’tis the season

September 9, 2010 in current events, for large-scale efforts, for teaching & small groups, student characteristics | Leave a comment

I’ve used the word “politics” on this blog in exactly one post since October of 2008. While I enjoy the sociology of politics, it’s not something I keep front-and-center.

But every two years (at least), we are presented with a rather stark “lab” for teaching college students about faith in public. Of course, I call it a “lab” because it’s not only a chance to discuss “Jesus & Politics.” It’s a chance to discuss “Jesus and everything,” using a topic that just happens to be ripe for student attention.

Why is this such a “teachable moment”?

  • Campuses are more “political” than a lot of places already
  • Students may actually have been confronted (for the first time) with good reasons to reconsider their families’ political stances
  • It’s controversial
  • Few Christian students have ever taken a hard look at how their faith connects with their political beliefs (beyond the caricatures)
  • Few non-Christian students have heard well-reasoned discussions about faith and politics
  • Rightly or wrongly, students feel like they should care about this politics stuff
  • There are plenty of students who probably care far too much about politics, or they’re far too “sure” of themselves in this arena
  • Regardless of your opinion of President Obama, he caught the attention of a lot of our present collegians 2 years ago
  • Regardless of your opinion of President Obama, lots of those collegians are disillusioned or confused about their feelings toward him now
  • Many of your campuses have political student organizations that are stirring the pot… and may also be very willing to discuss faith’s connection to what they do

So it’s a topic that can get college students’ attention, especially in the next couple of months.

Obviously, don’t just “go political” because it’s a hot topic. But if discussions of this nature actually seem to accomplish your college ministry’s purposes, it’s worth considering!

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in their post-graduation suitcases

September 8, 2010 in assessment & strength, for teaching & small groups, millennial generation, ministry to young adults, student characteristics, teaching topics, transition from college | Leave a comment

I noted yesterday one of the major resources we have for determining how best to grow the college students we’ve been called to shepherd. Those resources are the Singles Ministers, Young Adult Ministers, and really anybody else who works somewhat up-close with post-collegians.

(Add this area to the list of research projects somebody needs to pursue for our field of ministry. But for now, you’ve got plenty of people in your town you could talk to!)

While I would urge us to “go to the source” and observe our students’ future through the eyes of these ministers, I figured it might be edifying to note what I’ve observed myself. ‘Cause I am indeed a “single young adult,” and I’m involved in a church with a pretty thriving young adult crowd. So after spending a Labor Day retreat with 4 or 500 fellow young adults, this topic is rather on my mind.

What do we as college ministers need to do better to prepare students for their young adult lives?

Again, to be clear, I’m just pondering this one. This is not an area of particular expertise (which is why we need to consult those who actually work in this area!). But I was interested to see the list I’d come up with, and I’m interested to see if you – or even your young adult minister buddies – might have anything to add.

Here are some areas that may deserve a little more suitcase-packing:

  • understanding the power of intimate Christian community and getting over the roadblocks to participating in it
  • being great in the basics of the Christian walk
  • watching out for the legalism and Gnosticism-lite that descends on college students and young adults alike
  • learning and using spiritual disciplines (of various sorts)
  • learning and using their personal spiritual gifts (of various sorts)
  • the wonders of intergenerational connections
  • having a battle-plan for the post-graduation disillusionment & other difficulties
  • biblical literacy
  • reading through the entire Bible by the time they’ve finished college
  • shining the light of what God’s doing in their lives – both among non-Christians and among Christians
  • knowing that God is calling them into a great, personal, impactful adventure…
  • …but realizing that they were never, ever meant to “choose their own adventure” based simply on passions, hopes, desires, or circumstances
  • understanding church
  • finding a church
  • singleness and its glorious opportunities
  • servanthood and its glorious opportunities
  • doing something cross-cultural (or even outside the country) by the time they graduate
  • a realistic understanding of the various waits, slowdowns, and other patience-trying years that may await them in their 20s and 30s
  • glorifying God via their vocations
  • the amazing opportunity to give away much of what they earn, and everything else that it can mean to glorify God with finances

This honestly came off the top of my head, but it was interesting to ponder. What might you add? What do we college ministers need to be better about packing in our students’ post-graduation suitcases?

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listening to the future

September 7, 2010 in ministry to young adults, ministry to youth, supporting college ministry, theology for college ministry, transition from college, transition to college | Leave a comment

A while back, I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion by leaders in the field of Youth Ministry at a seminary. The panel was very well attended and really informative… plus, it even showcased an impromptu debate between two really well known communicators about the value of home schooling.

