WHY COLLEGE MINISTRY STINKS, Part 4

As I prepare to start leading worship for "Immerse," a city-wide college Bible study, we're looking at common challenges within college ministry. I'd love to know what you think about these posts...what you've seen, learned, experienced through ministries like this.

The Church Is The Thing

Challenge #4 is a tough one....how do we plug students into the local church?

A few you have commented on this, and while I don't think that events like this are necessarily disrespectful to the role of the local church, I will agree that "para-church" ministries often fail at actually supporting local churches.

Here's what I like about Immerse (and about college ministries like it)...

I like that the folks at Immerse are taking worship onto the campus. I like that there's a place where Christian students can go to pray, be held accountable to some other believers and study God's Word. Isn't this the same sort of premise behind student associations on college campuses? (Wesley Foundation, Baptist Student Ministry, etc.?)

But meeting on Monday nights isn't "church"...even at its ideal, Immerse simply cannot do all the things that a church can do. And I don't think we should.

So, how do we use our time to get kids invested in a local church family?

I HAVE NO IDEA.

I'm being serious. With these other issues I've mentioned, I've seen things work...I can look back on my experience and share those tips and ideas that seem to be a consistent benefit.

But local church? I'm don't know. I just know it's hard. Here's why:

1. Which Church?
   Doing this is difficult because I really can't step up on stage and say something like, "You need to be plugged into a local church. BETHEL BIBLE CHURCH MEETS SUNDAYS AT 9 AND 10:30 WITH SERVICES. FIND US AT BETHELBIBLE.COM."
   
   It's a difficult thing, knowing that you need to encourage kids to have a home church and yet also knowing that you're unable to recommend one specifically. You end up speaking in generalities...which really doesn't work in this situation.
   
   
2. How Do We Know?
   Let's say we find a way to do it...we find a way to offer up some vague, non-committal advertisement for being part of a home church.
   
   How do we know if it's working? What if our kids plug in somewhere and hate it? What do we do then? Respond with something like "Oh, yeah...that church sounds horrible. Okay, well, time to find a new one!"
   
   Doesn't seem very healthy, does it?
   
   
3. Is There A Payoff?
   The third problem is finding church support. Connecting with churches is hard in ministries like this...I don't know that Immerse is in any sort of competition, but I know sometimes that's a fear in situations like this one.
   
   Sadly, the idea of "payoff" ends up hurting here. As a minister in a local church myself, I understand this. If somebody calls me or mails me a letter to encourage my people to attend some event, my first thought is often, "What's in it for us? Is this part of my mission here in my church?" I don't think that's necessarily bad...I just think it's true.
   
   How do ministries like Immerse maintain the support of local churches when we really can't turn around and do specific infomercials for them?

You guys are smart...some of you may have seen this aspect before. How do we do better? How do we support local churches? How do they support parachurch ministries?

Can it be done?

Props to one of my new Tyler Twitter pals. Caleb Canal called this thing WCMS a few days ago. That's smart. I should have been calling it that all along! Dang it!

WHY COLLEGE MINISTRY STINKS, Part 2

As I prepare to start leading worship for "Immerse," a city-wide college Bible study, we're looking at common challenges within college ministry. I'd love to know what you think about these posts...what you've seen, learned, experienced through ministries like this.

Things Are Different Now...

Challenge #2 is Originality.

In most cases, college ministries like "Immerse" are targeted at students who are Christians. That's not to say that evangelism doesn't happen...but since it is a service with worship and Bible study, your typical draw is going to be kids with at least some measure of faith.

But I think that technology has positioned us in a very interesting place as we try to serve college students. (Not only college students, actually...I think the premise stays pretty consistent with most any group.)

Let me see if I can get real practical here...

When I was 19 years old, I was pretty committed to my faith. I was a devout kid...but I knew very little about theology. I had no idea about other teachers and pastors who were "movers and shakers" in the world of religion, and specifically, Christianity. The spiritual formation I had was a good one, but not a broad one. I was under the care of great pastor and teacher in a healthy church, but didn't have a lot of other scriptural influences in my life.

