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Before Thanksgiving Break, I wrote plenty about the need to prepare our students for the Break. And, whether we had the chance to do that or not, I encouraged us to work strategically to ready collegians for the long Christmas Break.
But there’s another important step a friend helped me realize last night: Debriefing.
What if this week’s small groups or Large Group Meeting was dedicated to talking through the good, the bad, and the ugly of your students’ Thanksgiving Breaks? Or what if you offered the opportunity at a special lunch or online forum? If you can’t take those steps, what if you at least encouraged students to talk to you, other adults, or student leaders about what they faced at home?
Some of your students feel like a semester’s worth of spiritual growth was unraveled in just a few days, and they’re wondering what that means or how in the world they’re going to handle Christmas. Some feel a tinge of homesickness now that they’ve returned – maybe for the first time this semester. Others were reminded – deeply – of all the reasons they were so glad to leave home for college. Some feel like they missed some opportunities to impact their friends or family.
Others had really neat times at home – and their stories would be great for other students to hear. (And some made mistakes that they can help others not repeat.)
There are all sorts of reasons why a post-break Debrief makes enormous sense. Yes, if you can’t get that together this week, then I’d definitely encourage starting that tradition in January. But as my friend pointed out, debriefing Thanksgiving is one more GREAT way to prepare students for the Christmas Break that’s coming soon.
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Today’s my spiritual birthday. It’s always a neat day to remember what Christ has done in my life (both before and after I acknowledged it!). I realize theologies differ on exactly when conversion happens, but as best I can figure, it was on August 25th many years ago that I entered a personal relationship with God through Jesus.
In light of my own lil’ holiday AND as you face a new school year, I wanted to repost one of six ways I suggested we could energize evangelism in our campus ministries:
Commemorate spiritual birthdays (the first one and later ones). If we believe that there really was a moment in every Christian’s life when he or she went from death to life, then that’s a big deal! So yes, celebrate when people come to Christ, but it’s also quite fitting to celebrate the date people came to Christ – last year or last decade! (See the other five suggestions here.)
I later expanded on this idea (including 12 ways to accomplish this celebration!):
In my family, my parents would treat my spiritual birthday (like my sister’s) like another holiday in our year. So every August 25th, I’d get a card and a congrats. Later on, I have often taken that day as a special day to seek the Lord, review His work in my life over the past year, and celebrate His salvation.
I s’pose our attention on “spiritual birthdays” as a family made me think about celebrating them within my first college ministry experience. So as I made the info forms for our Upstream Freshman Bible Study group, I (1) put a “Spiritual Birthday” line on those forms. (I either did it then or later, in my second Freshman Bible study. Either way…)
Not only did that provide a helpful gauge for whether or not people claimed to be Christians, but it gave us something to celebrate within the year! This is a very easy way to get this info; you could, of course, (2) simply ask individuals you’re discipling. Or perhaps you could (3) encourage your students to put it on their Facebook pages - that could actually be a phenomenal witness, couldn’t it?
Then what do we do with the info? Honestly, whatever you do for physical birthdays could probably be done for spiritual birthdays, too: Perhaps (4) an announcement, (5) birthday treats or a cake, (6) listing it in the weekly email, (7) sending a Facebook message, (8) putting it in the “program,” (9) giving a little present in Large Group.
You might consider (10) something special for the first anniversary of people’s conversions, too. That highlights students coming to Christ at this age, and I bet it’s pretty encouraging for those newer believers.
And for everybody, you might indeed (11) encourage them to make that day a personal spiritual holiday. Take it from me, that can be pretty awesome.
Lastly, it’s important to (12) realize that not all Christian students will know their spiritual birthdays. So we gotta work that in somehow. You can find some thoughts on doing that here.
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My 15th multistate, college ministry-exploring road trip is still underway! (Details here.) I’ve been updating regularly (though a bit chaotically) this week.
While sometimes we don’t realize it, how we “do” our Large Group Meeting is the product of a multitude of choices. In fact, it’s at least 49 choices; I’ve posted before on 49 separate ways I’ve seen Large Group Meetings differ around the country.
But since this week I’m providing an up-close look at Road Trip 15, I wanted to share the unique aspects I found in ONE visit last night. In this case, it happens to be the weekly InterVarsity meeting at Northern Arizona U. (Some of these unique characteristics come from this being an IV chapter, but some are probably rare even within that org.)
