Campus CrossWalk Magazine: 2007 Spring Issue -- Practicum: Your First Year

EDITOR'S NOTE: A few months ago, Cary McCall popped the following question on our campus minister‘s listserv: “What was your first year of full-time campus ministry like?” Below, are five insightful responses, filled with lessons learned and healthy encouragement. So, if you are a Young Turk just getting started in full-time Campus Ministry (or an old dog, for that matter), this section is for you!

From Illinois!

My first year in Campus Ministry was in 1978. I was 22 years old and didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. Thankfully, there were some great things in place and a hand-full of people working with the campus work. We had an awesome group of college students and they let me grow with them. I was walking by faith and found myself in over my head. This has often been the case with ministry. The lessons of learning to lean on Jesus and trust God are of great value. I do not believe that I was all that productive during my first year of campus ministry. It took me a couple of years before I felt very comfortable with what I was doing.

If I had it to do over again, I would have sought out more training and a mentor. I was attracted to the campus because it brought the world to our doorstep. We have such a great opportunity to take Jesus into all the world as we minister on campus. To those "young punks…” find a soul mate and spend time in prayer. Find someone to mentor you and spend yourself on someone younger to disciple.

I spend 7 years in campus ministry and after 18 years in a preaching ministry, I am back at work on campus. It is still overwhelming and challenging. God Bless your campus ministries.

Richard Miller, Evangelist
Urbana, Illinois

From Oregon!

It has only been twelve years, but it feels like dinosaurs were roaming the earth when I experienced my first year in Campus Ministry. What was my first year like?

It was a year of getting over “McFly Syndrome” (Remember him? From Back to the Future? “I’m not very good at confrontation” was his most memorable line). There were people here who needed to be confronted. And even though I was going to be kind and gracious about it, they were still going to get mad. Some of them came around, others stormed off. Others appreciated that I confronted those people so that they could have more access to their campus ministry and begin to get more involved themselves. People were in the way. It was my job to get them out of the way. People from other church traditions were asserting themselves. It was my job to politely, lovingly inform them that this is a ministry of the Circle Church of Christ, and as such would require student leaders to be immersed believers and members of that church (but they were welcome to stick around). It wasn’t fun, and I was accused of being a legalist when, well, I’m just not.

It was a year of facing the reality that the Biblical illiteracy of our culture is pretty much just as systemic and pronounced in most of our youth groups (and, frankly, the rest of the church) as it is in the larger culture. Being someone who agrees with our brother and teacher, Paul (in books like Titus) that the solution to unhealthy church and ministry community is “sound doctrine” (healthy teaching), I had to come to grips with the fact that I was going to have to interest my college students in sitting down with me and getting to know scripture for real. It’s been working out pretty well so far. They can all recite what the Gospel is and where to find it in summary (1st Corinthians 15). They all know that their campus minister will always frame every response to every substantive question (about doctrine, about relationships, about career choices) in the Gospel. They all know their campus minister wants them to let the Gospel permeate every aspect of their lives forthwith.

It was a year very different from this year, so be encouraged. My first year included a rainy afternoon by myself at an empty display table during orientation, wondering where was the one student who was supposed to help me (he never showed). This year, the students took care of this event without even inviting me to be there (I showed up anyway). That first year was a lonely year of handing out flyers (often by myself) in the heart of campus. This year several significant and well-organized outreach activities have happened on campus without my direct involvement. So don’t give up!

Grace and peace,
Wilson Parrish
Corvalis, Oregon

From Tennessee!

Responding to the inquiry about the first year in campus ministry, here are some quick thoughts from a guy's whose first year was over a decade ago--I'm no expert, but some things that worked (or that I wished I'd done) are these, in no particular order:

1. Focus by Starting with Leadership. Three questions to ask the students you have to start with:

What is your vision for the needs of the campus and the ministry
What do you want to do/how do you want to serve to make this vision happen
What do you need from me as a minister to help you serve in this way

2. Intervarsity Suggests following the ABCD model:: A: Analyze the campus, get to know demographics, characteristics, hang out spots, key issues, etc.; B: Build relationships with students, community, elders, ministers, and supporting church.; C: Continually pray for God's direction, wisdom and power; D: Develop a vision and strategy (Tim Elmore's book Authentic Influence has some great chapters on vision formation)

3. Chi Alpha's Starter Steps, from a booklet entitle Reaching the College Near You:

Prayer for God's Power & Direction.
Acclimation: get acquainted with Campus.
Critical Mass: start with 3-5 committed students—share vision, pray & fast together.
Outreach & Recruitment Activities: i.e., have an info table at orientation gatherings at the school.
Register as Student Organization.
Start Large Group Meeting/Worship Time.

4. My favorite thing to tell leaders and myself about what the overall goal is for the year is to invest in people and to pray that we would be able to honestly say that we did what Jesus did with the people he invested in at the end of his three years with them. Consider His prayer in John 17:1-26 and just circle the verbs that say what Jesus did for his "students." This is what I want to say I did for mine by the end of the year:

Brought God glory by finishing the work God gave him to do.
Revealed God & his words to "those God gave him" (assumes he received from God)
Prays for them: protection, sanctification, unity, be with Christ, know love & glory.
Protected them while with them.
Sanctified himself (kept himself holy) for them.
Give them the glory God gave him.

These are just some scattered things that have helped me. Hope it helps,

Dean Barham
Nashville, Tennessee