strategy

Reaching The Heart of the Campus

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:48:29 -0600

This is a synthesis of an interview Glen Davis conducted with Steve Shadrach, founder of Student Mobilization along with highlights from Steve's packet titled "Heart of the Campus."

Launching Transformative Campus Ministry

Your students will do to others what you did with them. If all you do to start up is find all the loose Christians on campus and get them in a room, don't expect an evangelistic powerhouse to result. Win them to Christ, don’t just invite Christians.
You will attract students like those in your core: focus on mainstream influencers (as opposed to interested or isolated students).
Don’t start a large group meeting until you have 15-20 mainstream students who have primarily been won to Christ who are all sharing Christ with their friends. It takes a year and a half to two years to reach that point.
The three key components of a campus ministry are momentum, multiplication, and management.
Do discipleship in the context of evangelism, and not vice-versa. Frequently we teach people to do evangelism as one component of our discipleship strategy and then get back to 'real discipleship'. What we need to do instead is help students share their faith and in the context of ministry do on-the-spot discipleship.
Spend all your time on campus, hold all your meetings on campus—don’t even have an office! Grab your suitcase/backpack in the morning, get on campus, and don't leave until the day is done.
The beginning is hard, exhausting work. You have to take the initiative in everything, meet people like crazy, and follow up on those meetings.

Reaching The Heart Of The Campus

"All people are equally important, but not all people are equally strategic." Dr. Bill Bright
The most strategic people on campus are the key leaders of the key groups.
They comprise only about 5% of the campus, but their influence is huge.
Win the chief, win the tribe--this is a basic missiological principle.
The heart of the campus is the most unreached segment.
Focus on influencers and you will indirectly effect more interested and isolated students.
If you want influential staff down the road you must focus on influential students now.

[edit]

Do We Want FAT Or FAITH?

We often say we're looking for FAT student-faithful, available, and teachable, but for an interested or isolated student, FAT may mean this:

FAITHFUL: they don't have many friends, so they will surely respond to any attention you give them
AVAILABLE: they really don't have anything else better to do, why not hang out with you?
TEACHABLE: their self-esteem is so low that they know they have a long way to go
Clearly, FAT is not enough! We need to add:
INITIATIVE: they are willing and able to take what you give them and pass it on to others
HEART FOR PEOPLE: they have the social and emotional maturity to care about others and reach out beyond themselves

Why Greeks Are Crucial

Less than 1% of the U.S. population has been Greek
80% of all Fortune 500 companies are led by Greeks
85% of all Presidential cabinet members since 1900 are Greeks
80% of all Supreme Court Justices since 1910
78% of all lawyers in the U.S.
75% of all U.S. Congress representatives
70% of all people listed in "Who's Who in America"
65% of all doctors
Implication: the Greek system attracts and produces leaders!

The First Three Years

1st Year

Saturate the campus with prayer
Spend the first 9 months surveying the 100 key leaders on the campus
During survey time, share the gospel and get their response (at least 3-4 of these per week)
Have pledge meetings at each of the Greek houses (fall and spring classes)
Start a Presidents Club (weekly study on leadership with the key Presidents on the campus)
Start a Pledge Class Presidents Club (weekly study on leadership)
Meet as many people as I can. Record them on cards, memorize and pray over the cards daily
Out of all of this contact work try to start 5-8 investigative groups (I-Groups)
Try to share the gospel 5-8 times per week and follow up new Christians
Start no large group meetings
Have random one-to-ones presenting "The Vision" of the Great Commission
Recruit to Christmas Conference and Summer Training Project

2nd Year

Saturate the campus and students with prayer
Start up the Presidents Club and Pledge Class Presidents Club
Start 2 Discipleship Groups of the FAITH students from year 1
Do all the pledge and team meetings (seeking to begin 3-4 I-Groups)
Have regular one to ones with D-Group members who have embraced "The Vision" of disciplemaking
Meet as many people as I can-record, memorize, and pray over daily
Share the gospel 3-4 times a week (Have D-Group member with me every time). Follow up new Christians
Survey each of the new leaders on the campus that were not there the year before
Have a hand picked fall leadership retreat with discipleship group members to build vision and identity
Utilize D-Groups to recruit to Christmas Conference
With D-Groups and I-Groups as core, hold 3 large group rallies in the Spring
Recruit to Summer Training Project

