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I’ve generally lain low about this particular method, but since I’m on the topic of Advancing the Field of College Ministry this week, I wanted to put it out there. (Read the intro post here.)
One of the easiest ways to advance our field within greater Christendom is to ask key questions of outside groups. The point is to help those groups realize that either…
- there is an interest in connecting their organization with the College Ministry world, or
- there is a market for their product in the College Ministry world.
An example: I love using this method when I attend conferences that have booths set up for various vendors. As I browse the booths, I try to ask catalytic questions of those groups I believe should consider aiding the field of College Ministry.
With seminaries, I ask what programs they have for training college ministers. I might also ask how they’ve connected with college ministers to help undergrad students think about attending seminary.
With publishers, it depends – but if I know the publisher, I can tailor the question. So I might ask about potential curriculum (for college ministry small groups), training materials (for college ministers or student leaders), or whether part of their marketing plan is to connect with college ministers. If they already have materials for Youth, Young Adults, or other demographics, I can ask if they’ve produced any collegiate versions.
Even denominations need to hear the occasional, “How do you resource the college ministers under your umbrella?” or “I saw everything you have for Youth Ministry; what kinds of College Ministry programs do you guys have?”
And we can ask any other parachurch ministry similar questions:
- “How have you connected all the campus ministries with what you’re doing?”
- “What inroads have you found with college students?”
- “What benefits have you seen connecting your ministry with people early-on, like in college?”
As college ministers, we’re masters at this questions-for-the-sake-of-discipleship technique already. Our goal is to help them realize for themselves how beneficial this connection could be. We need to be genuine as we ask questions – but it’s hard not to be in this case; of course we’re genuinely curious about these sorts of things.
Of course, this isn’t just for conferences and other face-to-face venues. It’s great to send an email to groups you’re connected with (or just groups you know about). There may even be people in your life who could help the field of college ministry in some way – have you “put the bug in their ear”?
Christian organizations need to realize that the field of College Ministry shouldn’t be overlooked – not just because it’s such an important and valuable mission field, but because their very aims (of both ministry and sales) would benefit.
You never know when a seminary representative might return to her campus and say, “Have we ever thought about training college ministers here?”
We never know when a publisher – after getting questions at a few conferences in a row – might make a suggestion at a meeting back at the offices.
When they hear from us – especially if they hear from many of us – it’s going to make an impression.
If you’ll take a little time, this is one big way to help advance our field.
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A couple of days ago, I got to attend a lunch hosted by Youth Specialties. (If you’re unfamiliar, YS has been a driving force for the field of Youth Ministry for the last 40 years; I mentioned that as a comparison point in the last chapter of the Reaching the Campus Tribes ebook.) I figured I’d drop in on the lunch (and got permission). It was a good time.
But since I’ve been to maybe a few dozen various gatherings of college ministers over the years, I immediately began to notice… differences. So while this is rather off-the-cuff and just my ponderings from one little lunch, I thought it might be fun to blog what I noticed.
1. More girls. Per capita, there seemed to be more females in this flock. If this holds out across the field of Youth Ministry, it probably wouldn’t be because there are more female head youth ministers than female head college ministers; there may actually be more of the latter than the former. Instead, I’d guess that youth ministries are much more likely to have the budget for multiple staff, and in cases of multiple staff, someone of the opposite sex from the director is often the first recruit.
(There could be a lot of reasons, but that’s my top guess. In any case, I noticed there were several ladies.)
2. Church-based predominant. Of course, in Youth Ministry the most recognizable form seems to be church-based youth ministers. While groups like Young Life do exist and have a mighty impact, I wouldn’t think they’d be considered the “classic” form. In College Ministry, that’s switched. (And we have two additional branches, as well: institutional college ministry and collegiate churches. I’m not sure if Youth Ministry has anything comparable, at least in any great numbers.)
3. Younger, on average. Not all youth ministers are young; that’s for sure. But there are reasons that a group of youth ministers might skew younger than a group of college ministers. When I’m in forums of college ministers, it seems like I run into quite a few that are over 30. (Of course, this depends on the organization – some orgs do perpetually have a large crop of 20-something leaders.
