In doing some reading on an intentional Freshmen Ministry, one writer (sorry I dont remember which) said something like, "If you want 100 freshmen involved, you have to enlist 200; 50% will drop out.". One of my huge frustrations through the years has been seeing freshmen disappear.
Why do Freshmen drop out?
-Some attend events looking for friends....if they don't connect relationally, they go elsewhere.
-Some get a part time job after a couple of weeks and their schedule and time availability change completely.
-But, the biggest departure point for us always seemed to be about the halfway point of the semester....when the seriousness of school and the reality of losing a scholarship really kicked in.
So, what do you do? One thing to do is keep records. Do you have a sign in list for your Freshmen events? Or, do your Freshmen Bible Study leaders keep a list of who is there and who is not?
I am convinced that that many miss a week or two because of prepping for a big test, etc and either they are not missed OR they are embarrassed to come. I genuinely believe those two things are key. No body missed me or I'm embarrassed to go back. Staying connected is huge.
A third huge drop out point for Freshmen is when their Freshmen groups end. Some argue that it is best to have specialized Freshmen groups meet following your main weekly event instead of on another night. That way they become attached to the main event that they can attend throughout their college years....not just a Freshmen event that will end at the end of a semester or at the end of freshmen year.
Do 50% of freshmen drop out?
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
The Single Most Effective Way to Grow or Enlarge a College Ministry
I have long believed the single most effective way to grow or enlarge your College Ministry is with an intentional and specific Freshmen Ministry. Several years ago in our ministry at Arkansas State we began to do a Freshmen Night each Monday with Family Groups led by upperclassmen. Recently I read, "Drop What You're Doing and Build a Movement" by Tim Casteel, Cru Director at the University of Arkansas. He gives in great detail, with other attached articles, a specific plan for developing and organizing a Freshmen Ministry. I recommend this article to you.
10 of My How and Why Do Freshmen Ministry:
1. Many college freshmen shipwreck their lives in their first semester of college. Your ministry can be a lifeguard.
2. Freshmen are looking for friends and fun.
-Have fun Freshmen events the first two weeks.
-Combine fun and spiritual throughout the fall.
3. I used to think sharp sophomores were great to lead Freshmen groups....they had just been there and survived.....I was wrong!
-Their immaturity would pop up at just the wrong time.
-We found many were doing it for the position not the ministry.
4. Do practical Bible studies that help freshmen with key issues.
-Dealing with Doubt
-Making Good Decisions
-Accepting Forgiveness
5. Go looking for missing freshmen after Reality Week. College seems like summer camp at the beginning of the fall semester. Everybody is having Welcome Parties and there is free food everywhere. But, about 2 or 3 weeks in, there comes the first set of tests...boom....life quits being fun. It so shell shocks many freshmen who just failed their first test ever. They immediately drop everything they were doing.
-Go find and re-enlist them.
6. Connect with as many incoming Freshmen as possible throughout the summer.
-Other groups are looking for them and connecting with them.
-These freshmen can bring other freshmen to your start of school events.
7. Spend wisely Extravagantly on freshmen events at the start of school.
-How does the quality of your event compare to the quality of a Greek Rush party?
8. Connect personally with freshmen (I don't care how old you are.)
-Invite 3 or 4 at a time for a coke and a visit (I kept my fridge stocked with cokes.)
-Eat lunch in the cafeteria or food court with a table full of freshmen as often as possible.
9. Draw out some freshmen for extra investment as the semester progresses.
-Some will just naturally rise to the top.
-Some will come to you asking for more.
10. Before school starts send an invitation to some freshmen inviting them to be part of a Freshmen Leasership Team for the purpose of growing as a leader and developing friendships with other students who want to grow as a leader.
10 of My How and Why Do Freshmen Ministry:
1. Many college freshmen shipwreck their lives in their first semester of college. Your ministry can be a lifeguard.
2. Freshmen are looking for friends and fun.
-Have fun Freshmen events the first two weeks.
-Combine fun and spiritual throughout the fall.
3. I used to think sharp sophomores were great to lead Freshmen groups....they had just been there and survived.....I was wrong!
