Now is the time teams are formed and beginning to meet for mission trips during spring break and summer.  College students will be going all over the world, serving in every imaginable way.  Millions of dollars will be invested in these trips.  The lives of those going as well as those being served will be changed.  Students will be excited, parents a bit freaked out.  And leaders missing one of the most important aspects for college age people on a mission trip: exposure.

Serving is a crucial part of mission trips.  Build a well, house, or bridge.  Paint a hospital.  Work with orphans.  Pull together a VBS for children.  Through service like this people get exposed to some amazing things.  But, I’d suggest, especially if you’re going with college age people, to include days worth of exposure.  I’ve found that taking multiple days to show college age people different types of missionary work is one of the most impacting things I’ve done over the years.  Many of them have a skewed view of what a “missionary” is.  Most don’t realize that every profession can be utilized on the overseas field.  Let them see a music teacher who teaches piano in an orphanage, computer engineer working on a mission base, a marketing major seeking to help the culture gain respect for orphans in Romania.  Let them see the mechanic, the house wife, the 2nd grade teacher, the electrician, doctor, nurse, and the janitor taking care of the office area on the base.

Sometimes people don’t feel right about taking days for this.  I’ve done entire trips just for exposure.  And the fruit of it is amazing.

Make sure you spend time with all kinds of people, observing what they do and being able to hear their heart and story.  For some reason when people think of being a missionary they often fail to realize that any profession can be utilized.  As you plan your trip seek to include multiple “exposures” for your students.  Spend days just going around and talking with different people.  Help those you bring gain perspective of how practical it is for them to become a “missionary” regardless of what field of study they’re in!

Church leaders and parents are often anxious about their children going off to college.  And one of the most frequent concerns among them is the liberal nature of professors.  The amount of “liberal” professors far outweighs that of conservative.  In fact so much so that there have been studies on why this is the case.

One recent study done by the New York Times titled “Professor Is A Label That Leans To The Left,” asks why liberals seek to become academics, and why conservatives do not.  They say its basically like any other profession that is overwhelmingly held by one gender, such as nursing (women), or one political outlook, such as law enforcement (conservative).  They say the reputation of that particular field causes certain people to pursue it.

Makes sense to me.  But most interesting, to me at least, is another study called, “Conservatives Just Aren’t Into Academe,” found that the lack of conservatives in the academic field wasn’t due to discrimination, but rather because conservatives weren’t choosing to go into the field.

Now, I’m not sure how they define liberal and conservative – whether that’s Democrat and Republican, Christian and non-Christian, Green or non-Green…no idea.  Nevertheless, I think it’s interesting that this field is not pursued by conservatives more.  You’d think it would be different…

Why do you think this is the case?

One of the most serious critiques Christians get from non-Christians is we are judgmental.  People say all the time, “Christians aren’t supposed to judge other people” and yet most only see Christians as that.  For instance, watch this short video clip of basketball legend Charles Barkley:

Of course you probably don’t agree with everything he just said, but it’s easy to focus on our areas of disagreement and not seek to understand where he’s coming from. His perspective, I mean.

Right or wrong, his perspective is that Christians are unauthentic, hypocritical – and particularly when it comes to judging others.  But the real question for us is: Is he right?  Are we not supposed to judge people?  As a small group, watch the video and discuss this topic.  Here are some possible questions you can talk about:

1. Does the bible say we can’t judge others?  If so, where?
2. In Matthew 7:1-5, what is the principle Jesus is trying to get across?  Is it a blanket statement to not judge anyone, for any reason?
3. Read Matthew 18:15-20 and discuss how to reconcile this with Matthew 7:1-5.
4. Does the bible distinguish between judging believers and judging those who don’t believe?  After some discussion, Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 and talk about this question based on Paul’s statement.  Is this acceptable only because this person is a part of the church, or is this universally applicable?  (Also talk about the end goal of his statement, this is important.)  Read 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 and talk about it’s implications.
5. Is there a balance between judging others and confronting sin?  If so, what is it and how do we keep that balance? (see Titus 3:3-5 for thoughts)

Ok, I know this study has some holes in it.  That’s where you come in and hopefully the discussion fills in.  Part of the fun…

This morning I was putting down some of thoughts for my seminar(s) coming up for the Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Chicago February 26 – March 1.  I’ve been at the previous two years of the conference and I’ve really enjoyed it.  I’ve met some really cool people and since the conference is very “discussion-based” it’s easy to do so.