There was space for Q&A, and I got to head to the front and ask a pretty simple question, along the lines of, “In what ways have you been able to get wisdom from college ministers about how high school students should be trained?”

Crickets would have chirped, had there been crickets in the room. Tumbleweeds would have tumbled, too (it was Texas, after all). They clearly had nothing to offer; my question was met with an agreeable response: “That’s a great question, but we really haven’t had opportunity to look at that,” basically.

I think most (or all) of those reading this would agree: Youth Ministers absolutely must seek the thoughts of College Ministers as they strategize the shepherding of their students. If those on the receiving end aren’t consulted about what students will need, what they generally seem to be missing when they get out of youth group, and the general climate into which they’re being thrown, then aren’t Youth Ministers missing an enormous opportunity for wisdom?

Of course they are.

But that’s not what this blog post is about.

Because if you agree with me… and I kinda bet you do… then there’s one more question that needs to be asked: When’s the last time you (as a College Minister) talked with a Young Adult Minister, a Singles Minister, a Young Marrieds Minister, a Premarital Counselor, or any other adult-area minster-type about

what young adults will need,

what they generally seem to be missing when they get out of college,

and the general climate into which they’re being thrown?

You can at least start with the locals, right? Couldn’t you grab coffee this week with somebody on a local church staff?

Tomorrow, I’ll post some thoughts after spending a whole weekend with the (fellow) young adults at my church. [Here's that post!] But don’t wait for me – there’s better wisdom from the people who actually serve full-time in ministering to the future versions of your present college students!

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show up, join in, take part (four days of frideas, part 4)

September 3, 2010 in campus integration, for evangelism, for large-scale efforts, for service, frideas | Tags: | Leave a comment

This Fridea is taken mostly from a post from 2009, but it’s a great one to think about at the beginning of ANY school year. Hope it inspires your college ministry to consider taking part in your own campus tribe.

See you after Labor Day! Enjoy this long weekend.

In the fall when I spent time at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, I got the chance to eat lunch with Clint Hill, the local Church of Christ college minister. One of the things Clint pointed out about their ministry is that they make an effort to participate in a bunch of the activities organized by the Student Organizations and administration of TAMUCC.

Is the campus holding a dodge ball tournament? Then their ministry will field a team for that. Have they organized freshman move-in? Then they’ll be out there, serving. All. Day. Long.

And so on.

I’ve heard other college ministers espouse this same “doctrine”: that there is great value in plugging in to what the campus as a whole is doing. Some of the whys:

  • Connections with the lost and other non-involved students
  • Participation as valuable members of the campus community
  • Endearing ourselves to the administration
  • Serving the campus by helping it thrive
  • Serving students tangibly in ways we might not imagine on our own
  • Recruitment to the ministry

When I organized a Service Team a while back, one of our major focuses was trying to tie in to service projects the campus was already participating in. That made a huge statement that we didn’t see ourselves as “the big ministry on campus,” isolated from what the tribe was already doing. We were proud members of the larger community.

So this idea, in a nutshell: Find out what the campus is already doing… and show up!

For some of you, this might be as easy as taking the Campus Events calendar and making its entries a part of your calendar, too. For others, it might involve choosing 4-5 important events this semester and attending them as a group – and purposefully. Sometimes it might simply involve encouraging, pushing, and helping students to be present and active within their campus, and teaching them how to do that with Jesus-purposes in mind.

In any case, I’m not sure it’s best practice for our ministries to be “islands” within (but not really with) the larger collegiate community. And I’m happy to have been reminded of that fact by a guy who just happens to serve among the Islander tribe of TAMUCC.

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commission your student leaders (four days of frideas, part 3)

September 2, 2010 in for using student leaders, frideas | Tags: , | Leave a comment

As promised, here’s the makeup Fridea after missing September 1st! As most of us enjoy the first week or two of the school year, I wanted to pull out an old Fridea that may fit the bill right at this time. Here’s that idea from August 2009, edited a bit.

I had the awesome chance to speak to a church’s college ministry student leaders yesterday, and I aimed to raise the bar on their ministry this year. I told them they are truly college ministers in their role – and therefore each a missionary to their own campus tribe.

It’s valuable to do what we can to help our student leaders understand the weight of their task. While there are several methods for that, one way is to formally commission your student leaders.

Do your student leaders truly feel “commissioned,” called to a great task with great importance and great responsibility? If not, here are some methods that might help:

1. Hold a commissioning ceremony (even at a church)

You might make a real impact in leaders’ lives by performing a commissioning ceremony at the beginning of the year – with all the solemnity, instruction, and even “pomp” that gets the point across (without overdoing it) for your group. And even if you’re not a church-based college ministry, consider holding this ceremony in front of a gathered congregation of believers. (Regardless of where you hold the ceremony, you could even have students invite friends and family!!!)