4. “Liveliness.” I’m not exactly sure how to explain this without sounding derogatory, but this was definitely a livelier (more evidently extroverted? more “youthy”?) gathering than most College Ministry ones I’ve attended. I do think that ministers take on the characteristics of their groups, and that’s not a bad thing. But might that mean a group of youth ministers would happen to act younger than a group of college ministers?
5. A sense of a developed “field.” It’s hard to explain, but listening to the speakers at the lunch gave a real impression of a true field of ministry in a way that College Ministry doesn’t have yet. Of course, some of that came from the fact that YS – which has helped drive and solidify that field – was the group sponsoring the lunch.
6. More discussion of development theory and other theory issues. This is one of the ways it quickly becomes clear that the field of Youth Ministry (as a whole) is quite a bit more developed than the field of College Ministry (as a whole). It is very rare – with one big exception I’ll note in a second – for lifespan development processes, theories of personal spirituality, and other more heady topics to come up in most college ministry conversations. There will be a day when our field “gets to that,” but right now we haven’t really developed to the point where this is a front-burner issue.
The exception (as I’ve noted on this blog before): institutional college ministers. Those who lead spiritual development at Christian colleges seem to have a penchant for discussing the more theoretical / academic sides of our field. (It’s something we can all gain from them!)
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If you couldn’t tell from my Tweets, Collegiate Week was a great week gathered with some 18 or 1900 people – and I’d guess 200 or more were college ministers (including spouses). I figured I’d spend a post on a few items you might find interesting from the week, including some speakers / authors worth checking out and other helpful tidbits.
excellence in the first month
First, I told some of the college ministers I was hanging out with that I’d post links to the articles on using the First Weeks well. You can find Linda Osborne’s and Brian Barela’s articles here, and mine here.
solid speakers
The “biggest” speaker of the week was David Platt, a young pastor (and former seminary prof) who has become quite well known in some circles. He’s one of the most incredible speakers-to-college-students I’ve heard, and apparently students (and others) are already reading and spreading his new book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. And his messages are quite podcast-worthy indeed.
But the other platform speaker, Mike Satterfield, was also very good. Either would be worth checking out for use in your own speaking venues; you can link to Platt above or Mike’s info right here.
recommended reads
The book suggestions given by rather veteran campus-based college ministers included… The Unlikely Disciple, Seven Practices of Effective Ministry, Complete Book of Discipleship (Hull), The Trophy Kids Grow Up, Give Me a Dr. Pepper Please, Religion Saves & Nine Misconceptions, Your God is Too Small
c.s. lewis & apologetics / evangelism
As I tweeted the other day, Dr. Bob Stewart of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary presented a seminar discussing “Apologetic & Evangelistic Tips from C.S. Lewis.” It was the only student-focused seminar I attended, but it was quite amazing (and very good for leaders, too). It also proved something I’ve found to be true – seminary professors are regularly “wins” when it comes to seminar speakers.
And here’s the amazing thing: Dr. Stewart has made his PowerPoints from all FOUR of his seminars available. Find them right here (some may have yet to be uploaded).
threads
If you’re unfamiliar with the organizers of this conference, Threads Media, they really are a group that’s worth getting to know. They publish lots of “curriculum,” Bible study resources, and other materials for students and to use with students. While their focus has mostly been college students and young adults, it’s worth checking out and testing out their stuff as you look for small group materials or teaching guides!
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If you’re already joining us, who could you invite? Send ‘em to this address: http://bit.ly/cmcohort (the Facebook Event page) or have them read this post!
And for all of us: C’mon, everybody! It’s planning time! This would be a great addition to your Fall sched!
the basics:
- THE Christian leadership conference in our country
- connecting with dozens of college ministers from all kinds of settings and with all kinds of experience (See the list of those already signed up on the Facebook Event!)
- perks! (We’re in talks with multiple orgs to get meals, resources, and other freebies!)