-Their immaturity would pop up at just the wrong time.
-We found many were doing it for the position not the ministry.
4. Do practical Bible studies that help freshmen with key issues.
-Dealing with Doubt
-Making Good Decisions
-Accepting Forgiveness
5. Go looking for missing freshmen after Reality Week. College seems like summer camp at the beginning of the fall semester. Everybody is having Welcome Parties and there is free food everywhere. But, about 2 or 3 weeks in, there comes the first set of tests...boom....life quits being fun. It so shell shocks many freshmen who just failed their first test ever. They immediately drop everything they were doing.
-Go find and re-enlist them.
6. Connect with as many incoming Freshmen as possible throughout the summer.
-Other groups are looking for them and connecting with them.
-These freshmen can bring other freshmen to your start of school events.
7. Spend wisely Extravagantly on freshmen events at the start of school.
-How does the quality of your event compare to the quality of a Greek Rush party?
8. Connect personally with freshmen (I don't care how old you are.)
-Invite 3 or 4 at a time for a coke and a visit (I kept my fridge stocked with cokes.)
-Eat lunch in the cafeteria or food court with a table full of freshmen as often as possible.
9. Draw out some freshmen for extra investment as the semester progresses.
-Some will just naturally rise to the top.
-Some will come to you asking for more.
10. Before school starts send an invitation to some freshmen inviting them to be part of a Freshmen Leasership Team for the purpose of growing as a leader and developing friendships with other students who want to grow as a leader.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
The Biggest Unanswered Question in College Ministry Today
There are a lot of unanswered questions in College Ministry today. Will churches and denominations continue to make cuts in College Ministry? Will State and private colleges and universities continue to make policies that limit Christian Ministries or force them to leave campus? As huge as these and other questions might be, I don't think they are the biggest.
In my mind, the single biggest question in College Ministry today is, "Will churches aimed primarily or solely at college students develop commitment to church after college days?".
Many years ago, a pastor told me he did not like our campus based ministry because his students didn't like his church after attending a campus ministry. His point was that students became "spoiled" to everything being aimed at them and for them. Of course, I responded with all we did to point students to the church, not just to our ministry. But, is there truth in what he said? We all like things tailored to us.
In our great concern for the growing loss of 20somethings to the church, one of the answers has been "start campus based churches". In fact, some now advocate that as the only answer. What will campus based churches produce 20 years from now in terms of church attendance, lay leadership in churches and most importantly on-going relationship with the Lord? I don't know. In fact, no one knows.
I was leading a workshop for a group of Sunday School teachers who taught university students in a traditional church. In the midst of our discussion, one of the volunteers said, "What students do about church after college is not our concern". I wholeheartedly disagreed then and do now. Perhaps, he was saying we can't control what they do after college when it comes to church. I agree with that.
But, part of what we do in reaching college students for Christ must be pointing them to the future...how they can serve, how they can give, how God would use them.....and doing it as part of a church....not a Lone Ranger in faith. Remember the new survey category...."spiritual, but not religious". That's not a goal of any College Ministry....that I know of.
Will "College Student Only" churches point students to church later in life? I don't know.....no body does.
In my mind, the single biggest question in College Ministry today is, "Will churches aimed primarily or solely at college students develop commitment to church after college days?".
Many years ago, a pastor told me he did not like our campus based ministry because his students didn't like his church after attending a campus ministry. His point was that students became "spoiled" to everything being aimed at them and for them. Of course, I responded with all we did to point students to the church, not just to our ministry. But, is there truth in what he said? We all like things tailored to us.
In our great concern for the growing loss of 20somethings to the church, one of the answers has been "start campus based churches". In fact, some now advocate that as the only answer. What will campus based churches produce 20 years from now in terms of church attendance, lay leadership in churches and most importantly on-going relationship with the Lord? I don't know. In fact, no one knows.
I was leading a workshop for a group of Sunday School teachers who taught university students in a traditional church. In the midst of our discussion, one of the volunteers said, "What students do about church after college is not our concern". I wholeheartedly disagreed then and do now. Perhaps, he was saying we can't control what they do after college when it comes to church. I agree with that.
