus as a whole. For example, many ministries join together for Easter or Easter Week events. In many places the different college ministry leaders meet together on a regular basis for sharing, prayer, and exchange of information beneficial to all. We must always be attempting to do what is best for God's kingdom...not just what is best for our own ministry.
"Teacher, said John, we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us. Do not stop him, Jesus said, No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us." Mark 9:38-40 (NIV)
Arliss Dickerson's college ministry books are available at amazon.com/dp/B08CMD9CXX.
Monday, September 11, 2017
Some Students You Never See
I am currently serving as the Interim College Minister at my church. We are now starting our fourth week of the fall semester and every year at this point, I struggle with the fact that there are students we have never seen. They are those that were recommended to us so highly. They are those whom we have sent personal messages to and they have never responded. I wonder if they have connected to a Christian ministry or church somewhere else....are they in trouble....have they quit and gone home?
One student's name had been given to me with cell phone, etc and I had texted him some messages and never heard back. A couple of weeks ago the friend who had contacted me with his information and had had asked me to contact him let me know he was not doing well and could I do something. I indicated that I would again send him a message, but that he had never responded to any of my previous attempts. The friend said, "Let me double check with his mom to make sure I gave you correct information.". At that point, I sent him another message. Within thirty minutes he responded....oh yes; his mom called him! He has been at every collegiate event we have had since then. Encouragement on both ends is huge.
We are seeing both freshmen and upperclassmen we have never seen before. Some have been at other churches and some have not been anywhere. I struggle with the best way to respond to students who have attend other churches last school year. I want to reach students no one is touching...both Christian and non-believers. But, I have also feel a special sense of calling to those who came to Christ very young and have never figured out what to do with it. I don't want to build our ministry by draining another ministry, but I also want students to be somewhere they feel loved, connected, and challenged. I realize some students have gone to a church because their friends did and later realize it is not a fit for them. No doubt that is true for some who have come to our church. It is too bad we don't have a system like pro sports where we can trade players. Everybody is in on the deal and feels good about it.
A friend who serves as a campus based College Minister told me today of a new approach he has taken. He now will walk up to a student sitting alone in the Union and say, "May I invite you to something?". He says it is very different than just walking up and handing them a flyer or brochure. You are asking permission to come into their space. He said he almost never gets a negative response.
I am reminded again that we must continually speak about forgiveness in our early talks. It is a strong belief of mine that many Christian students go away from faith involvement in college due to something they have done contrary to their previous beliefs and practices. The urge and pressure to fit in is huge and many get swept somewhere they never meant to go. Then, their sense of guilt or shame drives them away.
But, I just keep wondering about some students I have never seen. I would be great with their sending me a message saying, "Hey Arliss, just wanted to let you know I have connected at ___________ church/ministry.".
Whether this is your fourth week, fifth, second or whatever week, keep on! I still believe college ministry is the HIGH calling. You will never know this side of heaven all the ways God has used you in the lives of students. A man came up to me at a Sunday School training event I did and said, "You don't know me, but I was a student on your campus and you were out putting up lunch signs early one morning. You came over and talked to me and encouraged me and I never forgot it." He was teaching University Sunday School.
One student's name had been given to me with cell phone, etc and I had texted him some messages and never heard back. A couple of weeks ago the friend who had contacted me with his information and had had asked me to contact him let me know he was not doing well and could I do something. I indicated that I would again send him a message, but that he had never responded to any of my previous attempts. The friend said, "Let me double check with his mom to make sure I gave you correct information.". At that point, I sent him another message. Within thirty minutes he responded....oh yes; his mom called him! He has been at every collegiate event we have had since then. Encouragement on both ends is huge.
We are seeing both freshmen and upperclassmen we have never seen before. Some have been at other churches and some have not been anywhere. I struggle with the best way to respond to students who have attend other churches last school year. I want to reach students no one is touching...both Christian and non-believers. But, I have also feel a special sense of calling to those who came to Christ very young and have never figured out what to do with it. I don't want to build our ministry by draining another ministry, but I also want students to be somewhere they feel loved, connected, and challenged. I realize some students have gone to a church because their friends did and later realize it is not a fit for them. No doubt that is true for some who have come to our church. It is too bad we don't have a system like pro sports where we can trade players. Everybody is in on the deal and feels good about it.
A friend who serves as a campus based College Minister told me today of a new approach he has taken. He now will walk up to a student sitting alone in the Union and say, "May I invite you to something?". He says it is very different than just walking up and handing them a flyer or brochure. You are asking permission to come into their space. He said he almost never gets a negative response.
I am reminded again that we must continually speak about forgiveness in our early talks. It is a strong belief of mine that many Christian students go away from faith involvement in college due to something they have done contrary to their previous beliefs and practices. The urge and pressure to fit in is huge and many get swept somewhere they never meant to go. Then, their sense of guilt or shame drives them away.
But, I just keep wondering about some students I have never seen. I would be great with their sending me a message saying, "Hey Arliss, just wanted to let you know I have connected at ___________ church/ministry.".
Whether this is your fourth week, fifth, second or whatever week, keep on! I still believe college ministry is the HIGH calling. You will never know this side of heaven all the ways God has used you in the lives of students. A man came up to me at a Sunday School training event I did and said, "You don't know me, but I was a student on your campus and you were out putting up lunch signs early one morning. You came over and talked to me and encouraged me and I never forgot it." He was teaching University Sunday School.
