Recently, I was asked to share "10 Essentials" for the Tennessee Baptist Campus Ministers Workshop. I prefaced these by saying, "I am assuming growing in your personal faith, studying scripture, and sharing the gospel with non-believers.". So, with those assumptions, here are my 10 Essentials.
1. Work the SEASONS of the ministry.
College ministry varies. There is summer recruiting, fall enlistment, spring leadership selection and Spring Break ministry, etc. Recognize and utilize the different seasons to the max.
2. Make and have a positive connection with University officials.
Do they know who you are? Do they have a positive view of the benefits (free) that you bring to the campus? When they invite you to something or ask you to do something, do it!
3. Develop student leaders.
They multiply our ministry by doing things we cannot. They touch students we cannot and it builds them up for ministry for the rest of their lives.
4. Be freshmen intentional and have a specialized Freshmen Ministry.
If 7 out 10 are walking away from faith in college, we must be at our best in connecting to them when they first come to campus. Many shipwreck their lives the first month. A Freshmen Ministry can be anything from one specifically freshmen Bible study group to a whole schedule of freshmen events, freshmen night, freshmen Survival, etc.
5. Do One on One meetings with leaders.
The most transformational thing we can do in a student's life is meet with them on an individual basis.
6. Learn from other Ministries......EVEN those with whom we DISAGREE.
Look at what others are doing.....on your campus....on other campuses....across the country. No ministry has the corner on doing it all the best way it can be done.
7. Know what "THE IT FACTOR" is and Practice it.
Everybody wants the cool, charismatic College Minister. But, charisma is NOT the "It Factor". The IT FACTOR is RESPECT.
4 Ways You Earn Respect:
1. Be where you say you will be when you say you will be.
2. Treat students with respect.
3. Avoid the "appearance" of improper conduct.
4. Continue to express personal interest in students' lives even after they let you down.
Remember, WE ATTRACT WHAT WE ARE!
8. Do small groups in some way.
Intense discipleship does not happen in large groups. Some ministries now report that students are coming into their ministry first through their small groups and then move to their large group worship, etc. A wise Texas College Minister once said, "the small keeps".
9. Play to YOUR personal strengths AND the UNIQUE Strengths of your ministry.
If you speak, then spend time preparing. If one to one is your strength, plan time to make sure you do that. Each ministry has something unique that it does best. Particularly if you are on a campus with multiple ministries, figure out what it is your ministry does best and do it...and highlight it. Lean hard into your personal and ministry strengths. Just don't ignore everything else.
10. Work with Alumni.
You can continue to bless and encourage them. They can speak positive words for you ministry. They can pray for you and your ministry. They can give to your budget.....or even your salary. One Baptist State Convention has now told their College Ministers that they must raise 15% of their salaries. If your ministry does not have an Alumni list....start one. Someone has to start it. You can bless the ministry for years to come by doing that.
Now, let's take a break and go play golf!!
Arliss
Practical ideas for Campus and Church based College Ministers
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Thursday, June 29, 2017
Sunday, June 25, 2017
College Minister Confessions....But Don't Tell Anybody!
For some reason I must admit I have always enjoyed those sessions where College Ministers get to laughing and talking....and someone confesses to something they did and were not supposed to do. Oh, I don't mean immorality, theft, etc. It will be something they were told they should not do or were embarrassed for people to know they did.
I once confessed to a fellow College Minister that I had kept a small petty cash bag in my office for when one of our students had to make a dash for some food item for one of our food events, etc. Our bosses had told us we were not to do that. I knew my friend was a very straight arrow and would chastise me. He laughed and told me he had kept a petty cash bag with twice the amount of money that I had kept in mine. The other day one confessed that through a side trip he had made on the ministry van they had messed up the van lights. He had gotten up early the next morning and gone to a parts store, bought what he needed and fixed the van before anyone else realized it.
This past week I was in New Orleans with forty or so great College Ministers...both campus and church based. Several of them are deeply involved in a project of identifying the "50 Forgotten Campuses" in North America where there is no gospel presence...on campus or in the community. I love their passion and excitement about sharing the gospel on these campuses. It really pumps me up with energy and joy to be around them.
But, I have a confession. That is not what my passion is with students. My passion is working with students who made a profession of faith when they were eight, nine, or ten years old and have walked away from it. Or, it is like a third artificial leg they have strapped on that not only is not meaningful them, but it even gets in their way. I love it when working with them and the light comes on about their faith...and they GET IT! Yes, I share the gospel with students and take joy in seeing what some of them who have come to Christ are doing with their lives now.
But, I just love it when a student tells me they walked the aisle at a camp a long time ago to accept Christ or made a commitment to the ministry......and now.....and now, it is starting to make sense to them. Wow...it charges me up. I loved it the day one girl told me her faith now made sense to her and she was getting out of her sorority to serve in our ministry. The same week her roommate said that her faith now made sense to her and she was staying in their sorority to make a difference.