2. Write letters (and let students know)

You could take the time to send a letter to students’ back-home contacts: parents, pastors, youth pastors. Announce the student’s leadership position, the roles they’ll be playing, and prayer requests. While this is a good idea anyway, it will also raise the bar for the student himself – especially if you give him a copy of the letter and the recipient list.

3. Honor in front of peers (even regularly)

I’m a big believer in the “You cultivate what you honor” principle. But not only does putting your leadership in front of their peers help raise up new leaders, it also helps “raise up” those present leaders even more! Of course, while this might look something like the commissioning ceremony, you could also honor/terrify your leaders through pictures on the wall, names and contact info on the web page, or other regular, obvious means.

one last note

If this whole idea of “commissioning” leaders in front of a church, letting their home base know about their role, or publicizing their role with their peers seems really uncomfortable… are you sure you’ve got the kind of leaders you want to cultivate more of? Always good to think about.

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dovetailing with the freshman experience (four days of frideas, part 2)

September 2, 2010 in brainstorming & creativity, campus integration, for evangelism, for large-scale efforts, for mission trips & other trips, for service, for teaching & small groups, frideas | Leave a comment

Sorry for missing yesterday (it was my birthday!), but I’ll make it up with TWO Frideas today – look for the second one later today.

My church’s college ministry started up on the SMU campus last night, and I was reading the student newspaper. (That, of course, is a practice college ministers should be in the habit of!)

One of the things discussed was the Common Reading undertaken by “first-years” (what freshmen are often called among the Mustang tribe). Like some other campuses, incoming students all read a certain book (in this case, Zeitoun), and presumably discuss it or otherwise learn together from it.

That got me thinking: What if a college ministry dovetailed with that experience? For example, Zeitoun is about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It seems to me that may present the opportunity for…

  • a small group examining spiritual themes in the book
  • talking about service
  • discussing God’s role in suffering and the Problem of Evil
  • or perhaps other “tie-in” discussions.

Or maybe a mission trip slated for New Orleans might strengthen this “teachable moment,” or perhaps a ministry could bring in a speaker to discuss one of the themes from a Christian perspective.

In other words, as something all the freshmen are participating in, there’s at least potential for some kind of small groups, large events, or other connected forums. And there might especially be opportunity to draw seekers, as we offer a spiritual spin on something they’re already encountering.

And THAT thought got me thinking about other common experiences among freshmen at various campuses:

  • New Student Orientation
  • specific new-to-campus seminars students are forced to endure offered for their edification (like alcohol awareness, safe sex, dorm seminars, etc.)
  • even various freshman-mostly classes
  • and whatever else your own campus offers or requires for first-year students

This is what it means to work the ground we’ve been given: We consider ways our campus ministries might connect with what’s already happening. Can you imagine starting a small group to discuss themes brought up in Philosophy 101 or Freshman English? How about a speaker to offer a Christian perspective on “student success”? Or simply connecting your Large Group message with the New Student Orientation speaker’s topic that all the freshmen heard only a few weeks before?

Just a thought. Be creative.

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the spin-off small group (four days of frideas, part 1)

August 31, 2010 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

As you may know, I just finished up one series about Front Door Hospitality. But as many of us continue to plug along in the craziest portion of the entire year, I thought I’d use the rest of this week just to offer some focused ideas. Maybe these will scratch where you itch, maybe they won’t. But even if they get us thinking (or rethinking) about the year-to-come, that’s huge…

…because pondering done now pays off far better than pondering done later in the school year.

Hope these are helpful! Here’s the first one:

What if your college ministry small groups spun off of the large group topic?

Some of you already do this.

But for others, it might be worth considering.

If you’ve chosen your Large Group message topics with purpose and precision (and I deeply hope you have), then it’s possible that the best thing for your small groups could be going even deeper on those issues.

Plus, these kinds of tie-ins can encourage Movement: helping students step from areas of lighter involvement (like attendance at the Large Group) to areas of deeper involvement (like joining a small group).

variations on this idea (not suggestions, but potential versions):

  • Have just a few groups dedicated to this method, out of several small group options.
  • Offer this for only part of the semester, tying into one Large Group Meeting series.
  • Offer this within a “newbies group,” as a short-term opportunity to give small groups a try. (The whole tie-in thing could especially encourage those who come regularly to Large Group to consider jumping into the small group.)
  • “Leave ‘em hanging”: Purposely ask questions, bring up a tough issue, only cover half the passage, or otherwise provide a cliffhanger that will only be covered in that small group.