3rd Year

Saturate campus and students with prayer
Hand pick a ministry team of key leaders (4+) and meet one on one weekly with each for equipping
Hand pick a D-Group of key leaders (5+) and meet one on one every other week for establishing and equipping
Start 2-3 I-Groups (pledge class is one)
Share gospel 3-4 times a week (always with a ministry team or D-Group member)
With agreement of all the key leaders, hold 10 weekly large group meetings that fall. Either call it "Late Nite" or give it a non-spiritual title without a ministry label on it. You might call the weekly meeting "Leadership U" and focus on building areas of life and leadership in any and all students that want to come. It would be a university within a university. Try to channel every student that comes into small groups that ministry team and D-Group members would be leading.
Use the core students to recruit the students to Christmas Conference and Summer Project.
Have a key student retreat the spring semester with the ministry team and D-Groups coming and each brining the key students they are working with.

SOME SCRIPTURAL PRECENDENTS

2 Timothy 2:2
Moses (Heb 11:23-26, Acts 7:20-22)
Paul (Phil 3:4-6)
The Conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10)
Matthew 9:36-38

Diagnostic Questions

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:45:43 -0600

Effectiveness Questions

What percentage of my group converted under my ministry?
Do I have more freshmen than upperclassmen?

Leadership Questions

Are more than 1/3 of your student leaders new this year? If not, you are not prepared for sustainable growth.
Does joining your leadership team make a student's life better or worse? If better, then why don't you have more applications? If worse, then why?
Do you hear frequent laughter in leadership meetings?
Do people reguarly disagree with one another in your leadership meetings? If not, then you have a problem. Either people don't feel safe or all your leaders are too stupid to form opinions.

Group Culture Questions

What is the reputation of your group among other college ministries? Your students know what the campus minstry landscape is, and the adjectives they use to describe your ministry can be illuminating...

A Model for Multi-Ministry Cooperation

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 18:28:15 -0600

Imagine a city with several Assemblies of God churches. There may be a four-year campus with a Chi Alpha ministry, a commuter campus with nothing on-campus, and two or three churches which have college groups of their own.

How should they relate to one another?

I bounced this question off one of the most innovative people that I know, and this is what I heard:

Noble Bowman is a veteran Chi Alpha missionary currently stationed in Springfield, MO. He and I talked on the phone, and this is a rough approximation of what they do.

Following Andy Stanley's breakdown of foyer, living room, and kitchen environments (http://www.northpoint.org for more info) work with other AG college ministries to offer complementary programming.
In the Springfield model, all the different AG college ministries will together sponsor a weekly meeting in a neutral venue designed to be a foyer (evangelistic) environment. They're planning to use a non-AG church located near campus. That’s important because a lot of our churches are nervous about one another.
Each participating church provides a living room (fellowship) environment on Sundays (i.e., a college group that has fun together).
Collectively the college ministries provide a network of kitchen environments (discipleship small groups) that meet on campuses, in students' apartments, or anywhere else they can arrange. Each small group leader is required to be an active participant in one of the local church living room environments.
At the weekly gathering they plug the small groups (and not the local church gatherings) and in the small groups they invite people to be a part of the sponsoring churches each Sunday. In other words, they sneak the students into church through the back door.

The take-away from this model is that we seek to find things we can do that are complementary and not competitive. We're all on the same team, and so there's got to be a way we can act like it without abandoning our individual ministries.

Maybe in your setting this isn't the right division for you. There are certainly other ways you could divide up tasks of college ministry, but what I like about Noble's model is that it emphasizes the local church, demonstrates unity, generates massive momentum, and harnesses the strengths of the various ministries in his context.

If you're in a metropolitan area with multiple campuses and multiple nearby churches you should really devote some thought to this.

The key to success is understanding what you're good at and disciplining yourself to think through all the ramifications of a multi-ministry cooperative model. Notice how Noble's model is aligned at all levels—that requires careful thought and relentless discipline.

If we master synergizing with one another we can take college ministry to the next level in this district and go from touching 2,000 students (our current scope) to touching 10,000 students (an attainable goal).

Incidentally, Noble is a sought-after retreat speaker and also consults in the areas of college ministry and leadership development. You can learn more about him.