- top-notch training for your student leaders (if you wanna bring ‘em)
a little more detail:
Catalyst Conference is THE premier Christian leadership training event in the U.S.. Twelve thousand mostly younger leaders will join together in Atlanta October 7th & 8th. Some will come a day before for the Catalyst Labs, as well. This is a phenomenal leadership training event, so it’s perfect for you… and even for your student leaders!
Craig Groeschel. Francis Chan. Seth Godin. Tim Elmore. Jon Acuff. Seth Godin. Beth Moore. Andy Stanley. Alan Hirsch. Reggie Joiner. And only thirty-five more in the Labs and on the Main Stage.
But to add value to something already valuable, we’ve got a College Ministers’ Cohort. Really.
We’ll be gathering in the breaks during Catalyst (like for meals). It’s a chance to meet others who do what we do, from all over the country. I’ve met several of those early birds who have already signed up – and I know who several others are. These are some incredible college ministers. And we’re hoping for FREEbies (including free meals, books, resources, and more).
If that wasn’t enough, we’ll spend an additional day together on Saturday! We’ll be brainstorming together about applying what we learn from the amazing Catalyst speakers directly to college ministry. This isn’t only a chance to learn for your ministry (from great college ministry thinkers from around the country), it’s a chance to help others shape college ministry. Really. You’ll be a part of something big.
And the Cohort is FREE, the Catalyst Conference is only $219 with our group code, and you can buy an airplane ticket right now for pretty cheap. Or… road trip to Atlanta!
Sound good? Sign up as Maybe or Attending at the Cohort event page. I’ll send out the group code again this weekend!
But that’s not all! (There’s stuff for your students!)
Catalyst holds a very cool event within its conference each year called Catalyst University. It’s a chance for your students to attend the amazing leadership training of Catalyst and even an additional Saturday training with some top-notch people.
And they can earn college credit. Really.
That’s right – those ten speakers above (and another 35) could train your student leaders. Live. Students attend Catalyst with you; then, if they’re signed up for the 3-credit-hour option, they do their thing on Saturday while you’re hanging with us at the Cohort!
Sound good? More on Catalyst University right here.
So what are you waiting for? If you’re interested at all, sign up as a Maybe on the Cohort event page so we know you’re a Maybe. And if you are indeed ready to take the plunge, make sure you – and any college ministers coming with you – let us know by RSVPing!
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I had a blast teaching my seminar on “Better Brainstorming” – thanks for everybody who came and everybody who prayed for me. Those at the seminar truly made it better – coming up with some great ideas (as we practiced a brainstorming tool together), asking some great questions, and also offering some phenomenal comments.
I promised the attendees some “end notes” on the talk – areas I left out, links to various things, etc. But this should be helpful for anybody, too, both now and if you listen to the audio once it’s posted.
passages
The Scripture passages I quoted include Psalm 127:1, Proverbs 3:6, I Peter 5:2, I Peter 4:11, and I John 3:18.
backwards college ministry
I’ve been posting quite a bit on “Backwards College Ministry,” and that methodology was definitely a key part of the seminar. For more explanation of that, check out the blogs that discuss it (and just so you know, they’re listed in reverse order at that link).
my book…
…can be found (for free!) at www.reachingthecampustribes.com.
something I left out
One point I never got around to was this: One of the important things to remember as you practice determining outcomes before methods is to keep doing it each time. After awhile, it’s easy to “lose the plot,” continuing with fruitful methods from the past and forgetting to keep being purpose-first each time. Don’t forget that a method is only as good as the purposes it fulfills… so as some purposes change semester-to-semester, your methods should change (slightly or extensively), too.
exploring the axes
Meanwhile, the book that most influenced my “Exploring the Axes” brainstorming method was Free Prize Inside by Seth Godin. You might also want to check out its predecessor Purple Cow, which might even be more useful to most college ministers than FPI is. (Seth Godin, by the way, will be one of the speakers at this year’s Catalyst Conference in Atlanta in October.)
speaking of catalyst conference…
If you haven’t heard, I’m organizing a “cohort” for college ministers in the midst of this year’s Catalyst Conference. And Catalyst would certainly be one BIG way to “stretch your quiver” – it’s one of the best ways I know to gather new ideas. Plus, by adding in the College Ministers’ Cohort, we’ll have some great chances to collaborate, “ideate,” and otherwise spur each other on. (For those at the CMU Conference, Wes Woodell recently encouraged people to consider this, too!) I really encourage everybody to check it out, and let me know if you’ve got questions.
the mad libs ebay road trip
I promised everybody a link to info about my Mad Libs eBay Road Trip. So there you go – it’s definitely interesting reading.