Any of the above could be combined, too.

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revel in the messiness (FDH #6)

August 30, 2010 in for using student leaders, front door hospitality | 1 comment

This is the conclusion of my “Front Door Hospitality” series, a start-of-school series focused on being excellent Hosts at our Large Group Meetings, Beginning-of-the-School-Year activities, and other “Front Doors” of your college ministry. I hope you – and your students! – have found it helpful. To see the whole series, click here.

I want to close out this series with one of the most important principles (I think) of good Hospitality. The principle is this: The best college ministry Hospitality is a “messy” one, a Hospitality that responds to real people as individuals and takes each opportunity as a new opportunity to host people well.

Three thoughts on what this means:

beware the machine

It’s easy for Hospitality to get reduced to simple tasks, forming a sort of machine in which guests are “inputted” and “outputted” as efficiently as possible. It’s all the more tempting because many of the actions we do are indeed redundant: handing out programs, greeting at the door, serving snacks, writing nametags. But even these parts of hosting can be done purposefully and hospitably… if we’re willing to treat this ministry as a ministry indeed. “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God…”

When’s the last time you prayed about how you greet at the door? When’s the last time you pondered – even for 15 minutes – about how passing out programs can be done even better? Are we serious about Hospitality, or are we just running plays?

where people are

It seems to me one of the most common mistakes is forgetting to Host people where they are, not where they “should” be, or where they are “in theory.” Some examples along these lines:

  • Why do we stop greeting visitors once our Meeting is underway? Some of the people running late may need the most encouragement or the most information… or may just need a smilin’ face to let them know they’re in the right place – and they’re welcome here. Meet them where they are.
  • How sure are we that things are being explained clearly enough – both inside our meeting and before / after – for first-time visitors? Have we audited every single piece to make sure we’re not assuming they know more than they do? Meet them where they are.
  • We need to be willing to submit our personality and greeting “style” to whatever the person (and situation) demands. It’s not okay if our greeting style would only be attractive to people like us! Meet them where they are.
  • With announcements, teaching points we want to be part of our DNA, next steps, and other things, we have to be willing to be redundant. Yes, they should catch everything the first time. But they won’t. Meet them where they are.
  • What else? What are ways in your college ministry where y’all can better meet people where they are?

a high “failure” rate

Part of the messiness of Hospitality in college ministry is the high “failure” rate – especially if we only count as “wins” things like:

  • non-awkward interactions
  • visitors who come back to our ministry
  • sign-ups and other “next steps”
  • people who remember our names (or vice versa)

But this is college ministry! So we have to enjoy the awkwardness, take advantage of each conversation, keep pushing students and praying for them, and keep introducing ourselves… our ministry… our Lord.

Neither over-optimism or fatalism in this work of Hospitality are wise. We will not see all the fruit we’d like to, but we must take the opportunities as they come! And they’re all opportunities.

a final note on Hospitality

Before closing out, I just wanted to mention one more thing: Hospitality doesn’t stop when the Meeting starts. While much of what I’ve written in this particular series applies to those fun kinds of interactions before Large Group Meeting, at the Organization Fair booth, or at a special event on campus, that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Everything about everything needs to be about Hosting well!

Finally, being good Hosts means auditing our ministry for ways we could show better Hospitality. Even if you’re not a person who likes looking at those details. Even if you think things are “probably going really well.” Said plainer: If we aren’t paying attention to the details, then we’re not actually very good Hosts.

Hope this has been helpful for you and your students. And I hope it’s an incredible, hospitable school year!

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the chance with each encounter (FDH #5)

August 28, 2010 in for recruitment, front door hospitality | Tags: , | Leave a comment

The Front Door Hospitality series (which probably concludes tomorrow?) includes ponderings on how we show true Hospitality during the Large Group meeting – and other “front doors” to our college ministries. See the whole series here.

Hospitality isn’t only about making students feel welcome and comfortable. It’s about discipling people, too – impacting their lives as we have opportunity. Below are three quick ways to think about doing this:

making the choice… well

Since a good portion (this week, at least) of a college ministry’s visitors are indeed new to the ministry, Recruitment clearly plays a role here. Every encounter those newbies have is a chance for them to be “won” to involvement in our campus ministry.

But though I am certainly a fan of putting our best foot forward, it’s important that we remember that we first and foremost want students to succeed spiritually, whether that happens in our college ministry or not. (Don’t we? Are you sure you really feel that way?)

Since that’s the case (or absolutely should be), we have chances here to “recruit with a shepherd’s heart,” explaining why a student might want to choose our college ministry – in terms that should actually matter, not just terms meant to woo them. By helping them think through this issue, we’re helping them to succeed already – and discipling them in the decision-making process.

