The CollegeLeader Conference is coming up…quickly.  I wanted to let you know about a new addition for this year.  The weekend has all kinds of roundtable discussions, workshops, and of course larger group gathering times.  But, we’ve gotten some requests from people that live closer to the area that are not able to stay for the full weekend.  So, we’ve added a Friday Day Pass!  You can come all day Friday, be involved in all the options of the conference and get 3 meals for just $79.  So, if the weekend is too much, you may want to consider this option.  Click here for more details…

Belief.net just posted a blog titled, “Missional Campus Ministry” and it’s focused on my book College Ministry 101.  The writer, who goes by “RJS” read it and offered some thoughts on it.  I’d recommend you read it and possibly join the conversation over there.  Check that out, here.  Always good to hear other people’s thoughts on it…

Interested in more training for college ministry?  Click here

As part of our ministry at CollegeLeader we’re going to begin doing a few video blog/podcast/tip thing-a-majiggers (not sure how to write that out). With the school year coming up, I thought I’d issue a few thoughts for getting onto campus – especially for those of you who serve in a church-based ministry.  Here are 3 tips for getting on campus – in somewhat back door type ways…  

Getting Involved On Campus from Kristen Giesenschlag on Vimeo.

Saturday night my wife and I had a little time away from the kids.  One of the things we enjoy doing is exploring college campuses.  I know, kind of a weird thing to do on a date night.  But we love it and the truth is both of us get very excited about college ministry every time we’re on a new campus.  

Again, I know, might be kind of weird too, but that’s us.  So, we walked around Willamette University for about an hour, checking out the student union, library, law school, etc.  It’s the oldest university in the West, started in 1842.  Over 150 years this university has been there.  Crazy to think of it that way. 

Plus, we get to sit in places like this, sat on these really cool white lawn chairs (with this view), and talked about all the potential that was moving onto this campus this coming week.  We also talked about our lives, direction for the coming year, things on the calendar.  One of the things we’re most excited about this fall (besides things in our church) is that I’ll be speaking at a variety of campuses this year.  Should be fun.  Anyway, a fun little date night for us…

*Check out the CollegeLeader Conference for a weekend of training.

There is a movie out that I think hits some of the core issues college grads are faced with today: Search for work, search for love, and search for self.  Those are the words the trailer of “Post Grad” uses to describe the journey.  I’d say that’s pretty much dead on.  I plan on watching this movie – from a student perspective.  I doubt it’s a great movie (well, at least not my kind of movie), but I do think it hits some of the core issues the people we’re working with will soon face.  Mainly, crushed dreams.  I recently wrote an article about this called, “Bachelor Degree: Passport to Privilege?”  You can find that here. 

Here’s a brief highlight about it with some interviews (notice what Alexis Bledel says in her commentary). Below that is the official trailer. Again, I mention this movie because I think Hollywood is seeing the pressures of college-age life and even though it’s in theatrical form, they have made a movie that hits some core issues faced today. Unfortunately, they’re seeing and addressing it before the Church is. That bums me out.

Here is part 3 of this short series.  This is one I hear a lot.  I understand this to a degree, but…well, you can read here:

This is taken from Appendix E: Seven Reasons for Not Having a College Ministry (and why you shouldn’t let them stop you) from the book, College Ministry 101.

“All the students go away to school. I hear this defense all the time, and on the surface it seems like a valid reason for not doing anything. In this situation, it helps to think of your work not as a college-age ministry, but as a ministry to college-age people. It’s about making sure college-age people know they’re loved, exposing them to the life and body of your church, and walking them through the developmental issues they’re facing. This undertaking can happen from a distance—through Facebook, over the phone, through e-mail, with a regular newsletter, with the help of campus visits, and of course, through one-on-one talks over coffee when they’re home on break (see appendix C for more ideas). The idea is to initiate relationships with college-age people and consistently put ourselves in their lives for the purpose of mentorship. Regardless of our ongoing relationship with them, we at least have the obligation of making sure they plug in somewhere else. Just because they’re not adding numbers to our church events doesn’t mean we can drop them. College-age ministry isn’t about getting as many people into the church building as possible. It’s about showing them the benefits of being a part of the body of Christ.

And of course, no ministry should be insular. Just because the kids who grew up in your church aren’t around after high school doesn’t mean there aren’t college-age people in your community longing for someone to guide them into maturity. I started with six people. Maybe you’ll have four. Maybe you’ll have 20. It doesn’t really matter. Ministry isn’t motivated by numbers. It’s motivated by need. And believe me, wherever there’s one college-age person, there’s a need for loving, patient spiritual mentorship.”

Ok, here is the second reason often given for NOT having a college ministry – and why I don’t think it’s valid.  I want to preface this by saying this is not an often articulated reason, but nonetheless, it’s real.  And more real than some would like to admit.  

This is a portion of Appendix E in College Ministry 101.

” It will be a financial liability. Let me be clear: I don’t like to talk about money, especially in the context of ministry. However, the reality is that finances are a major reason why churches aren’t pursuing college-age ministry. And it’s true: College-age ministry doesn’t really pay for itself the way other ministries do. It may not directly bring in more families or more adults who then give money to the church like other ministries might. But I believe college-age ministry pays for itself, just not directly. 

In our church, more than 80 percent of our student-ministry volunteers are college-age people. It’s no surprise that the stronger these youth ministries are, the more families come (I only mentioned student ministry here, but children’s ministry and others also apply). When families are present, so are finances. But those college-age volunteers are at our church because of the college-age ministry. The ministry brings them in, they get connected and discipled, and they serve in a ministry that brings in more families. When we invest in college-age people, they reciprocate by investing in the church.

This ministry also pays for itself indirectly because it focuses on assimilation. If there’s no college-age ministry, there’s not much to keep college-age people involved in the church. And most of them don’t come back. What does this scenario have to do with finances? College-age people might not directly bring money into the church during the ages of 18 to 25, but if they stay involved, they’re much more likely to continue their church involvement between the ages of 26 and 30. And those are the years when they begin to tithe directly. In our church, those who have gone through our college-age ministry not only tithe, but also continue to serve. Of course, the point isn’t the potential of more giving units; the point is that these people matter. They deserve our time, and all I’m saying is finances are simply not a legitimate [...]

Continue Reading “Tackling the Myths [2]“

Holy cow!  If you haven’t heard of Clover yet, you need to catch on….and quickly!  There is NOTHING they’ve missed.  Wow.

If you need a website, there is nothing less expensive, easier to use, or more current than Clover.  They not only have all the video or sermon storage you’d ever want, but they now have a mobile version!  That means that your site can now be CLEARLY and wholly seen from any mobile browser – Blackberry, iPhone, Palm Pre…or any other browser your students might use.  

To add to the amazingness (made that word up), once you get a Clover site, everything they add in the future is added to yours for no additional cost.  In other words, they’re not trying to get more money out of you down the road.  I don’t promote things like this – ever.  But, I’m telling you this is worth it.

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.”

A few weeks ago I filmed some short video’s for Youth Specialties. One of those is a part of this weeks podcast.  It’s the second segment.  You can watch here: