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This “leadership nuggets” series looks briefly at powerful basics I learned in my first year of campus ministry. Hopefully it’s useful for you OR your student leaders / adult volunteers as a new school year begins (for most of us).
I’m extremely analytical, so I personally really enjoy diving into, discussing, and even debating the finer points of a Scripture text or even just a book. (Remember, my Master’s thesis was 100+ pages on half a verse.) But during my first year of college ministry, I realized that this wasn’t always the best path for teaching students. We had limited time to meet together. And limited attention. And there were a limited number of most important things our group needed to hear.
So it was good for us, as leaders, to determine what we believed our group most needed each week. Though there are always many things worthy of hearty discussion (especially when working through Scripture directly), we needed to pick what we would highlight MOST each week. So if we were looking at Galatians 5, for example, our main emphasis might be freedom (v. 1-11), it might be fruit (v. 22-23), or it could even just be a couple of those fruits. (Certainly, there might be some nights when working verse-by-verse evenly through the chapter was the best choice, too.)
I think I remember making sure we caught the flow of the chapter, even when our main focus was only a portion. But by narrowing our particular emphasis, we had the chance to spend time diving deeply together, with room to discuss and cross-reference and question and wrestle. This was better than simply trying to “make it through the material” and cover everything equally, or taking two hours for teaching time each week.
During that first year, “selective emphasis” was simply something we did, not something we thought about too much. As the years went on, though, I came to grasp this idea better and better. Still, there have been plenty of times when I didn’t whittle down my emphases enough. But from that very first year, I’ve at least kept in mind the fact that a group might sometimes need to process one big thing more than an hour’s worth of little ones.
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What’s your favorite pair of shoes?
[This "leadership nuggets" series gives some basic-but-lasting things I learned in my first year of college ministry. As the school year starts, they might be useful thoughts for ministers, student leaders, and volunteers!]
My first college ministry year involved shepherding a group of around 40 freshmen, with 15 to 30 showing up weekly. And week after week, we took the time to go around the circle – with each student giving their name, major, and an answer to some dumb question. A couple of old favorites are:
- What’s your favorite pair of shoes?
- If you could, what food would you swim in, and in what country? Why?
Every week. Yes, it took time. Yes, it was redundant. But yes, I think it absolutely made a difference.
We also wore nametags every week in that ministry. That helped me as a leader, and I’m sure it helped students, too. It’s always VERY tempting to avoid people just because you can’t remember a name.
So one thing I really learned that year was the value of getting to know each other through basic, recurring, purposeful little things.
It seems to me that brand-new community might be killed while it’s just a seedling, simply because students don’t remember each other’s names, haven’t found topics for conversation, don’t laugh together, or haven’t connected on the casual, fun, normal level. Even if they’ve sat through plenty of Bible studies together. Even if they’ve done big, anonymous activities together.
All because I, the leader, was too cool to go around the circle? All because we were too awesome to write our names on stickers?
[I say a little more about this kind of stuff at this post.]
Know your group; it’s conceivable these things aren’t best for your ministry. But why is it so tempting for us to be snobby? Get-to-know-you games, redundant introductions, and nametags aren’t child’s play. They’re easy and powerful opportunities to nourish community in its infancy. (And if the group is an open group – bringing in new people anytime – then community is always in its infancy for somebody!)
Remember, it’s Day 11 of College Union’s 40 Days of Prayer for Campus Ministry!
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One of the most influential teachings for my ministry came from Gregg Matte at the Breakaway Bible study my freshman year.
[This "leadership nuggets" series started yesterday and looks briefly at powerful basics I learned in my first year of college ministry. Hopefully it's edifying as the school year starts - and it might be useful for other leaders in your ministry, too!]
Gregg noted that people regularly make their spiritual walk simply an overflow of their ministry.
So a daily walk with God comes only as a result of (and only connected to) their ministry opportunities. Ministry becomes the reason for and the topic for all prayer, time in God’s word, and other spiritual disciplines.
Instead, he said, the opposite should be true. Our ministry should always be an overflow of our walk.
I immediately got to apply that truth in my first year of college ministry. So I tried to make sure my prayer times weren’t dedicated simply to praying for my ministry. Scripture couldn’t just be a place to find teaching points. It even meant that if I was going to teach something to my group, I had better be real sure I had let God speak to me on that issue – either in the past, or at the very least in the days or weeks before I would be teaching that subject. If that teaching point wasn’t a part of my own walk – to some extent – how dare I try to “overflow” when I have no “flow” in the first place?
I needed plenty of “extracurricular” relationship with the Lord taking place beyond my ministry – even as intense as the commitment was – which certainly wasn’t easy for a task-oriented fella like myself. But my relationship with God had to overshadow my ministry work. ON PURPOSE. The walk was to be the reservoir; the ministry was to be the overflow.