That means our whole Hospitality Team needs to work out what we believe about our college ministry, beyond the hype. What are our college ministry’s “pillars”? What do we really offer students? And what false impressions do we need to avoid giving students? What other college ministries might students want to try? How can students get more information about our ministry – and others’ ministries?

I by no means have a problem with “bringing our A-game” and truly recruiting with gusto. But this is also a chance to help students think through one of the most important choices they’ll make in college: where they will involve themselves spiritually.

movement within

Another way we disciple those who come to our Front Door (for the first time or the twentieth time) is to point them to next steps. Part of Hospitality – as we have opportunity – is to let people know about the chances to get (more) involved. And not only that, we should actually be creating a slight tension, urging those who need to take next steps to deepen their involvement.

In other words, part of Hospitality at the Front Door is to make STAYING only at the Front Door a little uncomfortable!

As we get into conversations, one of the outcomes we should be aiming for is movement – movement of students from just the Front Door activities into the small groups, service opportunities, leadership opportunities, and/or other next steps available in our ministry.

the excellent encounter

Finally, the Hospitality Team should recognize that every encounter has the potential of actual impact above and beyond better involvement in our college ministry. We’re encountering people, and God may just want those encounters to turn into excellent moments or even turning points in people’s lives. We never know.

So let us never become a “greeting machine” that – as I’ve mentioned before – simply runs plays and “does the Hospitality thing.”

Spiritual conversations, encouragement opportunities, a good piece of advice, a referral to a great resource, and on and on – any of this can happen from a simple “greeting” experience… IF we’re open to each person as an individual, not just “another student to be greeted.”

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double-up, study-up (FDH #4 and the frideas!)

August 27, 2010 in for community-building, for large group meetings, frideas, front door hospitality | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Not only is this the fifth part of the Front Door Hospitality series for students and college ministers (click here to see the whole series), it’s also the weekly Fridea… an example (or two, in this case) of practical ideas for college ministries. Enjoy.

double up

One way to begin building community with new folks – and the old folks you haven’t seen recently – is to “engineer” a second encounter as soon as possible. At large group meeting, then, it means making sure to re-engage somebody you met before the meeting again at the end. As the weeks go by, of course, it means reconnecting with visitors you’d met in the past.

In fact, I’d probably argue that it’s more important to have multiple interactions with a few people (especially the ones that you might have “clicked” with best) than simply to meet as many people as possible.

This strategy increases the likelihood of name recognition for them (especially if you’re wearing a nametag), and the better sorts of connections that lead to true community. But it is indeed a strategy, at least in part; while God Himself may allow you encounter some students a lot more than others (He’s smart like that), you can also be very purposeful about identifying students you’ve met before, reintroducing yourself, and carrying the conversation further.

Of course, this all means we’d better really pay attention when we meet people the first time. But if we’re too cool, too fast-moving, too hyper for that… well then, how much are we really aiming for true Hospitality anyway?

study up

Another way to build community – and practice true Hospitality at our campus ministry’s Front Door – is to work overtime to remember.

Facebook is the #1 tool here. (No, it’s not stalking.) And even simple rehearsal, along with asking fellow “hosts” for help remembering, can go along way.

As we learn names, gain lists, get people in Facebook groups, and so on, we need to take actual steps to remember people’s names, as well as other conversations we’ve had with them. It may just mean thinking through who I’ve met tonight at Large Group, as I head back to the dorm or to the house. Certainly it sometimes means asking a friend, “What’s that guy’s name again?” If you’re a college minister (or small group leader), it may mean taking a group picture… for the simple reason of being able to rehearse names, majors, hometowns, and other important-to-them details through the week.

This isn’t “fake.” Nor is it creepy. It’s not hypocritical, either, as though the only way to be “real” would be to magically remember everything naturally. It’s Hospitality. If we only lean on our own memories and our own gregarious personalities and refuse to put in work here, then what kinds of Hosts are we, really?

Come up with clever memory aids, jot down notes, or do whatever you need to do. But true Hosts will study up.

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Welcome to Exploring College Ministry

After serving for 8 years in direct college ministry, this blog began with a yearlong road trip to 181 campuses! Now it's a daily blog of college ministry ideas, information, and resources - for the wide field of college ministry, after seeing the wide field of college ministry! My call is to help us all serve better in this vital work. For more info, visit the links under the header. If I can help you or your ministry directly, let's talk! Use the links in the header or the tools below to explore - and be sure to check out my free book, Reaching the Campus Tribes!

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