Absence of Ministries…

Chuck on August 28th, 2008

We all know that college-age ministry is a sort of “red-headed step child” of the church.  This is rapidly changing in many contexts, but at the same time many (in fact most) churches have yet to embrace this age-stage ministry as vital in their church.  I have yet to hear ANY valid reasons given and I talk to people all the time!

What are some reasons you have heard leaders give as to why their church doesn’t emphasize this ministry?

Related posts:

  1. why embrace college-age people?
  2. Hearing God’s Voice
  3. Tackling the Myths
  4. Small(er) Groups [3]
  5. Road to Nowhere

Share Discuss (6)

JF Radosevich at 8:21am August 28

I’m a new college minister but have been working in and with college ministries for several years. I’ve never heard a church say why they don’t have ministries for college students, but most leadership is befuddled by this age group. They travel so much and can seem so indifferent, that it’s difficult for some leaders to know what to do for the college years. Normal programming doesn’t work, so they try to start a class and hope that it works. It’s also hard for some church leaders to know what success looks like in college ministry. I’m emphasizing with the church leadership here that successful college ministry turns out mature Christian adults, not large groups of passionate college students. College students will be passionate, but if they don’t live out their faith for the rest of their lives, then college ministry was just an episode that didn’t mean anything.

Jon at 6:02am September 11

I have previously been a youth pastor and now am a volunteer “Young Adult” leader at our current church while I am in school. Having been part of college ministries both as full-time paid staff and as a volunteer I have seen both growth and some struggle. In regard to the question I have 4 observations.
1. In most places, the morning is not the opportune time to develop an effective college ministry. We are struggling with consistency right now and I believe it has much to do with the fact that our class currently meets at 9am. College students want to sleep in — especially those whom are now free to decide if they want to go to church or not. In January, we will be moving to Sunday evenings for our meeting time.
2. When there is a college or university near the church, there are typically more opportunities. This is not to say college ministry is impossible if there are no significant schools in the area. However, it does make it more challenging.
3. Where there are no relationships, there will be no ministry. When college students know they are being cared for and loved, they typically respond. They want to be known, loved and accepted. Are we any different? Would we want to be part of a ministry where people didn’t really know us? They long for authenticity.
4. Get over how many students attend. I heard Jim Burns once say at a Youth Ministry Conference, “God does not care how big our youth groups are.” I think of King David’s “other sin”. We know about Bethsheba, but we don’t pay attention to the time when he counted the number of soldiers he had. Needless to say, that was when God allowed the enemy to overwhelm the Israelites — until David repented. If 3 people attend, minister and love on those three people. If 100 people attend, minister and love them, don’t count how many are there. Success needs to be redefined.
All this to say, College Ministry, whether they meet on a Sunday morning or Sunday evening is not as much the issue as the idea of the leaders “being Jesus” to them, or being involved in their lives. I am not suggtesting the time we meet is irrelevant. We should attempt to meet at a time when the opportunity for ministry is most evident. However, it is not nearly as effective as the relationships we pursue and build. That will determine the success of the ministry.