I will be doing a “Half Track” on Church-based College Ministry.  This is a 4 hour session, broken up into two 2hr. blocks.  I’m really looking forward to this, having a ton of time for conversation and dialogue about the trenches of every day ministry to college age people.  Here is what I’ll be teaching on (I can’t seem to find the actual descriptions for the seminars, but here’s an idea):

Session One: Understanding the Focus of the Ministry

This session will concentrate on assimilating college age people into our churches as a whole, how to help older believers overcome intimidation of investing in younger people, helping younger people see the value of having an older person in their lives, practical ways for cultivating inter-generational relationships, and how to start and sustain these things.

Session Two: Understanding the People

This session will concentrate on understanding college-age people, including some of the latest research and resources helping us understand these aspects of their life.  And we’ll dive into deeper faith aspects they’re dealing with and how to equip older believers in the church to help guide college age people in these areas.

Should be a fun time.  I do know that if you register for the conference before January 25th, you save some money…may want to check that out.

Well, I wasn’t able to attend because I was speaking somewhere else, but this past weekend was Passion2010.  Approximately 20,000 college age people from all over the country (and even beyond) packed an arena for one weekend.  They heard some of the top communicators in the church today – Francis Chan, Louie Giglio, Beth Moore, Andy Stanley…on and on and sang along with some of the best worship leaders in the church today – David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Kristian Stanfill, Steve Fee…on and on.

One word for this: potential.

Louie and the Passion team have been able to ignite something in college age people.  And, they’re able to channel that potential.  What I mean by that is they are able to gather and focus them, and move them toward action in the world.  God has given them a platform for this – and I think it’s great!  I love what they are doing.

There was also a ton of money raised for organizations around the world.  From my understanding the attendees themselves raised just under $700k – and this was also matched by someone – bringing it to over $1.3 million raised in one weekend.  This is truly amazing – and significant.

But you know, you don’t have to have a “Passion2010″ of your own to gather and focus college age people.  You don’t need Francis or Louie to come and speak, nor do you need Crowder or Chris come lead worship.  You just need to live with college age people and help each individual focus their passion…one day and one person at a time.

Please understand something: the 5, 10, 15 or 20+ college age people you work with have the same potential.  Sure, quantity is going to be smaller.  But the possibilities still remain endless.  Be faithful with those God has given you.  Whatever platform you’ve been given, use if faithfully.  Take one student that you meet with and help them live their life for the Lord.  You’ll be just as “successful” as anyone else in ministry.  I thank God for the Passion team, but I also thank God for people who are simply being faithful with the few they’ve been entrusted with.  Jesus was faithful with 12 people and lived more closely with fewer than that…and the world was changed.  Never forget how much potential is right in front of you everyday.

Lastly, if you took some students to Passion2010…don’t let it stop there.  Don’t just let it be an amazing event.  Use it for what it is: a means to an end…

In my opinion the enthusiasm, ideas and energy college age people bring to the table cannot be compared to another age stage.  We ought to allow them to take the lead, assume responsibility, and in some capacity to even tell us what should be done.  But that doesn’t mean we don’t have to lead them nor does it suggest we can be aloof when it comes to understanding some balances to be watchful of.

One of the best lessons I learned through the years is to take things slowly and especially when it comes to putting people into leadership positions.  One of the balances we need to be very careful of working in college ministry is that of giftedness and character.  College age people aren’t lacking in giftedness, but character can be an issue.  Now, I know plenty of college age people that have a very solid character, but I also know those that have giftedness that far surpasses their character.  This was my story when I was in college.  I had some gifts, but my character fell far behind.  I wasn’t living a crazy lifestyle, but I didn’t have to for my character to be lacking.  It’s said that giftedness is what gets you places, but character is what keeps you there.  We need to focus on the character of people and intentionally think through whether or not giving them a leadership position (in any capacity) is best for their long term character development.  We don’t usually think about it this way.  We see the gifts someone has and then typically release them in ministry.  But often times this can lead to a damaged heart and potentially one filled with so much pride that it causes their ministry to come to an end.  So, I’d encourage you to be very mindful of who you place in leadership.  They don’t need to be perfect (we certainly are not), but there ought to be a balance of how we lead them in developing their character and giftedness.

College age people can have a tendency to push for their gifts to be developed, but not necessarily their character.  This usually isn’t ill motive on their part as much as it’s ignorance and a lack of wisdom.  They want to be used by God, which is a great thing, but they have limited life experience to see beyond this and into their own heart.  God desires them to be Christ-like in character, not necessarily to be used like Christ was used. Differentiating this for college age people and helping them understand where we’re coming from can be a very lengthy process, but it’s worth it.