It might be unwise to mandate absolute rules for ourselves or our student leaders (like “Don’t ever use the ministry text for your personal Quiet Time” or “Spend at least one day each week not thinking about your ministry at all”). But many of us we will need to take measures and make personal commitments along those kinds of lines. Because it’s incredibly easy for ministry activity to creep slowly but surely from being an overflow to being the reservoir.
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As I mentioned yesterday, I’ll be briefly noting fundamental truths and methods I learned in my first year of college ministry – that continue to bear fruit in my ministry today. One or two a day. Quick, because I know these are busy days.
(Remember, if you think it might be helpful, tell your student leaders to tune in for the next week or two. These should be really applicable for them!)
[The whole series can now be seen right here.]
12 seconds
In one of my psychology classes, we learned that teachers need to wait at least 12 seconds for a group to answer a question. Twelve seconds! Now, I don’t have the source for that statistic, but I took his word for it. And when I had the chance to use that “rule” in my first year of ministry, I saw how much it mattered.
Twelve seconds can feel like forever (go ahead, pause 12 seconds right now). But it takes a long time for your group to formulate answers! And the better the answer, the longer it may take! I’ve definitely noticed that I nearly always get a response to questions I ask groups of students – if I’m willing to wait for it.
We should always be okay with silence. But my prof also said it was okay to ask the question and then fill some of the remaining 12 seconds, while people think about answers. My favorite ways to do that are:
- Tell them about how my college professor told them I should wait twelve whole seconds
- Happily let them know that I can outlast them in the silence and that I’m okay with the awkwardness
- Restate the question in a helpful way
partners
In my first year of college ministry, I had a co-leader – and I’ve had the opportunity to have a couple more full ministry partners since then. Though it adds to the messiness, adds a potential for conflict, and adds time to the schedule… it has been SO worth it. Those partners have been some of the biggest blessings in my life; my partner from that first year is even named on the dedication page of my book.
If you don’t have an official ministry partner, you might think about gathering around yourself unofficial partners: collaborators, co-leaders, student leaders, thinkin’-buddies, spouses – including a person or people with viewpoints that will sometimes differ from your own.
Trust God and share some of the planning – if not some of the authority – for your ministry. Or at least consider it!
For those who do have a partner – including student leaders with partners – know that this has the potential for real glory in your life… EVEN if right at this very moment, it’s not the partner you woulda picked. Trust God, and serve that person. Be excited about how God will use them in your life, too. You might just be surprised!
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For many of you, the school year begins this week (or has already begun). For those whose school calendar doesn’t start for another month (thanks to the Quarter System), enjoy the rest of your summer. But for many of us, this is the beginning!
So I’m praying for you guys, AND I want this blog to be as helpful as possible in these crazy, busy, important days. So, I want to clue you in on two things that you might find encouraging and useful – especially here at the start of school, both for you and for any leaders in your ministry.
(And if you missed it, yesterday’s blog was a list of seven “best ways to start the school year.”)
40 days, 40 prays
If you haven’t already seen it, I encourage you to tune into our United Methodist campus ministry friends, who have issued a nationwide call for 40 Days of Campus Ministry Prayer. They’re blogging a new intense, solid prayer for college ministers each day. I think you’ll find their prayers encouraging and refreshing – and perhaps taking time to pray through them each day might be a great spiritual discipline as you begin the year.
This could also be valuable for your student leaders, adult volunteers, and even your supporters to be reading/praying along with you.
You can find a good description of the project, a prayer guide, and all the prayers so far right here. As a reminder, I’ll also link to the prayers occasionally at the bottom of posts (see below). You can also find posts from the coinciding “40 Conversations” series here.
what I learned in my first year
Meanwhile, I plan to start a timely new series tomorrow: Each day, one major thing I learned in my very first year of college ministry that has had a BIG impact on my college ministry work ever since. (I learned a lot of interesting things that first year – you’ll hear a little about it in the posts to come.)
[The whole series can now be seen right here.]
These won’t be fancy posts – and they should be quite short, in honor of the busy season. But I figure that looking at some powerful, basic ideas and Best Practices isn’t a bad thing at the beginning of the school year. I would also love to help your student leaders or adult volunteers with these posts – I really think they will cover some strong practices that might “upgrade” anyone’s ministry, whether they’re longtime ministers or first-time volunteers.
For those of you who do have a little time to interact with the blogs, these may also be great posts for commenting and adding your thoughts, illustrations, contrasting ideas, connected ideas, or anything else. Sometimes little nuggets make the best springboards!
Enjoy your school year, whenever it starts. I’m praying for you.
It’s Day Eight of College Union’s 40 Days of Prayer for Campus Ministry
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A much-appreciated and very timely question from a college minister this weekend:
One thing you feel is the most important thing for a campus-based ministry to do on the first week of school? I want to dodge that “I wish I knew then what I know now” thing.
