Subscribe to the NetworkCollege Ministry Suffers in Our Economy
When Churches are having financial problems there are always tough decisions to make. In today’s economy, it seems, a lot of churches are having to lay off staff, freeze spending, etc. It’s a tough thing to have to do in leadership and unfortunately I’ve been hearing a lot of churches lately having to make these kinds of cuts.
There are also ministries that suffer during this time. Sometimes entire ministries get cut out from the budget when financial trouble comes. Unfortunately one of the first ministries to take the hit are college-age ministries. Why? Well, because it’s viewed as a financial liability, not an asset. Kind of weird to think about a ministry like that, but that’s the reality we’re in – the ministry has to support itself, right?
However, I think this is a fatal mistake that’s made based on a fundamental misunderstanding of college-age ministry. Sure, it doesn’t directly bring in much money – college-age people (especially students) don’t have a lot of money to give. Most are living off Top Ramen and free dinners we give them. But if we neglect ministering to them by cutting the ministry designed specifically for them, often without realizing it, we are also cutting out the life of other ministries. Take for instance high school and junior high ministries. I don’t know about your context, but in mine most of our volunteers are college-age people.
Most churches don’t seem to the think through the implications like this. The decision to cut this ministry (usually for a “time” and just until things get back on track) is made for a short term solution of saving money (which, believe me, I understand to some degree), but in the long run I think it’s risking killing the entire life-line of the church. Sound like a big statement? Well, it is I guess, but let me describe briefly TWO ways the decision of cutting a college-age ministry now can negatively effect the rest of the church down the road.
First, when we fail to directly deal with college-age life stage issues we will inevitably lose. Not only are we failing to meet them where they are and helping them process through their unique struggles, but this always causes them to eventually detach. When they detach they also stop their involvement with other ministries – such as junior high and high school ministry. Because they are, for lack of better terms, “transient” this also means they “go with the flow.” If you haven’t noticed yet they travel in packs. Once some begin to leave with the mentality the church has nothing for them, others immediately follow. This type of reputation spreads rapidly.
So, what we can end up doing is also cutting the student ministry life out. Then, when the student ministries begin to suffer the parents can get disgruntled. When this happens they go to the next church because their kids like those ministries better. This leaves the financial situation even worse off.
Now, some might be thinking that’s a bit of a stretch and I’m going over board, thinking of the worst possible situation. I don’t think so. Not only does this actually happen, but we also see churches that don’t effectively reach out to 18-25 year olds experiencing HUGE generational gaps. Let’s look at the second reason cutting this ministry can negatively effect the church…
The fact is when churches effectively minister to 18-25 year olds by connecting them with the rest of the church body during these years, they will stay involved at the ages of 26 and older. Let’s just say the generation gap is 18-35 (which is generally the way it goes in most churches). Looking at this from a strictly financial standpoint, if you drop them between the ages of 18-25 you also lose them between the ages of 26-35. This is over 10 years!!! During these years, again from a financial standpoint, is a much more of a financially stable time of life where tithing is a natural outflow. In the long run cutting a college-age ministry now can simply cause losing over 10 years of tithes later.
The mentality of college-age ministry being a liability has to change. It’s this short-term mentality that has led us to the generational gaps we have today! Help your church understand the vitality of this ministry! I pray we will make decisions based on long term solutions. If we’re going to talk about money being the reason for change, let’s look at it from all angles.
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As an mentor, I was looking for a “teachable moment” within our economic crisis, and last Sunday I half-jokingly asked our college students how many of them had lost their life savings in the last couple of weeks.
Without skipping a beat, one replied, “Are you kidding? I lose my life savings EVERY week!”