Walk with me through the uniquenesses I found at NAU’s IV.
1. Musical marketing. At least an hour before the meeting, the worship team could be heard (warming up, presumably) throughout a large portion of the South Campus of NAU. Since their meeting takes place in a second-floor ballroom, the windows open onto the campus below – and allow for some major acoustical advertisement.
2. Song scheduling. Two songs before the message, three afterwards. (Admittedly, the leader did act like that diverted from the usual plan.)
3. MCs. Apparently they have official, every week emcees – a guy and a girl – for the 2010-2011 school year. They did announcements (twice). This isn’t uncommon among some of the campus-based ministries, but not nearly all the rest of us use this device.
4. Camp and Dance (unique events). I know a “summer week” of some sort is also common among some campus-based groups, but other college ministries don’t do anything like that. Less common, I’d imagine, are formal dances, but they were advertising one last night.
5. They took an offering. This week, the offering went toward their upcoming Chapter Camp this summer.
6. Song styling. Worship had a distinct “world beat,” multi-instrument, diverse feel – down to singing one song in Hawaiian (with an electric ukulele accompanying!) and learning a sign language phrase for another. This is not at all uncommon within InterVarsity, but for the rest of us it’s a unique treat.
7. Speaker profile. Not only does IV at NAU appear to use different speakers each week (which doesn’t fit some of our molds), but last night’s speaker was an alumnus AND an introvert (he noted that). In fact, he basically read his talk. And it was very, very good.
None of these aspects are wildly surprising, of course, but it still might be helpful for some of us to consider varying our speaker lineup, varying the types of speakers we rely on, considering the impactfulness some of our alums could bring to a message.
8. They gave an invitation. Yes, a real-life, do-you-want-to-come-to-Christ invitation. (A second option for others getting a free Bible from the back – if you were willing to read it.) The first song of the post-message worship was even “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” – doesn’t get any more classic than that. Where else have I seen an invitation? Oh yeah, the InterVarsity group (that’s widely known for seeing students come to Christ) at UCSD.
9. Message length (and entire meeting length). Message lengths vary in college ministry, but this one was 25 minutes… and the entire meeting was over in less than an hour. Like I said, everything was quite good – so I don’t feel the shortness took anything at all away from it, and there are clearly some up-sides to brevity, too.
10. Afterparty. I think the encouragement to go to Starbucks at the meeting’s end was pointing us to an after-Large Group hangout. This method pops up all over, but not nearly “all over” enough for my taste. I’m a fan of encouraging community in this way (if it fits your group and your campus).
Posted from Motel 6, Flagstaff
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It’s always good for us to review even the “basics” of our college ministry’s setup. For many of us, for instance, what night our Large Group Meeting meets isn’t something we’ve pondered in a long, long time. Or maybe the fact that our small groups are all 8-12 members is so “standard” we’ve forgotten why that made sense.
Today I wanted to throw out two options specifically for the teaching in your college ministry’s Large Group Meeting. It’s interesting to note that many college ministries seem to fall toward two extremes here. But whichever side you presently land on, I encourage you to give the other some thought. Is your present method best accomplishing your purposes? Or might your ministry be better served by mixing in some of the “other” style?
(This is reminiscent of the “College Ministry Poles” series, where I look at how various ministries differ! Or, if you want to see 49 choices you’ve made for your Large Group Meeting – possibly without knowing it – check out this list.)
series vs. one-off
Some college ministries almost always teach in series. Others will nearly always be talking about something different week-to-week. But there are true positives for each option.
A series might help reinforce past teaching, encourage students to attend regularly, better cover a topic than simply one message would, and draw new / marginal students more than a single message topic would. Continuity is a great thing, too, and can even help develop a sense of “identity” and “community” in a campus ministry.
On the other hand, doing a series “just to do a series” is highly unpurposeful; sometimes what your students need most can’t be crammed into a series, and it’s tempting to design talks around a series rather than around needs. Going the non-series route might also allow for more flexibility, keep new / marginal students from feeling left out, increase the interest level in these change-loving Millennials, and free you to tackle “teachable moments” in your ministry, on campus, or in the world.
one teacher vs. rotation
In the same way, certain ministries seem to gravitate toward having only one main speaker, while others nearly always have a different speaker week-to-week. As with the above options, I’d argue that whichever side you’re on, it’s worth considering if the present setup is still the best setup.
