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Short and simple today, but it’s still a chance for brave, strategic college ministries to “go for broke”:
Start a (school-serving) tradition on your campus.
Believe it or not, your ministry would be far from the first to begin something that a campus tribe rallies around. There are instances of Orientation Week events that have been adopted by the school itself, T-shirts that have “made it big,” campus-wide games that have caught on far beyond the ministry’s normal circle, and so on.
And when this works, it has the potential to serve students – or even the campus and its long-term aims. There may be a strong recruiting or evangelism angle to some new traditions, whether through direct contact or through building bridges from the tradition to those things. Maybe certain traditions could help bring some needed funds to your ministry (like through T-shirt or other sales), or maybe by building this tradition with other organizations (Christian or otherwise), you’ll grow some amazing connections!
There’s no way I can wade into all the possibilities, though, because traditions are possibly the most contextual of all the characteristics of the campus tribes. So coming up with new traditions is a contextual art – and it’s also an area that would be really easy to fail in.
But that’s the idea of this “Going for Broke” series: Offering ideas that require a lot of wisdom and skill, but that might just be worth considering!
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For the seventh entry in this series of “Big Leaps” college ministries can consider taking, I wanted to expand on an idea I posted last year as one of “Four Angles on College Ministry Recruitment” (see that post for the three other ideas). It’s an idea worth considering right now – and for many campus ministries, it would indeed be a big leap.
The idea: Recruiting mid-year like you did in August / September.
I don’t see why we don’t recruit more often in the “off-season,” beyond the first few weeks of school. There are lots of students who don’t find a ministry that “sticks” by October… why lessen their chances of finding any ministry? Who says we can’t recruit later on?
And that opportunity is all the more natural as the Spring Semester or Winter Quarter gets underway. Some thoughts on all this:
There are plenty of Christian and non-Christian students who – for a variety of reasons – might be newly interested in your ministry… if only you were willing to shout from the rooftops (just like you did a few months ago).
Your campus also has transfer students, students who were studying abroad in the fall, and others who simply weren’t around this semester… but are now. Should they wait eight months to hear an excited invitation to join your group?
This may sound crazy, but one of the benefits of having multiple college ministries on a campus is that we can “pick up each other’s slack.” If a student gets disillusioned with my campus ministry, I hope they find another one – and sooner, rather than later. By recruiting after Winter Break, you’re helping this happen, too.
This is a huge opportunity for newer ministries, too. If you’re different from the other ministries, why not recruit at the time when students are looking for something different from what they’ve been experiencing?
Remember, recruitment doesn’t only serve to draw new students. It also invigorates your present students, lets the campus know you exist, and reminds you of your mission and uniquenesses. All good things! Why reserve them for only a few weeks in September?
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Yesterday, I wrote about one way a college ministry can take a “big leap” (which is the point of this “Going for Broke” series). That idea involved launching a new ministry effort – or even a truly new ministry altogether – to reach an underreached segment of your campus.
Honestly, there are probably several ways to “go for broke” that involve reaching out to niches at your school – or maybe even at other schools? (We’re thinking big this week, remember.) But as I’ve traveled the country and otherwise connected with hundreds of college ministries in the last several years, I’ve gained some wisdom (I hope) on taking this plunge. So here are some scattered thoughts on the Who of a niche-based leap for your college ministry.
- Not every characteristic provides a true niche. I’ve seen some attempts to identify reachable segments that don’t seem to connect to students’ actual experience. Not every dorm, section of campus, major, etc., needs to be targeted in a specialized way. If there’s not a true “identity” shared by members of the group, then they’re not that sort of niche… even if they happen to belong to the same honor society.
- Think like a student, not a city planner. Personally, I’d prefer that campuses be easily “mapped” for strategic outreach… but it doesn’t work that way. Students don’t congregate or self-identify around the lines an outsider might draw. Instead, it’s important to look at the actual reality on the ground. What interests, areas, activities, or other aspects have created actual student niches? Could / should any of them be reached in a special way? (Truthfully, your own students may have an easier time identifying these than you might!)
