Nor Cal / Nev College Ministries

A couple of hundred years ago there was a view of God that maintained He was a Master Clockmaker. He made a giant blue dock and called it good, and gave it the name earth. As this view goes; the Master cloclunaker then wound up this blue clock and left for parts unknown in the universe (presumably to make more clocks). This view affirmed God as creator, but saw Him as transcendent, and distant from His creation--an absent God.

Sometimes this scenario can happen in a ministry. Student leaders can be well trained and then commissioned. They have passed all the requirements to serve as discipleship leaders. They have been pointed at a handful of students and told, "Go, make disciples". They do go, but shorily after, they begin to feel very burdened, later to feel overwhelmed. They feel responsible and abandoned. You then find them sitting in your office, giving you a rafionale for why they need to resign from their leadership role.

In the Great Commission Jesus closed with the words, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Now we are not like Jesus. We cannot be with student leaders all the time. Therefore, we must provide them the support and continued enabling that they will need to carry out their responsibilities. These new leaders are experiencing things in their Christian walk they have never encountered before. They are performing some ministry skills for the first time and encountering needs in people that they have never dealt with before. They feel a distance between them and small group members that they never felt when they were a member.

They will encounter greater levels of spiritual warfare. They will be successful, and must deal with the ugly head of pride. Their idealism will be dealt a blow from the realism of their new situation. If they do not have a mature leader to use as a sounding board, someone to trouble shoot issues with, someone to care for their personal needs, and someone to sharpen their skills to enable them to become even more effective, then their vision will eventually dim. They could become disillusioned and despair over whether they were ever meant to disciple.

THE CAMPUS PASTOR'S ROLE IN SUPERVISION

So now the campus pastor is fulfilling important roles in the discipling process at three different levels.

1. Challenging the whole group to discipleship, building a vision in them and providing training for them all
2. Equipping some to prepare them for the discipling role
3. Supervising those already leading to keep them healthy and encouraged.

Concerning this third level of supervision there are three areas of super-vision that can be provided:

PASTORAL CARE

This is individual care for the discipling leader. Their own personal lives continue on. They face new challenges in their academic pursuits. Often they are building significant relationships that demand increased time commitments. Family matters, financial pressures, and increased stress are among the issues that they will encounter. They will no doubt be sharing many of these things with their small group. However, several of the students may be very young in the lord. Though it is no one's fault, the student leader may still feel unsupported, even within their small group. It is important for the campus pastor to spend time with the leaders individually, talking to them about what they are doing apart from their discipleship concerns. Make sure they know that they matter just as much as their ministry does.

CONTINUING ENABLING

It is impossible to anticipate all the issues that a discipler will face as they begin to lead. The theoretical is being replaced by the actual. During this time some valuable discipling from the campus pastor needs to occur. Talk through the situations they are facing, and brainstorm together about how to respond. In doing so you are teaching them how to approach ministry. They begin to understand the process of discipleship more as you spend time with them. You can also pull all the discipleship leaders together and teach various skills or refine previously taught skills. Provide materials for them to read that are directed at leader development. They are in a wonderful position to learn and grow. Before, you were giving them all the answers. Now they are learning all the questions. They are at a very receptive time to integrate philosophy of ministry with practice in ministry.

DISCIPLING MINISTRY ASSESSMENT

Ministry is a very difficult thing to evaluate. Was it a good teaching or not? A good job leading worship or not? A good job of counseling or not? These questions haunt every minister, and they are heightened in the new student leader. They feel insecure and need honest, positive feedback. One approach is to help them learn how to do good self-evaluation. Enclosed is a sample evaluation sheet for a small group meeting. Have the discipling leader fill this out regularly. This will assist him in knowing what kind of questions to ask himself. It will also highlight for him what he needs to work on. Then go over these forms with the student leader.

Be careful to observe the three-for-one rule: give three comments of affirmation for every one comment of correction. This rule not only applies for new leaders but is valuable for your Senior Pastor at your local church as well. Assessment is only valuable when it is heard. If leaders know they will only get corrective critiques, they will probably shy away from assessment opportunities.

SUPERVISION STRUCTURES

Here are a few suggestions to help structure a ministry for discipleship. As was mentioned in the interviewing chapter, it is helpful to do this process in the late Spring. Then, throughout the summer, the campus pastor can stay in touch with them. It would be a good time to give them a summer reading list of materials that would help them prepare for the Fall. During the summer, or just before the beginning of the Fall term, hold a one day retreat for discipleship leaders only. Here you can orient them to the Fall schedule and review essential skills and goals that pertain to the first six weeks of school. It is also valuable for them to get back in touch with each other relationally. They may have had a difficult and demanding summer, and a time together for refreshing worship and prayer would be very encouraging.

During the school year, your oversight needs to be both one-to-one and for groups of leaders. The one-to-one times serve best for personal care and assessment. The group times best assist continued enabling. Determine the regularity that is most feasible in your campus situation. You need to stay current with your leaders to truly provide hands-on supervision.

Here is an observation-In a campus ministry with eight or fewer discipling leaders, have their group leadership meetings with all present. When you have more than eight, you will probably be best served by breaking them down into subgroups of leaders (maybe men's and women's groups). At this point you will need additional help in providing leader supervision. Some campus ministries might add a campus ministry staff person with a major share of their responsibility being coordinating discipleship leaders. In many other cases you will need to use mature student leaders who have had experience in leading. They could coordinate a smaller group of leaders (maybe three to six), and then report back to the campus pastor. Some campus groups call these smaller leadership groups Resource Groups, and the coordinator of them Resource Leaders.

One last thing: It is important to recognize the efforts of student leaders. At an appropriate time during the year, maybe at the end of the school year, have some means to show appreciation to these leaders for their service. Give honor where honor is due, for these students should be honored. This will be an encouragement to the leaders and will demonstrate to the entire fellowship that to respond and serve in this capacity is highly esteemed. It may also foster greater desire for others to follow in their path.