Developing a Discipling Campus Ministry

xaglen — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:24:47 -0600

It is time to move from the philosophical, theological foundations for the discipling process to the implementation of that process. With us, as with Jesus, the method must be in the building up of believers into disciple-makers. What is needed is a consistent direction and process. There is no magical recipe. Remember, discipleship is a process not a program. The prindples of discipleship must be applied and tailored to your unique situation. We repeat, there is no magic formula which can be devised to work in all situations.

However, just as a farmer prepares the soil to receive the seed, then fertilizes and waters, so we can prepare the soil of our campus groups to become a discipling ministry. Just as with all other ministry, campus ministry is the Lord's work. He causes the growth. He makes people mature. He has instructed us to be part of the process. So how can we help prepare the soil? Hopefully some of the following ideas may help you on the way.

TEACH ON DISCIPLESHIP

Be careful to instruct students concerning their role in the Great Commission. It is best in a new campus group to use your main meeting as a place to begin teaching on discipleship. One suggestion is to teach through the book of I Thessalonians. You will discover rnany important principles of discipleship expressed here. This would enable you to teach through a biblical book and the students would receive a picture of the discipling process in the context of this first century congregation.

The students cannot respond without a dear call. As you teach disciple-ship, pray that the Lord will build a solid vision of discipleship within them. At some point you need to challenge them to become disciples and disciple-makers. A valuable book to read at this point is Dedication and Leadership by Douglas Hyde. Hyde will challenge you to call for great commitments. Within this manual is a set of student notes for a discipleship class. Save this material from Hyde's book for a class environment. No doubt you will use some of the concepts in your main meeting teaching, but reserve your large group meeting as a place of worship, teaching and ministry time. You are hoping for a prophetic response from the students to disciple. The class situation is better suited for discussion and interaction.

DEVELOP A DISCIPLESHIP SMALL GROUP

As soon as possible, demonstrate the biblical precedent for large group meetings (for worship, teaching and ministry) and small group meetings (for discipleship, fellowship and accountability). Here is another principle in discipling: People tend to reproduce in ministry what they have experienced.

Students need to experience the discipling process beyond having it taught to them. They must have a context where they see and experience transparency and affirmation. Do not expect that they can be taught to do something without showing them how it works.

Therefore, start a discipleship small group and in this group model what they will need to reproduce later as they facilitate small groups. Lead the group with confidence and skill, but also lead in areas that are uncomfortable for you. Lead in skills that you feel less able to lead. Show a humility in leadership as well as competence. These future leaders will be trying their wings for the first time in many areas of ministry and they need to see that it is permissible to stumble around a bit before they grow to effectiveness.

Approach this small group with great care. For in this group you will be setting a pattern that will continue for quite some time. That pattern can be a positive pattern (exemplified by commitment, healing, spiritual growth, vision, etc.) ora negative pattern (demonstrated by haphazard preparation, unchallenging, lifeless, impersonal, etc.). This group can be intimidating for the campus pastor who is doing it for the first time. You may need to model several things you have never had a chance to lead before. Study well before you start. Talk to other campus pastors and ask them about their small group experiences. Have a clear plan. Pray hard. And then walk in faith, and see the hand of the Lord bless something very close to His heart-the discipling of students for the Kingdom of God.

FOSTER AN "EVERY MEMBER A MINISTER" GROUP STRUCTURE

As you are faithful to disciple, you will discover that discipleship fosters more ministry. As students are equipped to assess needs and develop a ministry plan, they will begin to see additional needs and opportunities for ministry. Then a disciple begins to think creatively and with vision. As they pray, they will sense direction from the Lord. They need to be assured that there will be room to find fulfillment for those callings from the Lord.

As you think through your ministry plan, make sure it passes a few tests. Is this campus ministry expandable and flexible? When someone takes on a new ministry responsibility, is that responsibility clearly defined and are the expectations expressed? (A sample job description for a small group leader is included in the appendices.) Are students being pulled into the decision making process for the direction of this campus ministry?

The call to discipleship requires that every member see themselves as a minister/priest within the body of Christ. Once convinced that they are called to disciple, they need to know that the fellowship group is responsive to genuine leading from the Spirit. You need to keep your structures of ministry simple, but not restrictive.

TRAIN EVERYONE IN DISCIPLESHIP

In the discipling method of Jesus, He clearly selected a few men that He would individually disciple. In order to be effective, He restricted Himself to a certain number for the time He had. However, the call to discipleship was always extended in His teaching and ministry. There is something important for us in this.