- Be willing to think small. Don’t assume a niche worthy of a unique ministry effort has to be a big niche. There may be a group of 10 or 50 individuals who remain “unreached” by previous ministry attempts. Be open to the call to reach them, and realize they could be harder to find because of their size.
- Be willing to think big. On the other hand, it’s possible to miss a potential niche because it seems so big. Maybe it’s the entire Greek system (and specialized efforts there have worked well on countless campuses). Maybe at your school, an entire class year – Sophomores? Fifth-year Seniors? – could use a tailored effort. Maybe there’s a need to reach men through a new ministry. Don’t overlook enormous opportunities just because they’re… enormous.
- Consider whom God has already brought. To me, this is one of the clearest signs of a potential niche to reach (whether in small ways or in the large-scale way I’m talking about here). Has God brought your ministry students who clearly identify with a niche that is generally underreached? Might he want to use those students to lead an effort, or at least to provide insight into what’s needed to reach their segment?
- Be strategic and thoughtful. Recognizing need isn’t the same as hearing God’s call, no matter how much we’d like for it to be. While noticing that the Arts crowd isn’t being reached may be the beginning of this process, it’s not an automatic call to establish a new work among them. It’s vital that we be thoughtful and strategic, and in the end, the call may be somebody else’s, or the need may be met in some other way.
- Be creative. On the other hand, noticing that kind of need could indeed lead to a new ministry eventually. So if this niche-based work is a possibility for your campus ministry, it’s worth looking high and low for ideas of groups to reach. Poll your students. Look through the list of student organizations. Pray like crazy – and then watch for unique ways God might answer. Ask your ministry’s alumni. Ask the administration.
- Consider service, not only outreach. As you’re thinking about whom you might reach, you might stumble upon the Who of a new niche ministry by thinking about whom to serve, not simply whom to recruit. Look at your campus through recruiting and evangelism eyes, and God may show you some niches. Look through the lens of “Who could really use our service?,” and He may provide you with some others. And on this score especially, campus administration may actually be a help – and then if you begin serving groups they’ve identified, all sorts of benefits may arise from that.
This is enough for now, but hopefully this is at least a start toward thinking about the Who of new niche-based efforts!
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The other day, I heard about some missionaries who were working really hard to reach some Japanese people for Christ in a particular city…
…in Australia!
After seeing the wide variety of college ministries around the country (and thinking about college ministry in terms of missions for so long), I honestly believe some of our best potential growth is in the area of niche-based ministry. Within the larger “campus tribe” each of us seeks to reach, there are likely numerous smaller niches that would benefit from particular outreach.
So how could some campus ministries “go for broke” to better reach their campuses? By launching extensive new outreaches – perhaps entire new ministries – to reach particular niches.
On many campuses, multiple college ministries seem to be largely attracting the same type of students. While today’s suggestion for “going for broke” doesn’t mean jettisoning your present ministry, your mission – if you choose to accept it – would involve establishing a major “beachhead” among groups that aren’t already being reached well.
We’re not just talking about beginning to invite such students to your present activities – although, of course, that’s always something worth considering. It’s just not today’s idea. The idea of this “Going for Broke” series is to throw out some major possibilities – in this case, perhaps even creating a whole new “spin-off” ministry quite different from your present forms. For many niches, this may be what’s needed if they’re going to be reached.
Through this, you might have the chance to better reach one of the “classic” niches that college ministries have found so much success in reaching already: International students. Athletes. Various ethnicities.
Your new ministry / major new outreach might connect with a group whose schedule, identity, geography, etc., indicate it could use this sort of effort: Engineering majors. Gamers. Those who spend almost all their time on South Campus. Commuters. Transfer students. A very specific minority group.
It might be even a group that rallies around a lifestyle or philosophy: The LBGT community. Thursday night partiers. Campus Republicans. Environmentalists. Mormons.
Tomorrow, I’ll post thoughts on finding / choosing a true “niche” of students to reach. Not all niches need a separate effort, and some college ministry work has “overshot” in this area. But if you look around at your campus, it’s likely you’ll see some group – even if it’s a small group – that you realize won’t likely ever be reached well by your present small groups, Large Group Meeting, or other activities.