But, part of what we do in reaching college students for Christ must be pointing them to the future...how they can serve, how they can give, how God would use them.....and doing it as part of a church....not a Lone Ranger in faith. Remember the new survey category...."spiritual, but not religious". That's not a goal of any College Ministry....that I know of.
Will "College Student Only" churches point students to church later in life? I don't know.....no body does.
Friday, July 11, 2014
What You Ask for affects What You Get
Summer is a time of raising funds and thanking friends who support College Ministry. Seasoned fund Raisers categorize their donors according to their ability to give, what they have given in the past, etc. They have learned that asking for too Little is just as much a mistake as asking for too much. Some years ago I was involved in a campaign to raise a million dollars for College Ministry in Arkansas. A general mailing was sent out and it mentioned giving something like a hundred dollars. Return mail brought a check for $100 from a supporter who we had planned to ask for $50,000. He was done. He had done what we asked. As far as I know, he never made an additional gift.
In a general mailing one way to do that is to list different needs. They can vary from a magazine subscription to a new copy machine to a month's salary for an Assistant Campus Minister, etc. A "Wish List" of needed items in a variety of prices give people the opportunity and awareness to give something meaningful to them and in a price category that fits their ability and willingness to give.
One ministry that I know of sends out a list of all of their start of school outreach events and what each will cost. You could choose to sponsor the Hamburger Cookout for the football team at $500 or the $50 for the 100 flyers, etc.
In a general mailing one way to do that is to list different needs. They can vary from a magazine subscription to a new copy machine to a month's salary for an Assistant Campus Minister, etc. A "Wish List" of needed items in a variety of prices give people the opportunity and awareness to give something meaningful to them and in a price category that fits their ability and willingness to give.
One ministry that I know of sends out a list of all of their start of school outreach events and what each will cost. You could choose to sponsor the Hamburger Cookout for the football team at $500 or the $50 for the 100 flyers, etc.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
YOU Are the Biggest Asset of Your Ministry!
You are the main thing your College Ministry has going for it.....pretty scary huh! God created you with specific gifts and abilities. So, make sure you are utilizing them to the fullest. Don't slight your strengths to work on your weaknesses. Don't ignore your weaknesses, but don't let them keep you from being the best you. If you are a speaker, then spend time preparing to speak. If you are an organizer, spend time organizing. this is not an excuse to do poorly in other areas. But, it is a reminder that you need to plan and work in a way that utilizes your strengths/gifts to the max.
You are the FACE of your ministry. Parents look for people to be a role model and an example to their sons and daughters. I've seen ministries that parents told their kids to stay away from.....because of the leader. Potential financial supporters want to invest in the ministry of some one in whom they believe. Most great ministries have an identifying face. You are that face. People identify with people. You must be responsible to embody the ministry that you lead.
One year our ministry had large professionally printed posters all around campus. I got on an elevator in a men's dorm and someone had taped one of our posters on the wall of the elevator. I got off the elevator at my floor. A few minutes later, I got back on the same elevator....someone had spit on the picture of me. I took it that my face had not drawn them to our ministry. For better or worse, you are the face....it is daunting....it is scary...it is a responsibility....it is a stewardship.
You are the FACE of your ministry. Parents look for people to be a role model and an example to their sons and daughters. I've seen ministries that parents told their kids to stay away from.....because of the leader. Potential financial supporters want to invest in the ministry of some one in whom they believe. Most great ministries have an identifying face. You are that face. People identify with people. You must be responsible to embody the ministry that you lead.
One year our ministry had large professionally printed posters all around campus. I got on an elevator in a men's dorm and someone had taped one of our posters on the wall of the elevator. I got off the elevator at my floor. A few minutes later, I got back on the same elevator....someone had spit on the picture of me. I took it that my face had not drawn them to our ministry. For better or worse, you are the face....it is daunting....it is scary...it is a responsibility....it is a stewardship.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
My Bad High School English Teacher!
