Terms We Use

Chuck on August 20th, 2008

I have been thinking about the different terms we use for our ministries for a very long time (about 9 years or so).  So, I wanted to throw out some of the different terms and thoughts behind them and see where you land in the mix.  Here are some different terms used to describe our ministries:

College Ministry

  • Pro’s: hits the age stage we’re trying to reach, provides a natural progression after high school, is universal enough to include community college or university students
  • Con’s: limits the ministry to students – possibly alienating those not attending school, makes it tough for those who graduate college and still find themselves in a limbo/late adolescent stage of life to feel comfortable 

University Ministry

  • Pro’s: same pro’s as above, but also makes it more comfortable for those 5th and 6th year seniors to feel comfortable in the ministry.  It also allows graduate students to feel more comfortable coming.
  • Con’s: limits it to students, often leaving non-students wondering if it’s appropriate for them to come

Emerging Adults

  • Pro’s: avoids limiting ministry to students, newer terminology, helps articulate the stage of life being one of people that are entering adulthood – but aren’t there yet
  • Con’s: ambiguous, can be linked with the “emergent” movement (this could be negative or positive depending on your focus), doesn’t give any age range of appropriateness which can alienate graduating high school students

Young Adults

  • Pro’s: gives the impression of including all phases of life after high school and before married life, can take on any personality and reputation
  • Con’s: is very ambiguous, suggests that an 18 year old is an adult – which can make it difficult for them to feel comfortable transitioning right after high school, will likely focus more either on recent high school grads or those older twenty somethings

College-Career

  • Pro’s: allows for the most amount of people to feel comfortable
  • Con’s: recent high school grads need specific attention – very different from college grads pursuing a career – so consequently it will tend to focus on one end of the spectrum and neglect to other, some high school grads can be intimidated 

Post High

  • Pro’s: easy transition for recent high school grads, focuses on age range
  • Con’s: seems “young” so tends to alienate those 21 and older

Many of these are good, but I’ve chosen not to use any of them.  The one I choose to use is “College-age Ministry” because it doesn’t limit it to students, it provides natural progression for high school grads, allows the church to define what this age range is, and pretty much says everything most of the above does without alienating anyone.  I personally don’t see any con’s other than it’s longer.  But, feel free to chime in!

Which one do you use, and why?

Related posts:

  1. Helping Grads Transition
  2. A New “Spiritual Discipline”
  3. Transitioning H.S. Grads
  4. Be a Resource
  5. Isn’t as new as we think…

Share Discuss (11)

Mike Lovato at 12:34pm August 21

We’ve made the same choice with college-age ministry….although we do still use college ministry a lot. We’re in a city with TONS of college students so I still want “college” to be part of the name….it makes for us to target students. But we also want to include those who head straight to the workforce.

Bill at 6:18pm May 8

I have a 4-year degree, as do my mother and sister. All of us waited three or more years to start college after high school. Between high school and college I cringed at the thought of going to anything “college” because you always get asked what school you go to, what’s your major, etc. Three of my four kids are currently in the same boat, toying with college but all currently working in fast-food, and one a single mom (the three are ages 19, 20, and 22). Also, fast-food is hardly a career. Going to a “college” event is the worst thing for a kid in that situation. It’s awkward and they’d rather swallow thumb tacks. Ministry should be all-inclusive, not unintentionally elitist. If you care about my kids, you’ll provide them with a safe, loving environment. And, by the way, non-college kids outnumber college kids. From a secular marketing perspective, it’s a very poor business decision. I love the “Twenty-something” phrase listed above. I think I’ll recommend that to my church.