49 decisions
I mentioned my post of “49 Decisions You’ve Already Made about Your College Ministry’s Large Group Meeting.” Very surprising stuff.
finally, a few things to remember
- Creativity has no value in-and-of-itself – only if the creative methods are more effective at accomplishing your God-provided outcomes.
- Limits are a help to creativity. Necessity is the mother of invention. A tempest in a teacup is more interesting than a tempest out at sea.
- The more focused and explicit your purposes are, the more help they’ll be to your creativity.
- Don’t forget: studying college ministries outside your normal circles are more likely to help your creativity, whether or not you adapt the specific ideas you learn.
- Though I am indeed a big believer in starting with outcomes and then determining methods, sometimes God uses methods to help us realize purposes we should be aiming for.
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71010
Come join the 120 who are considering or planning on being a part of the Casual Catalyst Conference College Ministers Cohort! But if I haven’t been able to convince you to take part… maybe college minister Ashley Williams, now a Catalyst intern, can – with one of the coolest opportunities to strengthen your college student leaders!
Catalyst University is an AMAZING opportunity that I feel goes unnoticed by many college students AND collegiate ministers. College students can earn 1, 2, or 3 credit hour through the University of Mobile, an accredited four-year Christian university – and very inexpensively, too.
This is an opportunity for your students to get leadership training from the BEST in their field. I first went to Catalyst as a college student, and it changed my life. I came away being more confident in who I was in Christ and how to best use my gifts and talents to further the Kingdom of God.
Students can transfer these credits as a Psychology credits or as a free elective.
There’s three options, too:
1 Semester Hour
Cost is $150. Students must attend the Catalyst conference on Thursday and Friday as well as complete the assignments outlined in the syllabus. The $150 covers the application fee and one official transcript fee, but does NOT include the cost of Catalyst Conference.
2 Semester Hours
Cost is $250. Students must attend the Catalyst Labs on Wednesday, Conference on Thursday and Friday, as well as complete the assignments outlined in the syllabus. The $250 covers the application fee and one official transcript fee, but does NOT include the cost of the Catalyst Labs and Conference.
3 Semester Hours (with a Saturday component – perfect if you’re planning on attending the Saturday forum as part of the College Ministers Cohort!)
The cost is $615. Students must attend the Catalyst Labs on Wednesday, Conference on Thursday and Friday, and University Workshop on Saturday, as well as complete the assignments outlined in the syllabus. This cost covers the Labs, Conference, Workshop, application fee and one official transcript fee.
So what can your students do to set this up? They’ll want to check out the site (www.catalystconference.com/university), and then send the application, tuition, and registration to Catalyst. The application deadline is Friday, September, 24.
If you have ANY questions about registering students, registering college ministers, Catalyst University, etc., please feel freedom to contact me via email at ashley.williams [at] catalystspace.com, or call my direct line at 678-225-3101. I would love to chat with you and help you out.
Remember the present student rate ($159) and present college ministers rate ($199) ends June 24th, 2010! [If you don't register through Ashley, be sure to ask her or me, Benson, for the Group Code. If you're listed as Attending or Maybe on the College Ministers Cohort Facebook event, you'll get the code every once in awhile.]
I am SO honored and appreciative of Benson for letting me take some space on his blog. I am by no means an “expert” in the field of college ministry. BUT I have a huge heart and passion for our field. -Ashley, whose blog can be found here
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As you may remember, I’m speaking this morning at the Evangelical Free Church leadership conference. (Please pray for me!) The talk will address
- the importance of college ministry
- the difficult state of affairs at present (particularly within churches)
- and how to turn that tide by developing a strong College Student Plan.