Having one teacher does allow for greater familiarity – for both teacher and students! It’s also likely that you’re going to put the person up there because he or she is highly skilled. Sometimes a single teacher (particularly the lead college minister) needs to “steer the ship” or “cast the vision” over a series of weeks or months. Having a standard teacher allows them to hone their craft over time, and students also know what to expect. A standard speaker will also be consistent (obviously) in theology, approach, focus, etc.
On the other hand, allowing speakers to rotate keeps the change rate high. It also means a variety of students will be catered to through the various styles. Different wisdom / approaches on topics can be shared. The burden of preparation is spread among various speakers, as is the opportunity to be known by the group. This method might also allow speakers to be trained / “raised up” more easily.
This particular teaching pic is from the Chi Alpha crew at Texas A&M Corpus Christi!
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Since most of us are still on the front end of our semesters, I thought I’d brainstorm (with you? at you?) about some options for a college ministry’s big weekly meeting. (Some of us affectionately call that thing the Sing-and-Speak.)
Of course, there’s a big list of 49 Large Group Meeting variations I’ve actually seen around the country – and it’s always worth purusing.
But today, I figured I’d throw out seven ideas that I personally believe are highly worth considering (if you haven’t assimilated them already). Not every one will be right for your ministry, but they’re ALL very worth contemplating, in my humble opinion.
1. Testimony, interview, “charge,” or other mini-message. Campus Crusade for Christ’s “student testimony time” is status quo in that organization, but this certainly isn’t something we all have as part of our weekly gatherings. It’s worth considering, for sure, and not only because today’s students love eclectic presentations.
2. Make announcements particularly engaging. This is more common, but it’s certainly not pervasive. Announcements contain a lot of important stuff; they deserve being presented in a way that really draws (and keeps) attention… and spurs to action, even with our distracted students.
3. “Punch your points.” I don’t know if I made up that term or not, but it’s something I remind myself to do. Students can best remember your message in bullet-points, whether you like it or not. Make sure your points are purposefully punched – highlighted, put on the screen, repeated, drawn on a board, whatever you’ve gotta do. I have sat through a lot of college ministry meetings where it was unclear what exactly we were being called to.
*Bonus: One method along these lines is to offer a final charge – maybe even after the final song or announcements or whatever you usually do after the message!
4. String ‘em together. Whether you (or others) speak in a series or not, there’s not a lot of downside to reminding students where you have journeyed previously. Would it be helpful to use reminders each week, whether through visual aids that pile up through a semester, a two-minute recap, or other means?
5. Pray. This one – maybe more than the others – depends a bit on the audience you’re drawing and how your Large Group Meeting fits in the overall scheme / strategy of your campus ministry. (You do have an overall scheme and strategy, yes?) But you could consider a genuine prayer period – even a few minutes or more. It’s amazing what God does when our students actually seek His face, and raising the expectations for what He’s going to do in the rest of the meeting can be a powerful thing.
6. Tie the music to the message. There are a lot of reasons to do this. I know it’s easier not to… but that’s probably the only reason not to. Have you considered building everything in the meeting around the purposes for the meeting?
7. Consider when you sing. The main thing here is to realize there is no “best time” for singing. Instead, your Sing-and-Speak’s purposes should determine when and how long your group sings (before, after, some of both… and I can imagine even zanier options, like singing in the middle of the message). The key is to think and pray this one through and not simply follow a pattern just for the sake of “presentation” or tradition or those sorts of less-important things. (While it’s certainly not best for every group, I am occasionally reminded that some groups have been really blessed by moving most of the singing to the end.)
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Catalyst begins today, and last night a few of us college ministers got to hang out. It was definitely good times. The article below is the second of two that I included in this week’s program. It’s a revamp of a fairly recent blog, but it’s one of those ideas that keeps me humble… and keeps me collaborating.
I’ll be tweeting – especially about our Cohort activities – but you can also follow all kinds of Catalyst goings on simply by searching on Twitter for #cat10 – or just click here.
Popularly, we use the term “Best Practice” to indicate a method that has proven to be best in a high percentage of situations. It doesn’t mean it’s the only good way; it doesn’t mean there couldn’t be exceptions. But as a general rule, a Best Practice should be a go-to method unless you’ve got a good reason to try something else.
