Friday, October 28, 2011

"Wise Sayings and Principles of College Ministry" - Part 1

This the first in a series I will be posting. I plan to post during the series about twenty principles and wise sayings that float around among experienced college ministers. No one knows who said them first and there would not be unanimous agreement that all are true. Many you likely have heard and some probably you have not.
1. It takes 3 years to get your ministry going to it's full capacity or for it to become your own.

2. A meeting space will only fill to 80% capacity on a regular basis.

3. Once students have been inside your regular meeting place, they are more likely to come back.

More to come...your comments or submissions invited!
Arliss

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

5 Secrets of Successful College Ministers

I am so blessed to be in a position where I get to be around and talk with lots of College Ministers. Some call and we talk and a few of those I have been fortunate enough to go to their campus and see them in action. Here is the first thing I have learned: the ones who ask for help are the ones who are already doing a terrific job! I have been fortunate to get to be friends with and be around some of the best ones. Let me share what I think are their "secrets".

1. They keep looking and learning new things. They never feel they have it figured out. They are always looking at other ministries and asking questions. They are willing and open to learn from those who aren't as successful or experienced as they are.

2. They don't make major changes each year; they just tweak it a little here and there. They keep building on their campus situation and personal spiritual gifts. They continue to be students of their campus and situation.

3. They build their ministry up by building up their student leaders (both spiritually and numerically). They look for and develop leaders.

4. They look for and allow others to counter-balance their weaknesses. They are not afraid to promote others or put them in the spotlight.

5. They understand that a ministry of any size must have significant funding and they are willing to commit time and priority to raising money to develop and expand their ministry and or staff.