Church-based College Ministry
“Who in our area does a good job of reaching college-aged young adults? Specifically, what church has an effective church-based (as opposed to campus-based) ministry that I can talk to?”
I thought it was a simple question; one I’ve been asking everyone in ministry in the Tulsa, OK area. DOM’s, BCM staff, pastors… no one has a really good answer for me. I was pointed toward a couple of mega churches with large college ministries; but none of them were particularly evangelistic in their outreach (in other words, they appear to be attracting young Christians from their church and others) . And, when you look at their collegiate ministry in terms of percentage of total membership, they’re not doing any better than my church is at reaching college students.
One church I was pointed toward does have a large number of 20-somethings; but they are mostly young marrieds a few years out of school. Another church (also very large) is attracting significant numbers of college students but their approach is to treat their college ministry the same way many churches approach youth ministries: a huge budget spent on fun outings (games, concerts, and door prizes). That may be an effective way to attract young adults but it doesn’t fit my preconceived notions of the best way to do church.
The advice I receive generally falls into two categories: give up and let the para-church ministries reach these kids or throw money at them doing fun things with lots of give-aways.
I’m not willing to do either one of those.
Other advice I’ve received includes:
1) Don’t bother: they’ll only go to para-church campus ministries.
2) Don’t bother: young post-moderns won’t come to an established church.
3) Don’t meet in a church building.
4) Forget about Sunday morning; college students don’t like to get up early.
5) Do fun stuff; lots of trips.
6) Don’t do lots of trips: they don’t have any money and won’t go to things that cost real $$.
7) Focus on relationships.
8 ) And of course, the ever present (at least in Baptist circles) “if you feed them, they will come.”
Lest you think I’ve only spoken to senior pastors, church planters, and other professional ecclesiastic types… all of the above came from college students themselves.
I teach a Sunday school class for college students; recently I asked for their input. I learned several things:
First, the class thought I was about 10 years older than I really am. (It’s the gray hair; I started turning gray in high school.)
Second, Listen to them. They often feel ignored or talked down to.
Third, understand they are a generation looking for community. Well, that’s not quite how they put it. What they actually said was “hanging out” is very important to them.
Finally, they described themselves as the ADD Generation. Not in terms of having a diagnosable disorder. But more in terms of being inundated with information, causes, and opportunities. Their world is changing very fast and it’s hard for them to keep up.
I would add that whatever else this generation may be, “slacker” doesn’t apply. My students both at church and in the courses I teach at college work a lot. It’s not unusual for them to have two jobs if they can’t get enough hours at one. I’m guessing the average college student I come in contact with is a full-time student (12 to 18 credit hours per semester) and works 30-plus hours each week. And, don’t refer to them as a “post-modern” generation. Most of them have no idea what that means.
Now, let me stop thinking like a churchman and start thinking like the family counselor I’ve been trained to be. Some random thoughts about reaching college-aged people:
First, re-define what “college age” means. Traditionally, “college aged” meant 18 to 22 years-old. Baptist churches would have “College and Career” Sunday school classes and ministries: college referred to university students. 18 to 22 year-olds who skipped college and went straight into the work force were in the “career” category. Now, the typical university student takes 5 years (or more) to graduate, not 4. And, many people are taking even longer.
This is especially true in Tulsa. TU and ORU are both traditional four year schools. But the state schools (OSU-Tulsa and NSU-BA) are relying on the junior college system (TCC) to provide the core undergraduate classes. If you stick around Tulsa, there is not the expectation of four years in one school and you’re out.
Second, college students are working now more than ever. Few kids have the luxury of leaving high school and being full-time students without a job. People are taking fewer hours at school and working more; often working two jobs while going to school. These are busy people who are prioritizing their time and are not looking to attend meetings and programs just because someone tells them they should.
Next, sociologists have long seen college as inadvertently extending adolescence. If you think of adolescence as a developmental task and not a time period, this makes sense. The task of adolescence is to answer the question, “Who am I, really?”. Adulthood begins when one has a clear answer to that question and begins to pursue life activities consistent with the answer. (I like thinking in those terms because it explains the presence of 25, 35, and even 45 year-old adolescents.) I think this calls for remembering they are a work in progress. No longer teens, not quite settled into a place where they are comfortable with themselves. Adults, but still working out major life issues like career and relationships.
Finally, no one life stage exists independently of the others. In other words, a strong youth group in a church might help create a strong college ministry. A solid youth group will get a boost from a strong children’s ministry. Which requires a good ministry to parents. Each reacts to and feeds off the others.
Now all I’ve got to do is figure out some way to put it all together. Any help will be appreciated. What are you doing that has been effective in reaching college students?