As a campus pastor leads the discipling process, he must accomplish two things at the same time. First, he must select faithful individuals to disciple.

This means he must limit himself to certain students in whom to invest time, prayer and training. After sufficient training has occurred and they are leading discipleship small groups, the campus pastor must continue in these relationships to oversee their ministry. He must provide the continuing support they will need.

On the other hand, the campus pastor must be calling the entire body to the discipleship process. Of course, not all will respond to be trained or will go on from a place of training to service, but nonetheless they must all be called to be trained.

A very effective means for training the entire campus group is through offering a class on discipleship. This class should be offered during the school week at a time convenient for most students. The campus pastor needs to personally recruit students to attend and be faithful to this class. It will serve to provide an overview of the goals of the campus ministry and describe in detail the discipling process. Experience has demonstrated that this class not only serves to train the faithful, but it begins to build vision in others for discipling as well.

Another important outgrowth of discipling the entire student group is that it makes the job of the small group leader easier. How so? If you only train a few select students, you find them to initially be filled with enthusiasm and vision. However, their expectations of what will occur in their discipling relationships and those who have not been trained will be very different. You will end up with many very frustrated small group leaders, and you may lose them due to this frustration. Rather than just train a few, train everyone. Even if only a minority actually become discipleship small group leaders during their college days they will, nevertheless, know what to expect in the discipling process. They will go into their small groups with clearly defined expectations concerning the commitments necessary, how the process will flow, and what the end result should look like. They most importantly will know how they are to function in the group. Mter being discipled you will find that many of these students will later ask to serve as discipling leaders, even though they were reluctant at first.

Experience has also shown this to be wise. Offer the class each school term. Do not allow new freshman to enroll in the class until they have spent at least a third to half year in the campus ministry and in a small group. The Discipleship class will make so much more sense to them if they have had a little history in the small group. They will learn much more if you hold them back a little.

But then you must promote the class vigorously. Do it face to face. Send them a personal letter. Use student testimonies of those who have taken the class previously. Be creative and be persistent.

SELECT DISCIPLESHIP LEADERS AND SUPERVISE THEIR PROGRESS

Essential to the discipling process is the recruitment, training and appointment of discipling student leaders. More specifics on this process will be covered in the next two chapters.

At this point let's look at a few issues. In the beginning stages of a new campus ministry, it is the campus pastor's goal to affirm students to leadership in the group. This increases their ownership in the fellowship and is very valuable for growth. But what kind of leader is needed? Some tend to select leaders who have a focus of ministry over the whole fellowship group. They are an extension of the campus pastor's role. An overall leader has responsibility to give direction to the whole campus ministry.

It is recommended here that the first student leaders selected in a new or small campus ministry be discipling leaders. A campus pastor can continue to provide the overall direction of a small campus group. Selecting discipling student leaders more quickly reproduces ministry, and more growth will probably come from discipling leaders than from overall student leaders.

The discipling student leader is the key leader, no matter how young or old, big or small a campus ministry. Other kinds of leadership roles will come and go in campus ministry, but the discipling leader is essential at all times. When their role is devalued or de-emphasised, the campus ministry will begin to suffer; if not immediately, within one or two school years.

The campus pastor must insure that these leaders are carefully selected, thoroughly trained, and then cared for on a continuing basis. As a campus ministry grows to over 40 in small groups, you may need to consider using students who have proven themselves effective in discipleship to serve as leaders for the small group leaders. Beyond the campus pastor, the discipling student leader may need other students to support them in their role of ministry. Some campus groups have called this student discipleship specialist a Resource Leader.

The development of a discipling campus ministry is anon-going process, especially in the university setting. With the high turnover in membership the need to select, train and supervise is on going. Failing to give prime attention to this process for even one school year can have serious repercussions down the road. There are a few major things working against you in this process. Several aspects in discipleship run completely contrary to the university culture. Lack of commitment, accountability and maturity are area that represent hindrances to developing discipling leaders. Because of these factors, and others, the discipling process can be frustrated.

On the other hand, it is the heart of the Great Commission. Jesus inaugurated it and then commanded it. He is still committed to seeing it accomplished. You know that you are moving in the Lord's favor when you give yourself to discipleship. Just be sure to faithfully disciple vigorously each school year. Also rest assured Jesus will equip you and change the hearts of reluctant students to see the Great Commission accomplished on your campus.