That's not the case, now. Thanks to tech developments - the biggest being the emergence of podcasting - people are exposed to many more viewpoints about God and personal discipleship. These days, in a given college ministry setting, you've got kids who have an appreciation for the works of John Piper, and by that connection, even "old dead dudes." You've got students passionate about recent prayer movements across the country. Some are convicted about social justice and what that really means to a Christian.

I would submit these are good developments, but here's where they hurt us...

WE CAN'T FAKE THIS ANYMORE.

Let's be honest. Fifteen years ago, you could plagiarize an Ed Young Jr. sermon...and nobody would know it. You could lift a chapter out of R.C. Sproul and they'd be none-the-wiser. You could regurgitate the exact transition between two worship songs from a "popular" worship CD and it would be all good.

I'm not saying that college ministry is filled with students who are all spiritual giants...I don't know many places filled with spiritual giants, as a matter of fact! But I do think we've got kids are so much more "informed" than they used to be.

There are some who would bristle at an encouragement for "originality." Some would say that we are speaking/preaching/living out an ancient word...and they would be right. But I would say that God has been gracious to give us the gift of creativity. We've got to use that...we've got to invest time in seeking what God would have us to say and we've got to work hard to make it our own.

And while our original work may not ever be as cool as some big shot on a CD or TV, I think making something our own...speaking it with honesty to the people we've been called to care for...will say volumes about both our investment in scripture and our passion for relationship with our crowd.

PS...on a completely unrelated note, all you RSS kids need to click over to the actual blog. I'm running a survey to convince my wife to loan me $60.

WHY COLLEGE MINISTRY STINKS, Part 1

As I prepare to start leading worship for "Immerse," a city-wide college Bible study, we're looking at common challenges within college ministry. I'd love to know what you think about these posts...what you've seen, learned, experienced through ministries like this.

Nobody's Got It All Together...

Challenge #1 in city-wide college ministry is one of Identity.

I'm not sure why it happens. I have my theories, but I'm not convinced.

I think perhaps the church in general has become a victim of marketing.

Somewhere along the way, the church started believing there was a model for everything.

Starting a new contemporary service? Buy this book.

Building a new sanctuary? Watch this DVD.

Feeling discouraged? Go to this conference.

None of those things are inherently bad, but I do think years of marketing have put into us this idea that the way to do ministry to find the guy who's doing it best and then copy him.

I've been to "Metro." And "Breakaway." I've listened to the Passion podcasts and watched online footage of these huge college ministries. They're phenomenal. They're awesome.

But they're probably not us.

The challenge of identity in college ministry is a tough one. We're trying to serve a group of people who are in the midst of making huge life decisions. That's an important time and it's hard to know how to best minister to these students. So many times...we just try a formula and hope it works.

HOW TO BEAT THE CHALLENGE

I'm not trying to imply that I have all the answers here, but I do think there are some things we, as ministers, can do to protect ourselves from suffering from a cookie-cutter mentality.

1. Stop Envisioning
   We all do this. We plan an event or a song or a sermon and then we daydream about how it's going to be. We try to imagine how many people are going to be there and what's the response gonna' be like. (Most of the time, we imagine the room full of screaming, adoring worshipping people.)
   
   Dreams are important and having an overall vision for your ministry is vital, but we've got to stop daydreaming. We've got to stop building up our services and outreaches in our minds because no matter how great the event is, it will most likely never be as great as we imagined.
   
   By staying focused and keeping envisioning to a minimum, we operate in a much more healthy and prayerful way and we just might end up surprised at what happens at our event.
   
   
2. Invest In Relationships
   Your college ministry is not going to look like Northpoint's. It's not going to feel like Northpoint's ministry feels.
   
   Know why?
   
   Because you're not Northpoint.
   
   The students in your ministry are unique...they bring a whole set of individuals skills and challenges and spiritual needs and unless we're willing to invest in getting to know them, we'll always being playing a game of chance when it comes to ministry. Rather than knowing our people, we're just throwing different styles at them, hoping that one of them will stick.
   
