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concrete over anecdotal
Just a quick thought about the makeup of our ministries: If you’re like a lot of college ministers, you “make the rounds” in any given Large Group Meeting. There are new (and old) students you meet,...
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send them exploring (a fridea)
The past couple of weeks, I’ve mostly posted on the role “initiative” or “entrepreneurial ministry” can play in our college ministries. Here’s a Fridea to cap off that mini-series. As you probably...
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seasoning with the seasoned
As I had hoped, my “casual consultation” yesterday was fantastic. It was exciting to see three individuals – a present senior pastor, a present church planter, and a minister-in-training – conspiring...
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making room for friendships
This is a very simple “assessment” for your college ministry that will require a little bit of thoughtfulness (and a good dose of honesty!). Is your college ministry structured in such a way that it...
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ebola and things external to campus
Here in Dallas, Ebola is clearly headline news. As a result, my team at church has been taking the opportunity to equip our body – connecting the issue to broader “Outreach” issues, as well as helping...
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the bigger friendship
A couple of times last week (here and here), I looked at assessing how well our college ministries are encouraging friendships to form. But there’s another aspect of community, and one you have more...
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when students love our ministry
This is one of those posts that will be a big “Duh!” for many college ministers, but for others it’ll be something worth pondering, a possible “imbalance” of sorts that might be worth working out. And...
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a week of assessment: audit the old
This week, I’ll be listing some valuable “assessments” for your college ministry. It’s a good point in the season to spend a little time upgrading your ministry – so here are some ideas (new and...
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a week of assessment: finding some balance
This week I’m looking at various assessments – from past posts, plus some new stuff – because it’s a great time of year to examine our ministries! When you look at the makeup of the entire...
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a week of assessment: finding the frustrated leaders
This week I’m posting some key assessments that might be helpful at this point in the semester! I’m in the camp of those who believe college ministers should vet student leaders well. I don’t believe...
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a week of assessment: the articulation assessment (a.k.a. a survey of what...
This week I’ve been posting various assessments for your college ministry, perfect for this point in the semester. Today’s new post offers one more. One quick way to get a gut-check in your ministry is...
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a partner-potential orientation
This is the third entry in a series called “Partnering Possibilities,” looking at the role partnership can play in a college ministry. Yesterday I wrote about the chance to use partnership as...
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how’s your “workplace”?
For the past few years, our church (where I work) has been named the 2nd-best “Place to Work in Dallas” in the small business category. It’s funny (and a bit annoying) that we keep getting second, but...
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how will you build on this semester?
This is a simple, powerful, but potentially kick-in-the-pants-ing assessment for a college ministry: In what ways will next semester purposely build on the gains, learnings, or overall “movement” your...
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three reasons it’s a great big question
In a post last week, I offered a single question that could be bothersome for a college minister: In what ways will next semester purposely build on the gains, learnings, or overall “movement” your...
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a season for looking in the nooks
How often do you get the chance to learn how your ministry is really going, in the nooks and crannies and activities that happen when you’re not around? For most college ministries, this primarily...
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why next semester still needs some planning
I know I’ve been “returning to the well” a lot recently, to re-emphasize some posts from the past. But they’re still applicable. Today, I combine a couple of posts to flesh out something I said last...
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tightening the core: a community of core
Another vital need for those in the “core” of your ministry is community. Are there people they regularly connect with who hold them accountable, mull over big decisions with them, pray for them, and...
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tightening the core: on the way in
As I’m spending a little time writing about ways to refocus a college ministry’s core leadership, I’m reminded of something. All of this gets easier when we call our leaders to it from the start. For...
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beware the temptation to miss the practical
There are lots of ways to think about the teaching that takes place in a college ministry. There are many styles, for instance: from semester-long series to regular one-off messages (perhaps with a...
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