I had a bad high school English teacher. She was demanding. She made us memorize poetry. She kept fussing at us to have more curiosity about things. She didn't take excuses. She expected us to do what she assigned. We didn't like her much!
I'm not sure what year later that it dawned on me that she was a great teacher. Her main goal was not that we like her. Her main goal was that we learn and be better off as a result of her class. A great temptation in College Ministry is to want students to like you....so much that you don't expect a lot from them and you don't challenge them about some things. For several years I had one year Assistants or Interns. I would always caution them about the temptation to settle for being liked....instead of being respected.
One of the great pluses of being an older Campus Minister is you have realized you are passed your students thinking you are cool...it probably passed some years before you thought it did too. But, They can respect you more and more each year. And, it might not even dawn on them till sometime after college how much you meant to them.
Are you will willing to tell them things they don't want to hear? Are you willing to push them a little farther? What about when they tell you they didn't read that book they just reported? Respect is a whole lot more important than being liked. Respect lasts longer than cool....and what earns respect doesn't change like what's cool does each year.
By the way, I can still quote some of that poetry. "In this secluded space oh miracle of grace, no mortal eye but mine hath seen that face......"
I'm not sure what year later that it dawned on me that she was a great teacher. Her main goal was not that we like her. Her main goal was that we learn and be better off as a result of her class. A great temptation in College Ministry is to want students to like you....so much that you don't expect a lot from them and you don't challenge them about some things. For several years I had one year Assistants or Interns. I would always caution them about the temptation to settle for being liked....instead of being respected.
One of the great pluses of being an older Campus Minister is you have realized you are passed your students thinking you are cool...it probably passed some years before you thought it did too. But, They can respect you more and more each year. And, it might not even dawn on them till sometime after college how much you meant to them.
Are you will willing to tell them things they don't want to hear? Are you willing to push them a little farther? What about when they tell you they didn't read that book they just reported? Respect is a whole lot more important than being liked. Respect lasts longer than cool....and what earns respect doesn't change like what's cool does each year.
By the way, I can still quote some of that poetry. "In this secluded space oh miracle of grace, no mortal eye but mine hath seen that face......"
Monday, June 30, 2014
Are You Trying to Make Students Be Just Like You?
One of the real easy temptations in College Ministry is to just reach out to students like you.....or....try to shape students to be just like you.
Have you noticed that many students go to the seminary from which their College Minister graduated or currently favors? This is an example of how, without realizing it, we tend to shape students in our own mold. The problem with this is that it limits our outreach to those students who are not drawn to our particular personality, gifts and ministry style.
One of the basic truths of scripture is that we are a body made up of different parts. When we try to make everyone just like us, we deny the truth of scripture. Are you limiting your ministry to those who want to be just like you? Do students who see things a little differently than you do feel wanted and needed in your ministry?
Look around your ministry. How similar are your students in thought, style, and gifts? Too often students in a particular College Ministry all look the same. In situations I have been familiar with, once you met a student you good easily guess what College Ministry or Church they had connected to. A healthy ministry has a wide variety of people. Remember; who you reach determines who you can and cannot reach. A cheerleader at our University once told me she was not cool enough to attend a particular ministry. I've thought cheerleaders were pretty cool ever since Junior High.
Have you noticed that many students go to the seminary from which their College Minister graduated or currently favors? This is an example of how, without realizing it, we tend to shape students in our own mold. The problem with this is that it limits our outreach to those students who are not drawn to our particular personality, gifts and ministry style.
One of the basic truths of scripture is that we are a body made up of different parts. When we try to make everyone just like us, we deny the truth of scripture. Are you limiting your ministry to those who want to be just like you? Do students who see things a little differently than you do feel wanted and needed in your ministry?
Look around your ministry. How similar are your students in thought, style, and gifts? Too often students in a particular College Ministry all look the same. In situations I have been familiar with, once you met a student you good easily guess what College Ministry or Church they had connected to. A healthy ministry has a wide variety of people. Remember; who you reach determines who you can and cannot reach. A cheerleader at our University once told me she was not cool enough to attend a particular ministry. I've thought cheerleaders were pretty cool ever since Junior High.
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