If you’re among the large number of college ministers who has a more relaxed schedule in summertime, I’ve got a challenge for you. Do a few things you would do if you were starting your college ministry from scratch. What could you learn/relearn about your context? What members of the …
What are your plans for connecting with students over the summer? You may be in a position to contact most or all of your students, but chances are you’re not. There might simply be too many of them to reach, or your summer ministry work may need attention that keeps …
I remember a summer during college when I consistently looked forward to being back on campus, and back attending a big on-campus college ministry I’d enjoyed. How can you inspire that feeling in your students? If you’re not interested in inspiring your students to look forward to the fall – …
If churches all over the country held a draft of potential leaders as students graduate from college, how early would your college students be drafted? Or if churches “hit the recruiting trail” (like college coaches do when recruiting high school athletes), would church leaders plead with your students to join …
Forgive my lack of blogging most of last week – our annual church conference always plays with my schedule. I’m back in action! When is the last time you reassigned a leader because they – or you – realized their strengths could be used even better somewhere else? Students’ short …
You may be at the part of your season when you’re already pencilling in plans for the next school year. But are your student leaders involved in those? And how involved will students be in decision-making this summer? From small tweaks to large changes to regularly-scheduled decisions (like teaching topics), …
When your college ministry’s students change majors, do they discuss that decision beforehand with their small group leader or their college minister? When they’re considering studying abroad, do they bring that up before they’ve made the decision? What about when they plan to drop a class, or they choose between …
It makes sense that most “new school year” planning takes place in the summer, when college ministers have the chance to breathe a little. But one big aspect of your strategy shouldn’t wait: ideation. Why generate ideas at a time when most of your best idea engines (your students) are …
I’ve seen college ministers pay too much attention to the ideas or opinions of singular, noisy students. But I also think there are plenty of “well-oiled machines” out there, college ministries that have run well – and haven’t changed much – for awhile now. In that case, it would be …
One big focus on this blog is encouraging you to have the kind of college ministry that your campus looks to for help in times of crisis. But whether or not you’ve ever gotten that call, you have even more control over whether or not your ministry and your students …