As different studies today tell us, from seven out of ten to nine out of ten students are walking away from faith in college, we cannot lose sight of helping these students see the light come on! It is a passion of mine and I hope some of you share that passion as well. As we continue to work toward going to college campuses that have no gospel presence, let's keep going toward those students who know it, but have not fully embraced and been blessed by it.
Confession is good for the soul. Don't tell anybody my confessions. And, I will not share your confessions with anyone.....unless they are really funny!
Arliss Dickerson is the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.
I once confessed to a fellow College Minister that I had kept a small petty cash bag in my office for when one of our students had to make a dash for some food item for one of our food events, etc. Our bosses had told us we were not to do that. I knew my friend was a very straight arrow and would chastise me. He laughed and told me he had kept a petty cash bag with twice the amount of money that I had kept in mine. The other day one confessed that through a side trip he had made on the ministry van they had messed up the van lights. He had gotten up early the next morning and gone to a parts store, bought what he needed and fixed the van before anyone else realized it.
This past week I was in New Orleans with forty or so great College Ministers...both campus and church based. Several of them are deeply involved in a project of identifying the "50 Forgotten Campuses" in North America where there is no gospel presence...on campus or in the community. I love their passion and excitement about sharing the gospel on these campuses. It really pumps me up with energy and joy to be around them.
But, I have a confession. That is not what my passion is with students. My passion is working with students who made a profession of faith when they were eight, nine, or ten years old and have walked away from it. Or, it is like a third artificial leg they have strapped on that not only is not meaningful them, but it even gets in their way. I love it when working with them and the light comes on about their faith...and they GET IT! Yes, I share the gospel with students and take joy in seeing what some of them who have come to Christ are doing with their lives now.
But, I just love it when a student tells me they walked the aisle at a camp a long time ago to accept Christ or made a commitment to the ministry......and now.....and now, it is starting to make sense to them. Wow...it charges me up. I loved it the day one girl told me her faith now made sense to her and she was getting out of her sorority to serve in our ministry. The same week her roommate said that her faith now made sense to her and she was staying in their sorority to make a difference.
As different studies today tell us, from seven out of ten to nine out of ten students are walking away from faith in college, we cannot lose sight of helping these students see the light come on! It is a passion of mine and I hope some of you share that passion as well. As we continue to work toward going to college campuses that have no gospel presence, let's keep going toward those students who know it, but have not fully embraced and been blessed by it.
Confession is good for the soul. Don't tell anybody my confessions. And, I will not share your confessions with anyone.....unless they are really funny!
Arliss Dickerson is the author of five books on college ministry at amazon.com (type in Arliss Dickerson). "ALMOST Everything About College Ministry" will be available in early summer.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
Banquets That Raise Money for College Ministry...Ben Maddox
It has been some what common for non-denominational college ministries to have fund raising banquets. It is a fairly new or rare event within Baptist circles. Here is a word from Ben Maddox, Baptist Campus Minister at Tennessee Tech, and how they do their fund raising banquet.
Telling Our Story
As a campus based college ministry, we have countless stories of how God uses campus ministry to assist in students coming to faith in Christ, developing leadership skills, discovering who God has called them to become during their college years, answering a call to ministry, and many others. Telling these stories are vital to keeping churches, alumni, parents of students, and friends of the campus ministry connected to the everyday life and fruitfulness of the ministry.
Three years ago, the Tennessee Tech BCM began hosting a fall banquet for local churches, alumni, parents, and friends to attend to hear these stories of God's faithfulness. Each year the banquet is focused on a theme that reflects the mission of the campus ministry, such as reaching students with the Gospel, developing student leaders, discipleship/disciplemakers, life on mission, connecting students to churches, etc. We have both students and alumni share how the campus ministry has made an impact on their lives and the lives of those they ministered to during their time in the ministry. We include videos, testimonies, student-led worship, prayer time for the ministry, etc. Each year, we have approximately 200 local church leaders, alumni, parents, and friends in attendance during this night. It is a great way to tell our story to them.
Logistically, how do we do this? We have a twelve member Board of Directors who help facilitate the banquet. Your ministry not have a Board of Directors, but you may have a support team or advisory committee who could help you with the details of the event. Our Board is responsible for identifying and recruiting table hosts; typically, our Directors commit to being one of the table hosts. Each host is asked to get eight people to join their table at the banquet. We do not charge for the event; we build this event into our yearly budget. Our tables are organized by local churches, decades of alumni, and parents of current students. We have a local catering company provide a full meal with a salad, main dish, dessert, and refreshments. The BCM staff and student leaders develop the program for the banquet. Near the end of the night, the Chair of our Budget and Fundraising Team of our Board shares how our BCM is funded and gives our guests an opportunity to become a part of individually supporting the TN Tech BCM. We have seen our guests respond by individually giving gifts ranging from $20 to $2500. BCM ministries in Tennessee raise from $5,000 to $20,000 at events such as this. Our banquet has become a significant part of how we tell our story, and it allows guests the opportunity to learn more about as well as join in supporting our ministry for the sake of continuing to share the Gospel of Christ to students on our campus.