   If we'll invest in getting to know these kids, we'll find that a lot of the ideas we read about aren't really right for our people. And we'll also find that some tried-and-tested principles still apply. But we'll never know that if we don't make time for relationship.
   
   
3. Listen and Learn
   Some of us have very vocal students...if something isn't working, they let us know. Others have more quiet congregants. But if asked, even those quiet ones will probably speak honestly.
   
   If we're going to build an identity, we've got to learn from the students in our midst. I'm talking about doing more than just plugging them into some volunteer spot so they'll have "ownership." (Can you say buzz word, class?)
   
   I'm talking about having an open heart to these students...to approach conversations with the idea that it's YOUR job to learn something, and not the other way around.
   

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you're a college student, you can do some amazing stuff to make sure our ministries are more healthy.

1. Call us on the Cookie-Cutter.
   If it's obvious to you that we're trying to copy somebody else, just tell us. Tell us that you see it and recognize it for what it is.
   
   Maybe encourage us a little, too, so we don't feel too horrible. But for the most part, just call us on it. Help us to know what parts of our services feel forced or trite.
   
   
2. Let us in.
   We want to get to know you. We want to learn from you. We want to hang out with you. We'll try not to be too weird and "old." We believe God's great stuff for you and we'd love to know what you think about that.
   
   
3. Speak up.
   We're gonna' forget to ask your opinion. That's a fact. We're gonna' get busy and distracted and every once in awhile, you may have to slow us down and help us process what's going on.
   
   It sounds silly, but worship is two totally different experiences based on where you're located. From the stage, I may think things are awesome...but out in the crowd, the service may be dying. So help us to know...we want to constantly learn and grow.

___

What about you all?

I know there's folks out there with college ministry experience!

Spill it...how can we do better in finding our own identity?

WHY COLLEGE MINISTRY STINKS, An Introduction

Over the next week or so, you'll be seeing and hearing a lot about "Immerse," a community Bible study for college students in Tyler, Texas.

While I am both honored and excited to be a part of this ministry, that's not necessarily fueling all the posts, videos and "tweets" you're going to be seeing.

I'm doing this because it's my way of asking you to walk with me in this and to help me.

Because it's hard.

In my experience, there are common "challenges" when trying to pull of something like Immerse is trying to do. And I commend them for it. I believe in it...I wouldn't be leading worship if I didn't. (Trust me...I don't like gigging that much. I play for places I can believe in!)

Over the next few days, I'll be looking at a few of these challenges from the perspective of a worship leader. Here's what I'm asking of you:

1. Comment. My perspective is mine alone. I'm just one dude and I'd love to know what your take on the whole issue of city-wide college ministry. Many, many of you are deeply invested in God's Kingdom and a lot of you spend a lot of brain power asking questions about our motivations and how we judge success.
   
   
2. Pray. I won't lie. I need prayer. I love leading worship and it's a big part of my life, but taking on a new place is always tough. I'm asking God to bless me in my ability to get to know the kids at Immerse and I'd be honored if you'd join me.
   
   
3. Talk. Services like these are not for everybody...but they are for somebody. I'm specifically asking those in the Tyler area to spread the word to college students who might benefit from a Monday night worship and Bible study time.

Personally, I'm not big on hyper-spiritual blogs. They tend to bore me. So I'll try to keep the posts practical and simple...so I won't bore myself!

As always, thanks for checking out the site.

And be back tomorrow for Part 1 - "Nobody's Got It All Together."

Preliminary Art

Here's the early artwork for the deal I'm playing on September 18th. And, yes, it's called "The College Thing." I'm excited about this gig and the band I'm putting together for it. I hoping that we have a large community draw. Initially, it was intended as a worship and fellowship event for the college ministry at our own church, but, in all honesty, almost every church in Lufkin is struggling with getting college kids plugged in.

By making this event open to all, we're hoping to bless these other churches by allowing them the use of our worship space and the benefit of each other's company!