And as I’ll planning to tell the people in my seminar today, you can find much more on those topics (including more pictures!) in one of two places:
- my free book, Reaching the Campus Tribes. In this case, it’s particularly from chapters 3 and 5 and the “Road Map Forward” final chapter – but honestly, reading the whole thing will give a more complete picture.
- the resource I wrote for the Building Church Leaders resource, “Ministry to College Students.” Building Church Leaders is a part of the Christianity Today family, so I was especially excited they chose to address our field!
According to the publication agreement, I’m allowed to publish the article on my own site. And seeing as how this is my own site… I’m including that below, even though it’s lengthy.
(Please note: I don’t hold the copyright on this article – they do. So feel free to read it and point others to it here, but no electronic or paper copying, please. And anyway, you should check out the whole resource! It’s solid.)
The College Student Plan for Your Church
by Benson Hines for BuildingChurchLeaders.com
If your church decided to begin a missions endeavor among a people group overseas, the first step would probably involve spending time developing the church’s mission plan. The church would get to know the people involved, pray through every possibility for ministry, examine the available resources, look for possible partnerships, consult other churches with similar efforts, and so on. While those with a heart for missions might hope to “jump right in,” wisdom would dictate a more deliberate approach.
Sadly, many churches fail to apply this same wisdom to their work with college students. While their intentions are good, many North American churches—big and small, contemporary and traditional—have Read the rest of this entry »
I promise not to fill my blog with too many posts about the upcoming Cohort we’re organizing for college ministers at the Catalyst Conference. But since the deadline for really cheap tickets is June 24th, I wanted to give you a few more things to consider – and ways to help!
the lineup
At your last college ministry conference, did you get to hear from
- Francis Chan?
- Beth Moore?
- Seth Godin?
- Alan Hirsch?
- Anne Jackson?
- Andy Stanley?
Doubtful.
Yet those are only six of the forty-five speakers at Catalyst Conference (including the Labs) this year. Perhaps you’ll check out – and ask questions at – Labs seminars led by Tim Elmore (one of the major thought leaders in college ministry over the last decade), Reggie Joiner (who just wrote a book connected to college ministry), or John Ortberg (who pastors one of the churches that participates in the amazing Ascent college ministry network). And we’ll all hear Gabe Lyons, author of one of the most oft-recommended books for college ministry these days, unChristian.
You could also investigate those leading in the social issues our students are intrigued by: Jamie Tworkowski (To Write Love on Her Arms), Nicole Baker Fulgham (Teach for America), Scott Harrison (advocate for safe drinking water), Tyler Wigg-Stevenson (advocate for nuclear disarmament), and others like them who are certainly worth learning from… and might be worth bringing to your campus in the future!
Nope, the forty-five speakers won’t all be talking directly about the work of college ministry. But that’s where the Cohort comes in – among other things, it’s the immediate chance to chew on the connections between what those speakers say and what God has called us to. (And you’ll be doing that with college ministers and college ministry thinkers from around the U.S.!)
the word-of-mouth
What’s your circle? Surely you have one – even if it’s just your fellow college ministers in town. Or maybe you’re part of a regional or national group, a network of like-minded college ministers, or some other circle. And maybe some of the ladies and fellas in that circle are either planning to come to Catalyst or might be interested.
Would you please consider telling them about the Cohort? This is a “come one, come all” event. A “the more, the merrier” event. An event where the value rises (and the opportunities increase) as more and more people get involved. From every branch of college ministry, from every region of the country… that seems like a pleasant thing to hope for!
A blog can go a long way in spreading the word. So can a Facebook or email blast. So can a Tweet or a post on your Facebook profile – and feel free to use the short address (http://bit.ly/cmcohort). Of course, you can invite anyone you want to directly, via the Facebook Event. And please feel free to click on the above picture and steal that for use anywhere you choose!
the gal on the inside
Until she became a Catalyst intern (like 3 weeks ago), Ashley Williams was a Missouri college minister. Now, she’s not only helping prepare for this mega-conference, but they’re letting her take this little Cohort and run with it… meaning the Catalyst people are already paying attention to our field in a new way!
