Subscribe to the NetworkTackling the Myths
This is the beginning of “Appendix E: 7 Reasons For Not Having A College Ministry (and why you shouldn’t let them stop you)” in the book, College Ministry 101
I thought this would be good to post, just in case you are personally doubting whether or not you should have “something” for college-age people in your church – or maybe you know someone is that you could refer to this series I’ll be posting. Anyway, here is the first reason…and why it shouldn’t stop you…
“I find that leaders of churches that don’t currently have a college-age ministry bring up
seven common issues. If you’re facing opposition in your church, I encourage you to talk
about these issues with those who object, or just give them this list that deconstructs the
arguments against college-age ministry.
1. A limited number of college-age people are around. When I started doing college-
age ministry, all I had to work with was a list of six names. Six. I was certain the need was
greater than this short list suggested, so I drove through town to get a sense for how many
college-age people were just hanging around. I drove for hours and barely saw any high
school students, much less college-age people.
I had no idea why this church had brought me here to start this ministry. But that
was my job, so I called those six people and invited them to a barbecue at my house. Nine
people showed up. We started a Bible study on Thursday nights, and before we knew it,
college-age people were coming from “nowhere.” If our growth surprised anyone, it was me.
Not having any college-age people in the church shouldn’t deter people from starting
a ministry; it should catapult them to start one. How many junior high students would be at
your church if you didn’t have a junior high ministry?
In the beginning of our ministry, I realized a lot of college-age people were coming
from other churches. I was initially concerned about this dynamic and even told people to
go back to their churches. But I began to realize the reason they were coming was that we
had something specifically for them. Most of the other churches in our area were doing
nothing. I heard it all the time: “I come here because I feel like I fit.” Or, “I come here
because there are actually people my age.” If we meet them where they are, they will
come.”
Related posts:
[...] in Uncategorized. Tagged: college ministry, jason speier, student ministry, why?. Leave a Comment Tackling the Myths Chuck on August 18th, [...]