I love this post, Bowden. I just don’t have a clue of anything worthwhile to contribute. But I want to learn, so I hope someone can engage the conversation effectively.
Tulsa is pretty tough Bowden. When I lived there [long ago and in a galaxy far, far away] I tried to get a college ministry together at our church. I got together with the TU BSU director and a few other local church leaders who were interested and they said about the same thing. Some would show up in the Summer but when school started up it would trickle down to nothing.
I like this post though. It sounds like you’ve got a good handle on the variables.
The only suggestion I have isn’t a new one but I’ve seen it work well. Don’t get wrapped up in the idea that church has to happen at the church house. The most successful College age Bible study I was ever a part of happened at a popular local bistro/hangout. It was a very casual atmosphere but the Bible study was right on the money.
I started out ministry in a church-based ministry to college students. Here are a few random, but proven thoughts:
1. Let them talk. I saw the students grow tremendously as they put their growth into words in discussion groups time.
2. Let them lead. I think this may be where many churches “miss it” and the campus-based organizations have it going on. College students need the opportunity to develop leadership and organizational skills. They don’t want some group of thirty- or forty-somethings to “minister to them.” They want a role model or two to invest in them as leaders. If they aren’t leader-types, they want to follow other students. We had a “Student Leadership Group” of leaders, guided by our leader. They met periodically to discuss ideas and, depending on the level of the particular leader, groups they were themselves leading.
3. “Hanging out” is of utmost importance. College students have tremendous amounts of free time and they will hang out with someone, for better or worse. This “hang out” time can feel like wasted time to those of us who are more task-oriented, but most of the ministry actually takes place at those times (or relationships are formed that enable ministry to take place later).
4. Don’t disparage fun events. Students have a lot of time to fill up, and they are frequently under tremendous pressure at the same time. It’s good to provide a positive atmosphere, with some fun, and an opportunity to meet other students.
I came back to the church because I was so desperately lonely and this college ministry was my best hope for some non-self-destructive social contact. If it had been nothing but Bible studies and worship, I doubt I would’ve stuck around. Remember, you’re competing with bar-hopping for the attention of the lost or immature believer.
and 5. Don’t forget your graduate students. Many Christian graduate students suffer all week from the persecution they face in the classroom/office. They may not have the free time that the undergrads do but they need a safe haven, too.
Interesting that Bowden sees college students as being extremely busy and not having any free time while Cam sees them as having a lot of time to fill up. Curious “counterpoints” there. Not that either one is wrong, but I don’t see either one as universally true.
My potential application for all this is tech school students (there are no real colleges in my county). I’m just listening and learning, so y’all KEEP TALKING :)
Bernard
Bernard and Josh,
Thanks for the ideas and support.
Cam,
Good thoughts. BTW, I’m not down on fun events; I’m just not thrilled with the idea that fun is the only thing college students are interested in.
Josh,
I appreciate the reminder that ministry doesn’t have to happen at the church building. I’m not using “church-based” in the geographic sense; rather I’m using it to mean “not a para-church ministry”.
I have played around with the idea of trying to get on campus. I’ve talked with the BCM director about him reserving a room (he can do that since the BCM is a recognized student organization) and the two of us cosponsoring a bible study/Sunday school/worship experience on Sunday afternoons or evenings. I’ve got some college-aged people at the church who occasionally attend worship services but don’t get up early enough for Sunday school while the BCM director says he has several students who regularly attend meetings but don’t go to church anywhere.
Bowden – what will you do if you learn that fun IS the only thing college students are interested in? Seriously – they’re not all that grown up, yet, and if it’s not fun, they probably won’t come back. How do you minister to that? Add in the fact that a lot of them have interpersonal relationships which don’t persist if they give themselves to Christ and become all churchy, and you’ve got an incredibly hard group to reach. In my opinion, many times harder than youth, who are often a captive audience.
I think it’s often too easy to just give up on 20 year olds who are obsessed with sex and bling, because they are a difficult and EXPENSIVE group to reach out to. They consume much time and resources, if you want to really engage them. I think. Since I have neither, but I DO have a church that is VOID of this age group – TOTALLY VOID – I’m all ears here.
Bernard,
All I can say is my experience with college students (two of my own children, the students I teach at our local junior college, clients, and my Sunday school class) is they still have some of the idealistic “we can change the world” attitude that we often associate with students. I have reason to believe this is a population that wants to hang out and have fun; but they also want to DO something about what they believe in. They are concerned with issues of social justice and they’re not content to simply raise money, they want to be directly involved.
One of my problems (I’m not making excuses, just trying to be realistic) is I am currently a lay person: any hanging out I do or organizing ministry or teaching Bible study or planning a social event is done after I’ve attended to my job and my family. It makes it hard to be a Sunday school teacher who sometimes thinks he’s the only one in the church interested in reaching this age group. My church seems to have an attitude of “we’ve given to the BCM, what more do you want from us”.
