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Last week, I started posting on ways each of us can help advance the field of College Ministry, which will in turn strengthen all the individual college ministries out there. (And if you don’t feel the slightest urgency to do this, I’d challenge you to ponder why you don’t.)
Today, another simple way to help – and this one’s got a two-pronged benefit.
As I described last week, there are plenty of outside groups that could be impactful for our field; we’d be arrogant to think that we don’t need “outsiders” and their wisdom, talents, and resources. Seminaries, publishers, denominations, conferences, and all sorts of other parachurch ministries can all benefit us – if they choose to.
But how they do is much more important than whether they do it.
So one way we can help our field is by helping successful, useful bridges get built between these outside groups and the work we’re doing on campuses.
Take this week’s Catalyst Conference for example. By combining what I’ve experienced at the Catalyst Conference in the past WITH what I’ve learned about college ministers’ needs and wants, I’ve been able to build a “forum-within-a-conference” that hopefully serves college ministers really well this week! That’s building a bridge!
But not only that, I’ve gotten the chance to work with various Cohort sponsors. And as I have connected with these outside groups, I’ve done what I can to help them understand us – college ministers – as an audience. I want the giveaways they send, the advertising they provide, and the connections they make to be as effective (for us AND them) as possible!
When it comes to a seminary, we want their training for college ministers to be solid. If it’s a publisher, we want them to produce things that are useful and relevant. At a conference, sure we want more sessions that we college ministers can use… but we also want those sessions to be strong.
It’s not enough just to ask provocative questions or to help groups see the differences between youth ministry, college ministry, and young adult ministry. If and when these groups decide to connect with the field of College Ministry, we want to help them do that well. How can we do that?
- Encourage those groups to spend time getting to know our field.
- Give them examples of things they need to know… and also ways they might be less effective than they could be.
- Point them toward experts who understand our field well – and especially those who have connected with a wide range of different college ministries. (I’m very glad to help groups in this way, but others – especially state, regional, or national staff – are great for this, too.)
- Remind them that college ministers serve in a rather unique field – in many ways, we’re like foreign missionaries. So they’re going to need some unique tactics and some unique products in order to serve us best.
And that’s where the two-pronged effect of this strategy comes in. Not only do we help outside groups in connecting with us, we also end up on the receiving end of better resources, better services, and better impact!
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One of the most illuminating interactions I’ve been a part of occurred a few years ago at a forum for college ministers.
At the event, a major publisher sent a representative to gauge our interest in their products. They had marketed quite heavily to the collegiate ministry crowd, and they wanted to know how to connect with us even better. (Kudos to them for seeking our opinions!)
What followed was quite interesting.
The college ministers in attendance kept asking if this publisher planned to release any collegiate editions of their Young Adult small groups materials. Or, they suggested, perhaps the publisher could put out collegiate “study guides” to go along with the present materials, which – again – were targeted toward young adults.
It was fascinating to watch, because the representative was quite confused. In fact, I’m not sure he ever wrapped his head around what we were asking for. In his mind, their materials were for college students. But college ministers know better: What is needed by Young Adults isn’t always the same as what’s needed by collegians.
lumping
This is one example of the ways outsiders to the field of College Ministry often “lump us together” with other ministry fields. And so we’ve got another BIG opportunity to help advance our field – by helping delineate our arena of ministry from others.
College ministry isn’t the same as youth ministry. College ministry isn’t the same as young adult ministry, either. Sure, some events (like some large group meetings) might fit multiple groups. Sure, some positions (in churches, at least) might have to cover multiple arenas. But none of that means these fields are close enough to be lumped together in general. It’s like with veterinarians: They may be able to treat different species, but all those species are still different enough to matter.
We’ve got a long way to go here. Far too many churches, for example, treat “18-25″ (or an even larger span) as a natural grouping for ministry, when that’s only applicable in a few very specific contexts. Some seminaries try to put both youth and college ministry training under the same umbrella. Publishers, as noted above, might not even imagine we would want something different for our students than their standard Young Adult or Youth fare.
delineate
When we kindly, patiently, and clearly delineate these areas for outsiders, we’re actually helping advance our field! How?
- They realize that what goes on in our field is something unique.
- They realize that college students need different things than either high schoolers or young adults.
- They realize that college ministers need different things than ministers in other fields.
- …So they have the chance to tailor services and products that help us best.
Often, doing this can be combined with the Catalytic Questions idea: By asking what groups have specifically for college students or for college ministers instead of these other groups, you’re automatically delineating the arenas!
Other times, you may just need to ask for clarification, or provide clarification when outsiders lump us with other fields. (I’ve done that at least two or three times this week!) A question like, “Wait – did you say this was for youth ministers or for college ministers?” helps them know you see these arenas (rightly, I’d argue) as different enough to matter.
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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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How invested are you in helping advance the field of College Ministry?
I recognize that most college ministers have to tend to active ministries that can – and should – take the majority of their time. They are shepherds first, so fighting for the spiritual success of their immediate flock takes precedence over helping the entire field of College Ministry (or “Campus Ministry” or “Collegiate Ministry” – they’re all interchangeable terms).
But I would still urge you to see yourself as an “advancer of our field” (and to act on that identity, of course). Because if you won’t advance the field of College Ministry, who will?
We don’t have the reputation of foreign missionaries.
We don’t have the backing of youth ministers.
We don’t receive the attention that teaching pastors do.
We aren’t seen as “real ministers” by many American Christians.
Our work is misunderstood (or just “non-understood”) more than most other ministers’.
And yet we college ministers labor at the crux of education and culture, among millions from North America and millions from around the world, at the first moment individuals (and entire generations) are “released into the wild”, at the unique transition point for millions between the world of high school and the world of young adulthood, in places that serve as laboratories for the future of culture and the future of Christian ministry.
If you’re nodding along, it’s because you know these things to be true. Chances are, you’re one of only a few in your city who know these things.
If we won’t join the work of advancing our field, who will?
In the days to come (not every day, but some days), I’m going to look at simple ways we can each advance the field of College Ministry. Since what we do is a vital task, advancing what we do is a vital task.
[See the first method for advancing our field right here.]
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