And so, of course, college ministers are always looking for Best Practices. I can’t blame us: It seems like there should be many big methods that are worth highlighting as Best Practices as we work among the campus tribes. It seems like we’ve each observed some obviously great methods that would be just as great – and just as obvious – on campuses across the country. It seems like establishing a successful college ministry could be largely cut-and-paste, as long as we’re willing to learn the right “college ministry plays” as used by the most successful college ministries.
But it’s a myth.
Maybe the title of this article is a bit hyperbolic. There are indeed some Best Practices in college ministry. But they’re surprisingly rare. There are far more methods that are “great ideas” but which don’t meet the threshold of being “Best Practices.”
These great ideas are useful for some, but they’re certainly not “default,” go-to methods.
They’re not clearly most effective in most situations.
They’re just great ideas, and they may or may not be best on my campus, at this time, for our particular purposes. So I need to keep looking, keep collaborating—all while I’m getting to know my campus and seeking the Lord’s guidance for reaching it best.
Before I took my yearlong road trip a few years ago, I had no idea how insufficient my own understanding was, despite the fact that I had served several campuses in three very different cities and attended perhaps a dozen college ministry training conferences. I had seen a lot. But there was plenty more to see.
Now, I can speak with some authority on the diversity out there. For instance, I recently wrote a post on my blog with forty-nine variations I’ve seen in college ministries’ Large Group Meetings. Forty-nine! If there are that many ways to “adjust” one of college ministry’s classic methods, certainly we should be very careful about assuming that any single experience, any one ministry, or even any one region will give us all we need to know.
I do believe that as our field grows, identifying Best Practices will be a part of it. But claiming “Best Practices” or forming other “How-to” lists too quickly actually harms us. It keeps us from seeking the methods that will actually lead to our own college ministries’ greatest effectiveness.
So when we’re in a few-Best-Practices field of ministry, how shall we now learn?
- We should learn broadly
- We should learn humbly
- We should learn continually
And of course, we should share with others what we’ve learned. Because we never know when our own practices might be best for another college ministry!
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The college ministry I volunteer in has a pretty great spot for their Large Group Meeting. It’s a big auditorium on the lowest level of the student center on campus, and even though it’s sorta underground, it’s pretty perfect for a large group.
However, the area around where we meet isn’t as favorable. It’s hard to explain, but there’s sort of an annoying bend in the “thoroughfare” students take to get inside. So during hang-out times before and after the meeting itself, it’s a little awkward, and the space (as we’ve presently got it set up) gets a little small. Not only does the layout kinda discourage students from standing around talking, but the Info & Sign-up Table gets swallowed up in its spot along the wall.
So one of the staff members and I were contemplating a better arrangement Wednesday night, so I figured I’d highlight this area for the College Ministry Fridea.
I imagine that in many cases, our campus ministries’ coming-and-going thoroughfares get overlooked – even if we spend some major time setting up the stage and other parts of the room itself. But the gathering areas, arrival routes, and departure routes for our Large Group Meetings can be extremely helpful (or problematic) when it comes to building community, helping Movement (like getting sign-ups, etc.), and making new guests feel welcome and comfortable.
That leads to this week’s College Ministry Fridea: Take some time to observe and ponder the gathering spots and thoroughfares around your weekly meeting(s).
This is one of the several places in college ministry where a little bit of strategizing can go a long way… and conversely, it’s a place where many of us may overlook simple-but-powerful tweaks, letting negatives remain for months or years.
I encourage you to spend some time (or get some students to spend some time) making these “spaces” more effective, more welcoming, more inviting, more comfortable, and more community-enhancing. Notice ways you might be discouraging interaction (like if there isn’t room to stop and chat), entrances where guests can slip in unnoticed, barriers to entering in the first place, or things that encourage students to leave afterwards too quickly! It may not be that your spots are too small; too big a hang-out space can discourage interaction and feel coldly cavernous. Maybe you need to bring in some fresh eyes altogether, getting students who’ve never attended to give you their first impressions of your spaces and avenues.
And on and on. There are lots of ways to observe this and address this; the point is to look with new eyes on the space you’re offering students. Jesus cares about Hospitality, and this is part of that. He’ll help us even with these nitty-gritties, I believe, and the little tweaks are still a big part of caring for our students and shepherding them well.
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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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