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I’ve had a lot of fun with this “Going for Broke” series, looking at “big” moves that might be right for a few college ministries out there – and pondering them can also be impactful for the rest of us! So I figured I’d extend the series into this week!
For some college ministries (especially denominational campus-based ministries), having a building next to (or even on!) campus is a longstanding tradition. For others, it’s part of their history that they willingly – or for lack of funds – gave up a while back.
Some of the latter group – and others who have never had a building – would say they’re glad to be free of the trickiness of running the building, of the isolation of “housing” off-campus, etc.
But for some college ministries, the best “big move” they could make would be finding some sort of building.
Remember, college ministry is perhaps the most contextual field of ministry there is. So while this might be a terrible idea for plenty of campuses and ministries, other campuses could be highly impacted through a ministry building, a local hang-out house, a converted church, rented office space, or another established presence on the edges of the campus grounds. Even the variety of “spaces” alludes to the potential purposes that could be fulfilled here.
What might a “house” do for your ministry?
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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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This idea popped up as a Fridea a couple of years ago, but it seemed fitting for the “Going for Broke” series. This series offers some rather drastic ideas – they won’t fit every campus ministry, but they’re still worth thinking about!
When the new semester comes around, what if you took a week off to let student leaders absolutely “run things” all week – whatever “things” happen to compose your ministry?
I think that idea’s self-explanatory enough, but here are some thoughts if you need ‘em:
- Leader qualifications still apply; students who wouldn’t shepherd other students when you’re present certainly shouldn’t while you’re absent.
- Your “absence” is a relative idea. Some of you might give students the reins but keep a present, watchful eye. Others may choose to step out completely – to “go for broke” – and simply be “on call” all week.
- Of course, it doesn’t have to be a full week OR you don’t have to be absent from everything. It’s your call.
- Of course, this could also be longer than a week. It’s your call.
- Be sure to prepare your students.
- Be sure to debrief your students when it’s all done.
- Prepare yourself: for a weird ministry week… and for a few great new methods that you’d never thought of.
Oh, and one more:
- Don’t smile too much at your students’ challenges, and repeat after me: this isn’t revenge, it’s discipleship!
As always, we start with purposes, not with a “cool idea” that we then make up “purposes” for. If this method doesn’t match what God desires to accomplish now in your students and in your ministry, shelve it; it might come in handy later on. If you do give this sort of thing a try, don’t forget that it won’t only disciple your students, but it will give you the chance to assess how well you’re raising them up. (Scary, huh?)
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You want a Fridea that fits this “Going for Broke” series?
What if your college ministry started a business?
Laundromat. Laundry service. Restaurant. Coffee shop. Bookstore. Textbook store. Clothing store. Vintage clothing store. Event photography. Graphic design. Rentals.
And those are just ones with a campus-orientation that came to mind in one minute (although I’ve definitely pondered some of them before). It wouldn’t have to connect directly to the campus, and God’s far more creative than me…
If God grants that I get to continue helping advance the field of Collegiate Ministry, I’d love to be involved in helping alternative funding opportunities become widespread. I myself was supported through a textbook store, and I think there’s a lot of potential in this area.
It’s a HUGE idea, but it could bear HUGE fruit for the ministries that did it wisely, strategically, and excellently. And the fruit wouldn’t just be in funds (in fact, for some that might be pretty low on the list of purposes). Connections with students and serving a campus could be enormous outcomes here.
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Which would have a greater impact in two years:
- Your college ministry… continuing roughly as-is through that time?
- Your college ministry… if you took next semester completely off (in order to relearn, re-contextualize, and revamp or replant the ministry)?
Can you bring yourself to ask that question and to give an honest answer?
The “Going for Broke” series looks at potential BIG leaps some college ministries could make. Whether they challenge you to think or you’re able to consider these actual steps, I hope they’re helpful (and fun) to ponder.
I have no doubt that there would be a cost – a real cost to impact – if your college ministry went into “hibernation.” Your present students would need to find a new fellowship (and some might not!), your momentum in various areas would be lost, you’d lose ground in the reputation you’ve built among students (and others).
But if we’re going to talk about “going for broke,” we have to be willing to consider where we are and where we could be if we took drastic measures. And one of the most drastic would be taking a semester to examine your mission field anew.
That’s why I asked the original question the way I did: Because the concern isn’t whether you’d have an equally impactful ministry right away. It’s whether, over time, the ministry might be more impactful because you’ve let the ground lie fallow for awhile.
Remember: You know more as a college minister now than you used to. You know your campus better, too (so you’ll know better how to examine its needs and opportunities). You will be better at building a campus ministry now than you were when you started… and for many of us, we actually inherited much of our ministry’s form anyway.
If we’re at least willing to ask ourselves this question – seriously – we’re in a good position to improve our ministries (even if it doesn’t happen this way).
***A similar (but less drastic) idea would be to do this sort of reevaluation / reexamination while still maintaining the current ministry – simply not focusing on recruiting, or otherwise continuing a “bare bones” form. In some cases, this might work well; in others, this might be worse than taking a full sabbatical.
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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’ll be posting a new series over the next couple of weeks or so, just in time for the Christmas Break (for most of us, at least). My genuine hope is that whether you’re in a “go for broke” place with your ministry or happily cruising, these ideas will get you thinking about your vision for the coming months, semesters, and years.
going for broke: big leaps for better impact
At the end of yet another Fall Semester (or Quarter), is your college ministry where it’s supposed to be?
Notice, I’m not asking if your ministry is all it could possibly be – of course things could be better. But sometimes when we acknowledge that need and then point to the small ways we’re incrementally improving, we’re missing better, bigger ways we should be improving.
It’s possible to hide behind our plans for perpetual perfecting when instead big shifts are needed. These could be shifts in who you’re reaching, how you use your own time as a college minister, or the overall structure of your ministry. They might involve adjusting a long-practiced part of your ministry… or doing away with it altogether.
The truth is, even college ministries that seem to be going swimmingly should consider major adjustments from time-to-time. (Considering isn’t implementing, after all.) Sometimes even the act of pondering the potentialities gives us insight into our ministries we didn’t have before. We might not make all those big leaps we consider, but we might realize smaller steps worth taking through that process.
And every once in awhile, a big leap is exactly what’s called for.
This could have been a standalone post. Because it is an encouragement to use the next month to pray and think through “going for broke” in any area of your ministry. So, for today, I do want to encourage that process to begin (maybe even today). Give yourself some time (and the permission) to think about big shifts.
But I want to do more. So scattered through the posts of the next couple of weeks, I’m planning to post thoughts on “going for broke”:
- ways some ministries might want to consider taking big leaps,
- and thoughts on why, when, and how we should make major shifts in our college ministries
I think it’ll be a unique series, and I’m looking forward to it – in some ways, I think it’ll be especially fun to write (so I hope it will be fun to read, too).
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