Ben Maddox
Baptist Campus Minister
Tennessee Tech University
Telling Our Story
As a campus based college ministry, we have countless stories of how God uses campus ministry to assist in students coming to faith in Christ, developing leadership skills, discovering who God has called them to become during their college years, answering a call to ministry, and many others. Telling these stories are vital to keeping churches, alumni, parents of students, and friends of the campus ministry connected to the everyday life and fruitfulness of the ministry.
Three years ago, the Tennessee Tech BCM began hosting a fall banquet for local churches, alumni, parents, and friends to attend to hear these stories of God's faithfulness. Each year the banquet is focused on a theme that reflects the mission of the campus ministry, such as reaching students with the Gospel, developing student leaders, discipleship/disciplemakers, life on mission, connecting students to churches, etc. We have both students and alumni share how the campus ministry has made an impact on their lives and the lives of those they ministered to during their time in the ministry. We include videos, testimonies, student-led worship, prayer time for the ministry, etc. Each year, we have approximately 200 local church leaders, alumni, parents, and friends in attendance during this night. It is a great way to tell our story to them.
Logistically, how do we do this? We have a twelve member Board of Directors who help facilitate the banquet. Your ministry not have a Board of Directors, but you may have a support team or advisory committee who could help you with the details of the event. Our Board is responsible for identifying and recruiting table hosts; typically, our Directors commit to being one of the table hosts. Each host is asked to get eight people to join their table at the banquet. We do not charge for the event; we build this event into our yearly budget. Our tables are organized by local churches, decades of alumni, and parents of current students. We have a local catering company provide a full meal with a salad, main dish, dessert, and refreshments. The BCM staff and student leaders develop the program for the banquet. Near the end of the night, the Chair of our Budget and Fundraising Team of our Board shares how our BCM is funded and gives our guests an opportunity to become a part of individually supporting the TN Tech BCM. We have seen our guests respond by individually giving gifts ranging from $20 to $2500. BCM ministries in Tennessee raise from $5,000 to $20,000 at events such as this. Our banquet has become a significant part of how we tell our story, and it allows guests the opportunity to learn more about as well as join in supporting our ministry for the sake of continuing to share the Gospel of Christ to students on our campus.
Ben Maddox
Baptist Campus Minister
Tennessee Tech University
Monday, June 12, 2017
What Do College Ministers do......Here's a Good List!
Roger and Rose Bear serve as Baptist Campus Ministers at Indiana State University and send out a great newsletter. Here is an excerpt from their most recent.
Our call is to make disciples and disciples are people and ministering to them involves a lot more than group activities. We meet one-on-one with every council member every week. Sometimes, we do one-on-one discipleship. And we also do a lot of other things, such as:
Take students to and from the airport.
Fix flat tires.
Help students find an apartment.
Move furniture and stuff.
Loan our cars and tools and money.
Find medical care, counseling, etc for students with no insurance.
Take students to/from church, the store, doctor visits, the ER, etc.
Go with students to court appearances.
Bail student out of jail.
Be an advocate for students exploited by unethical businesses.
Help students plan a budget, get out of debt, etc.
Attend funeral of student or student's family member.
Do pre-marital counseling (6 weeks) and perform weddings.
Write letters of recommendation and serve as references.
Teach students to drive.
Attend students' recitals, plays, ballgames, etc.
Go with students to award dinners when their parents can't come.
Listen and pray and share God's Word when there are financial problems and family problems
and school problems and relationship problems and emotional problems.
"Be ready to give an answer" when God opens the door for spiritual conversations.
Roger and Rose plan to retire at the end of the coming school year. They are actively seeking someone that would succeed them at Indiana State. If God touches your heart at that thought or you want to recommend someone, contact them at pleasefeedthebears@gmail.com.
Our call is to make disciples and disciples are people and ministering to them involves a lot more than group activities. We meet one-on-one with every council member every week. Sometimes, we do one-on-one discipleship. And we also do a lot of other things, such as:
Take students to and from the airport.
Fix flat tires.
Help students find an apartment.
Move furniture and stuff.
Loan our cars and tools and money.
Find medical care, counseling, etc for students with no insurance.
Take students to/from church, the store, doctor visits, the ER, etc.
Go with students to court appearances.
Bail student out of jail.
Be an advocate for students exploited by unethical businesses.
Help students plan a budget, get out of debt, etc.
Attend funeral of student or student's family member.
Do pre-marital counseling (6 weeks) and perform weddings.
Write letters of recommendation and serve as references.
Teach students to drive.
Attend students' recitals, plays, ballgames, etc.
Go with students to award dinners when their parents can't come.
Listen and pray and share God's Word when there are financial problems and family problems
and school problems and relationship problems and emotional problems.
"Be ready to give an answer" when God opens the door for spiritual conversations.
Roger and Rose plan to retire at the end of the coming school year. They are actively seeking someone that would succeed them at Indiana State. If God touches your heart at that thought or you want to recommend someone, contact them at pleasefeedthebears@gmail.com.
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