My pastor (he’s our Transitional Pastor) is also the DOM in Tulsa; he’s encouraging me to do whatever it takes to get a college ministry off the ground with an eye to later using it as a core group for a church plant to reach 20-somethings. His advice is grow the Sunday school class, start a ministry, then plant a church. I’ve got to admit, I’m intrigued.
Bowden – A big old yes to the “wanting to change the world”, seconded by “wanting to change the church to fit THEIR preferences”, followed yet again by “changing the world is cool, and we like to do cool stuff.”
Next question… How do we blend the idea of “giving them an outlet” with “leading them to Christ”? It seems that so many “ministries” in the Christian world are obsessed with either handing out tracts at rock concerts or creating alternative events to keep people from going to rock concerts that they have no idea how to encourage spiritual curiosity and spiritual digging. Let’s face it – 20somethings are digging. They dig into alcohol, they dig into drugs, they dig into sex, they dig into music, they dig into clothes – all in a search for an identity that keeps them cool with their friends while differentiating them from the establishment. That’s why, IMHO, church plants are hugely more successfuly with this crowd – even with identical doctrine – than ANY existing church can ever be. That’s also why the parachurch guys do “okay”. They’re not “establishment”, while ANY church is. (There’s a huge parallel here with The Golden Compass, but that’s enough for a whole ‘nother day…)
They also don’t want to be directed. They NEED to direct themselves. It’s a coming of age need. They’ve been told what to do for 18+ years, and a Christian who tries to manipulate or trick them in any fashion is immediately written off into oblivion.
They do have dreams. I just want to see the way to “direct” their dreams into reality for God without creating the crash that happens when many of them meet church and realize that the classic “Christian” nametag puts them at huge odds with all those cool people out there that they really like. (I’m referring to those who are NOT Christians at this point…) I’m not goofy enough to think that it’s MY job to draw them to Christ – I understand that, but how can we be satisfied with NO effort?? Don’t we have a duty to THESE people just like we do to the 6 year olds in VBS?
Just thoughts :)
I’ll put some prayer on you brother.
Bowden:
Take a little time and visit with Melody and Howard at the New Life Freedom Church near 51st and Mingo, next door to O’Conner Air Conditioniong supply. I think they have a fix for bringing in people in the age group you would like to reach. Also read Unveiling Islam by the Caner brothers in case that subject ever comes your way.
Praying for you,
Cozumelkid
Josh’s Dad
My husband and I currently lead a Church Based College Ministry with apx 40-60 active students. We started in Jan 2007 with 5 students who attended on a regular basis. This is our second church based college ministry. The other one was started with one student and grew to 14 students in 8 months.It was also a very traditional small church and still was able to have a college ministry. It does have unique challenges.We do agree with many of the posts. Here are our suggestions:
1. Be called to it and committed to it: You must have passion for this`age group and be willing to sacrifice alot of time and energy. You must be committed. Dont do it just out of need. Be passionate! They know when you are not.
2. Pray, Pray Pray- This is the foundation.Make sure you include a variety of prayer in your meetings too!!
3. Dont give up too early!! It took 6-8 months and many low attendance meetings but finally God brought in the harvest. You just need to be faithful. God knows your heart.It is His heart Too!!
4. Read everything you can on the subject. Plan , plan, plan.
5. Make sure your church loves and wants college age students. This is important-be cause you will need funding and support from staff. A minimum of $3-5 thousand is good.Or if you are able, start by funding it yourself and set an example for the church.
6. Try a home based meeting during the week and include a fellowship time, music and Bible study. Make sure the study gives them alot of interactive talk time. They get enough lecture every week. Ours is from 8-11pm at my home.
7.Be part of their lives beyond meeting times. Couples who can invest signifigant time in their lives are great!! You might enlist more than one couple. Model a good marriage for them. Model everything you want them to learn.
8. Get a facebook and text message. Believe me they check this the most!!
9.Plan events but not too many on regular meeting nights. It is better to keep your meetings stable. Everytime you cancel, it takes a while for them to get back on board. Keep the meeting even during the summer and breaks even if attendance goes down.Check on them when they miss to much. Be consistant. So much of their life is not.
10. Talk to them and find out what they prefer as a whole.What works and what does not.
11.Once you get started and you can – let students take turns leading. Make sure that students leaders are plugged into church and are a positive witness.They need to have the right heart. You can train them.Look for the ones that are loyal and consistant to your group. If they are spread to thin they are not going to be able to be good student leaders.