So if you’re interested in signing up and such, you can go through the normal channels (and remember, I’ll be sending every “Attending” and “Maybe Attending” person our discount-rate Group Code in the next day or two). Or you can contact Ashley directly – which is particularly valuable if you need to sign up some of your college students, who get an even better deal than we “adults” do, or if those students might even be interested in getting college credit for attending Catalyst!
So feel free to ask me any questions about the activities of the Cohort, but feel free to send Ashley any questions about getting to Catalyst. Her contact info is ashley.williams at catalystspace.com and (678) 225-3101.
In any case, we’re looking at an excellent week in early October!
I’ve been promising details on our upcoming Casual Catalyst Conference College Ministry Cohort, and since then I’ve had chances to get input, connect with Catalyst people, and think through this excellent opportunity to gather and collaborate. If you didn’t see the original announcement, you should check it out here.
We’re actually getting some pretty cool Catalyst support, it turns out, beginning with a Group Code for a big discount on admission – thanks to Catalyst Concierge Chad Johnson. And just yesterday I got to chat with Ashley Williams, a former college minister who’s now our “gal-on-the-inside” at Catalyst.
Today’s announcement should cover what you need to know for scheduling purposes – and to start getting your fellow college ministers on board! But I’ll be hammering out more specifics over the next few months – so I really want your input. How can we best add college-ministry-value to an event (Catalyst) that is already great?
(Check out Catalyst’s phenomenal site here.)
main things
1. The Casual Cohort is FREE to join. So whenever I mention “registering,” I’m talking about Catalyst. Obviously, there might be outside activities (like meals) you might need cash for, but I’m working on getting some freebies in that department… and possibly for housing…
2. The next registration deadline is June 24th. That’s your chance to get your ticket for the humongo Catalyst Conference for only $199… but ONLY with our special College Ministers’ Group Code. (If you’re bringing college students, they’re even cheaper – but you’ll need to call Catalyst to get that set up. If you do, be sure to still let them know you’re coming with our group and use the Code for yourself.)
3. Our Facebook event page is the way to get that Group Code, as well as serving as our main portal for sharing Cohort details, attendees, speakers, sponsors, etc.. Check it out here. You’ll need to RSVP as Attending or Maybe Attending to get details as they’re available. Obviously, we don’t want to post the Group Code here, but I’ll send it to everyone who has joined the group in a few days… and I’ll include it with later updates, too.
4. Our schedule will mostly coincide with Catalyst’s own schedule, since this is a casual cohort. We’ll generally take opportunities to get together (for meals, for example), without burdening you with extra activities in what’s already an intense conference. (For those who make it for the Catalyst Labs before the main conference, we will have stuff on that day, too.)
We will, however, have an additional “catalytic” experience on Saturday, October 9th. So those who stay for the extra day will be in for further, focused college ministry collaboration, learning, and connections.
other details
5. Reservations, etc., are important – I understand that. Especially if you’re bringing a group of students or staff, I’d encourage you to go ahead and get those set up. But I will be asking some of my contacts to see if we might find some ministries with available “host homes” or other living quarters, especially for those college ministers coming without groups. I’ll keep you posted.
6. Ideas are, again, much appreciated.
7. Please spread the word. This is an exciting chance to participate in a significant conference, in a significant way. This has the potential to put college ministry on the radar of Christian leaders throughout the country in a new way. But whether it helps our field in that way or not, it certainly gives college ministers the chance to cross lines, learn together, and collaborate around Big Christian Leadership Ideas.
8. Get excited about “benefits.” I’ve already been surprised by the reception I’ve gotten to this idea – and not just from college ministers, but also from groups that want to help “sponsor” our time. If you know of other groups that might be interested in helping sponsor stuff (meals, for example), giving out freebies, or otherwise connecting with college ministers in a mutually beneficial way, have them contact me directly.
Just remember: Your main way to get future details is to join the Facebook event, even just as a Maybe. So… I’ll see you over there!
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