Here were a few suggestions I sent his way. I imagine one or two of them might resonate with you! Meanwhile, Guy Chmieleski covers a similar question with some other great ideas, so check out his post for more thoughts.
First of all, it all depends on the ministry. Do whatever you personally need to do NEXT and don’t just “run the play” that you think you “should” run.
But here are some first-week methods that could be really, really important at a lot of campuses:
Attack the week: One piece of “best advice” that will apply to many is to attack the week (whatever you happen to have going on) with full gusto – unbalanced, hard-running, little-sleeping, ridiculous gusto that doesn’t end ’til late Friday afternoon.
Assess spiritual changes on campus: Watch for what God shows you He’s up to NOW. Hopefully you have a finger on the pulse of your campus tribe in general – but each new year means tribal changes. So the first week is a great time to be alert for – and even investigate for – any hint of “climate change,” as it were.
Assess spiritual changes in students: Do the same with individual students – especially leaders. It’s possible there are students who God impacted this summer in ways that prepared them for a surprising role this year. Don’t make them wait, if they’re ready to plug in better! Likewise, there are some students who plan(ned) on major involvement but, for whatever reason, need to step back now. Alertness to either possibility now could make for very impactful adjustments.
Tie up any vital loose ends: Wrap up anything that’s absolutely necessary that didn’t get finished this summer. Have you outlined the outcomes the ministry is aiming for? Have you had any tough conversations that are needed to start the year right? Have you updated your supporters? Anything else you really should do? While in some cases these agenda items can be put off for an additional few weeks, some should be completed now… even though it stinks to feel like you’re looking backward.
Get key students moving: Get core students and/or student leaders “leaning into” the front of the semester with you. That means the “gusto” idea should apply to them, too. Help them to play their role as your co-college ministers, particularly in the first couple of weeks.
Start like you want to be: Don’t let this first week be SUCH a radical departure from what you’re doing the rest of the semester that returning students or recruited students get a false vision of who the ministry really is. Obviously, programming may be different. But from vision-casting to recruiting to interactions with campus staff, be realistic and be real.
Enjoy it: [This is one I added.] Don’t forget about the awesomeness of what we get to do. That’s usually not a problem in the first week of school, but just remember – this is the first week of changing the world. Again. You get to do it yearly.
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If this is your first week of the school year, too, I hope it’s incredible. Either way, let me know if I can ever be of help. I’m praying for everybody. Celebrate the awesomeness of what you get to do in these days!
As a college ministry fan, I was excited to check out “Post Grad,” which opened last night. It’s a romantic comedy that looks at Life after College for today’s college grads. This is a theme that’s really important for us to investigate for ourselves AND discuss with students, especially for two reasons:
- Transitioning students to the real world is an area in which we need major improvement
- 20-something life seems to be less defined and more disillusioning than it was even a decade ago
I’m sad to report, however, that “Post Grad” may not particularly help us – or our students – figure this stuff out.
I’m not trained in Movie Reviewing, but there’s a whole list of “proper” movie reviews to choose from at Rotten Tomatoes. (Of the several reviews I read, the one at Reelviews was probably closest to my own thoughts.)
What I can offer is a review from a college minister’s point of view. And this movie’s plot certainly connects with our field: A recent college graduate (from Creston College), Ryden Melby, has a post-college plan – but then her dream job falls through. This forces her (gasp!) to move back in with her family and search for what’s next.
I like Millennials. A lot. But every generation’s strengths are coupled with weaknesses. And what I found interesting is that this movie seems like it simply shares weaknesses with its Millennial audience, rather than either accurately representing the “real world” OR honestly reflecting the “generational mood” as a whole. So there’s plenty to learn from, even if it’s not entirely what the movie was attempting to “teach.”
For one thing, Read the rest of this entry »
I had the awesome chance to speak to about 60 church college ministry student leaders yesterday, and I was aiming to raise the bar on their ministry this year – helping them see themselves as truly college ministers and, therefore, even as missionaries.
And while there are various ways to do it, I think it’s valuable to do what we can to help our student leaders understand the weight of their task. While there are several ways to do that, one comes via this week’s College Ministry Fridea: Commission your student leaders.
If we want to get technical about it, simply appointing your leaders is, in fact, “commissioning” them. But this week’s Fridea is more about helping those leaders feel properly awed by what’s before them. So while you may consider your student leaders already “commissioned” to this year of student leadership… do they feel commissioned by the way that’s all been handled?
If not, or if that could happen better, here’s some methods that might work with your group:
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; being commissioned in front of a congregation might even more effectively prepare students than if it’s just in front of their peers. (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 – provided 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 up-front 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.
For all the Frideas, including several that apply to the end of the summer or the beginning of the school year, see this post for a synopsis of each!
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