Monday, September 4, 2017
What I Am LEARNING About Fixing a Broken College Ministry
In late June I was asked to step in as Interim College Minister at my church effective later in the summer. A long story put simply is our church for many years had a large and well known college ministry. For a variety of reasons...some internal, some external and some self-inflicted, it has become a much smaller ministry and mostly not on students radar. One of the reasons was it had been through a variety of leaders over a short period of time. The current leader was a staff member much loved by students and the church as a whole. Yet, he was wearing multiple hats. And due to some sudden staff changes, he was asked to put on a much larger and more demanding hat. So, I was asked to step in as Interim College Minister.
As a College Ministry Consultant for Lifeway (Southern Baptists), one of the things I have done through the last few years is make suggestions about ministries, encourage College Ministers and I get to see a variety of ministries. In that role, a year or so ago a friend called to ask what resources were available in "College Ministry Revitalization". He had searched and not found any. I knew of nothing. So, I assigned myself the task of writing such a resource. I spent the spring writing what I came to call, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY. It came out of some of my own experience in previous years and what I had observed in different situations.
Little did I know how quickly I would put to the test this supposed "expertise". We are only two weeks into the school year, so we are not even close to a final grade. But, here is some of what I am learning.
1. Student leaders are making a huge difference. Their enthusiasm and energy are wonderful. A new start has given them a new start.
2. We are seeing new students....both freshmen and upperclassmen. The upperclassmen are mostly students who went elsewhere in previous years and did not feel they connected. They are looking for connection. The word of a new start in our ministry has encouraged them to give it a try.
3. A smaller ministry has some pluses for people who are looking for connections.
4. Since I am the "Interim" I am giving our student leaders a ton of freedom in what they are doing.....and as a result they are doing more and great things....things I would never have thought to tell them to do.
5. Paint and cleaning make a difference. My two student Assistants decided that our meeting area needed painting and dressing up. One is an art student and the other is an engineering major. What they have built and painted is amazing and it has given our meeting place a whole new vibe! Our University Sunday School also meets in that area and I went in the other day to find one of our Bible study leaders (not a student) in her room re-doing and decorating it. She said what had been done in the larger meeting area had made her realize how drab their room was. Excellence promotes excellence!
6. I am part time....I am working at being part time. It is hard....but what I have realized is I have time to THINK about the ministry and some things to do. Often staffers working full time do NOT have time to think. They just have to run from one thing to the next. Thinking is way UNDER-RATED in college ministry.
7. Students like to see your face on campus. It is part of their knowing you care. I love eating with students....and not just because I get to eat more french fries again. Eating with students is huge in knowing and connecting to them and what is going on in their lives.
8. Some students study. A student came up to me the other night and thanked me for our event ending on time. She said she had been to other college ministry events that had gone on and on....and on when she had a test to prepare for the next day. She does not go there any more.
9. In "Fixing" I write about the value of "the appearance of change". I am more convinced of the value of this now than I was when I wrote it.
I don't know what God will do in this "Interim Experiment". I told someone when I started that I may tear up my new book when this Interim is done. But, right now I am enjoying the journey.....and I am even seeing some of it works.....wow, who would have thought it.
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is an Amazon book available in eBook or print format aimed at helping ministries go to the next level.
As a College Ministry Consultant for Lifeway (Southern Baptists), one of the things I have done through the last few years is make suggestions about ministries, encourage College Ministers and I get to see a variety of ministries. In that role, a year or so ago a friend called to ask what resources were available in "College Ministry Revitalization". He had searched and not found any. I knew of nothing. So, I assigned myself the task of writing such a resource. I spent the spring writing what I came to call, FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY. It came out of some of my own experience in previous years and what I had observed in different situations.
Little did I know how quickly I would put to the test this supposed "expertise". We are only two weeks into the school year, so we are not even close to a final grade. But, here is some of what I am learning.
1. Student leaders are making a huge difference. Their enthusiasm and energy are wonderful. A new start has given them a new start.
2. We are seeing new students....both freshmen and upperclassmen. The upperclassmen are mostly students who went elsewhere in previous years and did not feel they connected. They are looking for connection. The word of a new start in our ministry has encouraged them to give it a try.
3. A smaller ministry has some pluses for people who are looking for connections.
4. Since I am the "Interim" I am giving our student leaders a ton of freedom in what they are doing.....and as a result they are doing more and great things....things I would never have thought to tell them to do.
5. Paint and cleaning make a difference. My two student Assistants decided that our meeting area needed painting and dressing up. One is an art student and the other is an engineering major. What they have built and painted is amazing and it has given our meeting place a whole new vibe! Our University Sunday School also meets in that area and I went in the other day to find one of our Bible study leaders (not a student) in her room re-doing and decorating it. She said what had been done in the larger meeting area had made her realize how drab their room was. Excellence promotes excellence!
6. I am part time....I am working at being part time. It is hard....but what I have realized is I have time to THINK about the ministry and some things to do. Often staffers working full time do NOT have time to think. They just have to run from one thing to the next. Thinking is way UNDER-RATED in college ministry.
7. Students like to see your face on campus. It is part of their knowing you care. I love eating with students....and not just because I get to eat more french fries again. Eating with students is huge in knowing and connecting to them and what is going on in their lives.
8. Some students study. A student came up to me the other night and thanked me for our event ending on time. She said she had been to other college ministry events that had gone on and on....and on when she had a test to prepare for the next day. She does not go there any more.
9. In "Fixing" I write about the value of "the appearance of change". I am more convinced of the value of this now than I was when I wrote it.
I don't know what God will do in this "Interim Experiment". I told someone when I started that I may tear up my new book when this Interim is done. But, right now I am enjoying the journey.....and I am even seeing some of it works.....wow, who would have thought it.
FIXING A BROKEN COLLEGE MINISTRY is an Amazon book available in eBook or print format aimed at helping ministries go to the next level.
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