It’s at the end of the year when we can really evaluate our lives, ministry, and direction.  The turn of a year is a sort of God-caused-pause in our lives.  We all have things we’d like to have done different in ‘09, those things we’re thankful for (possibly even the mistakes we made), and we can look to a new year of vision and direction.  But before we can look to were we’re going in the next year, it really helps to evaluate where we’ve been.  What I’d like to do, very briefly, is list out some questions that can help you evaluate your year in college ministry so far.  These certainly aren’t the end all of questions to ask, but I hope they can catapult some thought for you…

First for some personal one’s I’ve asked myself:

1. Did I study for the purpose of “doing ministry” more than operate out of the overflow of what God was already teaching me?
2. What is one aspect of life (ministry, personal time, wife, kids, family as a whole, etc.) I need to give more attention in 2010?
3. Does my spouse agree with my answer to #2?
4. How has my character grown to be more like Christ this year?
5. What are two mistakes I made this past year that I’d like to avoid making again in 2010?
6. What character issues do I feel like God wants to continue working on in the new year?
7. What are some really cool things that happened that I want to remember and continue to celebrate?

Now for some ministry questions for evaluation:

1. Are people growing spiritually?  If so, how do we measure that?  Do our measurements really help us see spiritual growth?  What are some possible measurements that we can begin using in 2010?
2. Am I keeping the long-term spiritual maturity process of college age people in mind as I plan and move forward in ministry?  In other words, am I preparing them for what’s after our college ministry – and if so, how?  If not, then why?
3. How have we helped them think through the normal age-stage issues they face on a daily basis?  How can we be more effective in that in 2010?
4. What are the true needs of college age people and are we focusing on meeting those?
5. What are some things we did that worked and would like to try again?
6. What are some things that didn’t work and what caused that “failure?”  Are there little things we can tweak to make them be more effective, or do we throw that one out?

I’d recommend not thinking through these in a vacuum.  Include your spouse and close friends on the personal questions and include ministry leaders in the ministry questions.

Today I had breakfast with a guy in the Portland area who has a heart for college age people.  He goes to a church near where I live and wants to do something for all the students here in the Portland area.  Man, this guy is thinking HUGE.  He is even willing to put a ton of money toward making this happen.  I sat across from this man for over two hours today, listened to his heart, and a few things really stood out to me – so I would share them here hopefully as an encouragement:

1. This guy has to be in his 60’s and yet is extremely passionate about those in the college age stage of life.  I think there is a ton more out there like him…even in your church!
2. The key for him was he saw firsthand the benefit of ministering to college age people.  He caught a glimpse of the passion of college age people, he saw them take leaps of faith, and he saw life’s changed.  I think if we were more intentional about exposing more older adults to college age people more would catch on.
3. Sometimes older believers get a sense of urgency that is so cool.  Some get to a point where they realize they’re not getting younger and really want their last years to be meaningful.  It’s when we actually sit down with them and listen that we see this.
4. College age people aren’t the only zealous ones out there…this guy’s zeal could ignite a passion in any college student!
5. I love how some older men and women can dream so big – and yet couple that with wisdom.  Only life experience can bring that about.
6. There are some older people, even in our churches, that really “get it” – I mean really understand what it means to be a follower of Christ, understand there’s a bigger purpose in life than living for ourselves, and don’t get hung up on things that ultimately don’t matter.
7. Wisdom doesn’t allow personal preference determine what we’re a part of – this was obvious with this guy today.  Wow.

As the end of the year approaches I thought I’d do something a little different.  I rarely check the stats on this blog, but I decided to do so this morning to see which posts were read the most this year.  As I browsed through them I was a little surprised.  But I thought I’d post what the top 5 were.  Next, I’ll try to post the ones that got the most comments…just can’t figure out how to do that yet.  I’m a rookie with this stuff.  Anyway, here are the top 5 read posts of 2009 here at CollegeMinistryThoughts.com:

1. College-age Sunday School – I asked some questions about whether or not it was effective

2. University As Mission Field – This one really got people fired up.

3. University As Mission Field – Part II – I was able to give more perspective on what I was saying in Part I.

4. Small(er) Groups – Part III – this was the last of a short series where I challenge the idea of small groups

5. Terms We Use – I talk through different ways in which we label our ministry