12. Get on campus! You have a right to be there too!! We have our own on -campus status and we can ask for rooms on our own as well as get free advertising in the campus newspaper.You can also get group contact info this way. As a church we fail if we rely on para-church to do our job and where will they be when they are out of college if they are not active in the local church. We lose alot of this age group by not stepping up to the plate on this.We should all (including Para-church)be working to get these students involved in the local church (The Bride of Christ).
13. Start making friends with your youth now!! It is also wise to pre-connect your college to your junior and senior youth.If your church has a large youth group – they should also be working on a great college ministry. They need this !!
14. Missions- make sure you plan some. This age group is very mission minded. How great is that!!
15. Develope a website, a logo , t- shirts ect.. You can buy a $50 program that will help you do this on your own. It is called Web Easy.Make sure you have lots of pictures of them!!
16. Interact with the church body too!! They need families as models. Dont make them think that church is only about one age group. Children love this age group as well. promote involvement in church based ministry.
Blessings and Prayers!!
[...] You can read the whole post here. [...]
I’m a 26 year-old whom as recently rededicated myself to christ and I’m looking for a strong ministry like the one Mrs. Chastang is talking about. Just wanted to say don’t give up and thank you. He will lead the way.
I just came across this by searching for “Tulsa College Ministry” in google. I am a new campus minister at TCC West. The BCM there is growing and doing some great new things. But while that happens, many of my students are starting to realize their church just isn’t feeding them. So I am searching for churches in the area passionate about discipling, growing, and using college students in their church. All the info on this post is right…they need a place to belong, a place they’re valued, a place that gives them ownership, a place of depth. I do not mean anything against any youth workers in the area, but what most of my students were taught, was compromised behind closed doors. They are ready for something REAL!
Anyways, I want to work diligently to give the 30,000+ college students in Tulsa something they deserve. A para-church organization is not capable of that on their own (though BCM is not a para-church organization).
I just wanted to stir the conversation to see what your church has been doing since you posted this and see what kind of vision you have for what “could be” in the tulsa area. I need churches to recommend to my students and…more than anything…I want to see college students valued in the family of faith and given a place to worship and grow.
let me know what’s happening.
I’m not from the Tulsa area, I live in Southern California, but this situation surely pertains to our area as well. I am a recent graduate from University and am just starting my masters. I was pretty much unchurched all throughout college, and this is because I never could find a place where I felt comfortable. It’s odd because (as noted above) many of us came out of high school ministries with lots of gimmiks and ploys and fun to keep us there, but then many of us move away from our churches and friends and have to face the church hunting all alone. It’s hard to be in that position because no matter where you go, you’re always going to be the new person or the outsider.
anywho…I seemed to have finally found a church that I’m committed to and getting plugged into, and I love it. The one problem is the college group. they call this service the “nextGen” service for 18-28′s…and being the new person here has been really hard. I feel like there is kind of an established community and there is certainly a lot of “hang out” time, but I don;t think many of those at the group are keen to the fact that new people feel out of the loop and should be welcomed.
The point of the above lamentation is to maybe encourage your ministry to be as open, loving, welcoming and GENUINE as possible. If you introduce yourself to the new person, remember their name. If I handed you a communication card last week and you called me, maybe you shouldn’t be trying to introduce yourself to me and give me another card. In expressing this situation to other sisters in different areas and churches, I feel that I’m not alone in this.
What I want is genuine, honest, trustful community. I want a community that is willing to welcome me in and that genuinely fellowships, loves, supports and prays for one another. It’s great if we have these in our churches, but if we can’t grow them through a not-quite-conscious sense of exclusivity, we might want to wonder what would have to change to form a solid, growing, ministry.
Until recently, my husband and I have been in college ministry for the past 5 years and have discovered three things about this group in the process:
1. They want a home-away-from-home. Our home always had an open door – it’s the place to hang, to get home-cooked food, to do laundry, to talk, to pray, know someone will listen…it’s where the relationship-building happens.
2. Let their voices be heard! We met once a week in our home for a Bible study that was very participatory – to let them ask the questions they’ve always been afraid to ask, then together we found out what the Bible says.
3. They want to be used by God! They want to reach their friends for God! They want to know God and His plan – simply put, these kids are earnest, searching and awesome!!
Hope this helps….God bless!
This is awesome! I’m in Memphis, TN and I am 36yrs old. I’m currently back in college after many many years of not finishing my degree when I was much younger. I’m attending an accelerated adult college. Recently I just joined a new church after being at my old church for about 13-14 years. This is a passionate topic for me; if I had something like this when I was in college as a young adult I probably would have finished my degree before now. I work with a lot of youth within my career field and a college ministry is very helpful and needed. I’m working on my very first research paper and I chose to write on college aged ministry. I hope this forum continues to circuit it has helped with a great source of information and I plan on putting it to use after I finish my paper.
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