Maybe some other college ministry will be called to reach them. But maybe yours is.
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I’m moving to a new house here in Dallas this week, so a Fridea springs to mind:
Serve students by helping them move (in or out) at times other than the start of school… and even in places other than the dorms!
I recognize “Move-in” is a widely used, classic method for service and recruitment each Fall. But students can be served at other times, too – like when they’re moving out of their dorms at Christmas or Summer Break. They need help moving back in after Christmas, too, and sometimes summer students could use some help, too!
Further, it’s not just dorm-living students who have to move stuff. While it may look a little different, it’s probably not too hard to get a crew of students to look for moving trucks (and then offer to help) at student-oriented apartment complexes.
Like a lot of our methods, we can often accomplish new purposes (or old purposes better) simply by thinking creatively about the classic methods that we’re already using (like start-of-school Move-in)!
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If your campus is on the Semester system, it’s likely that your usual “recruiting season” is winding down. But I was wondering if that schedule aligns well with actual student patterns. (Students and their habits are far messier than we would like them to be!)
There are plenty of students who – for better or worse – have been weighing options without jumping right into commitment. (They’re Millennials, remember!) They’re still looking for organizations to get involved in, a church home, whatever. And the freshmen are just now figuring out what “college life” kind of looks like.
So what if you spent a little more time and effort rolling out the red carpet to that kind of student?
And the second idea is like it: While you could recruit in the same ways you’ve been recruiting, you could also consider coming from a different direction:
- using some different tactics,
- approaching some different kinds of students, or
- even showing different sides of your ministry
…different tactics, students, or sides from your first “round” of recruiting.
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This week, I’ve been working hard to notice the good ideas for College Ministry embedded like Easter eggs within the things we encounter every day. It’s good to view the world through “college ministry lenses,” because you never know where a good idea for YOUR ministry might pop up.
Yesterday I was watching Saved by the Bell while I was getting ready for the day. It was the episode where Zack, Lisa, and Screech develop a “Teen Hotline” to give advice to fellow students.
So that got me thinkin’…
Could you provide some “extra help” in any way to students on your campus? This might even mean some sort of “question hotline” - maybe for new students in the first weeks of school, helping them find their class, deal with red tape, or otherwise “learn the ropes.” Or for Transfer Students, who likely don’t have nearly the help – from campus staff OR parents – that freshmen do. Or for International Students, all year long (the campus might even pay for that!).
Some campus help desks – like Auburn’s – are famous for their ability to answer any and all questions… but not every school has that. Could a college ministry do something along those lines?
If it’s not a phone line, what else could it be? I’ve written before about positioning “Map-Bringers” around campus to help new students. What if you ran a one-time seminar with “tips and tricks” for navigating your school, complete with panel discussion AND some input on picking a college ministry and a church? One ministry in Ft. Worth has done “city tours” as the semester started, giving great opportunities to start relationships while serving students in a real way. You could run a blog that functions like a “tip line,” with (anonymous) questions and answers for all to see – on any topic(s) you choose.
This is a fun one to chew on, but I better hit the brakes before this post gets too long… and you’re bound to come up with ideas that fit your campus best, anyway.
Thanks, Zack Morris!
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While it will always involve plenty of “art,” there are ways to make your college ministry’s recruitment a little more “science,” too. One of those methods is today’s Fridea:
Spend time figuring out how your present students were first drawn to your campus ministry.
Taking this important step can be scary, because it might just show that some of our full-of-energy methods are less effective than we thought. But that’s a really good thing to know. Meanwhile, we might find out that something else we do – or even something easy, something simple, or just something we can encourage our students to do – has made a real difference in the makeup of our ministry over time.
If we find out a method we haven’t focused on has worked fairly well, what might happen if we prioritized it a little more?
Much of our college ministry work could use a little more thought, and here’s one example. This Fridea would be an excellent way for you and/or your student leaders to spend some days this summer, and it’s bound to upgrade your recruitment in the Fall.
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