Childrens Ministry Online

Orange Tour 2011 Notes: College Ministry

Posted on 09. Feb, 2011 by Kenny.

The last session of the Orange tour was totally unexpected. Reggie warned everyone that he wasn’t offering solutions, but simply beginning a conversation. He also encouraged us to stay engaged because he was going to talk about something that most of us in the room thought little about, College Ministry. He shared an interesting statistic from Lifeway.

Of 23-30 year olds who stayed in the church during ages 18-23, only 6% are not currently still in church. (This is probably not exact wording)

Studies have shown that the year after graduation, a significant majority of kids who have been involved in church all their lives “check out” of church, many to never really come back. However, the Lifeway study above shows that if we can get them to stick with it for those critical college years, they’re most likely to make a life-long commitment to a local church. We all know that this isn’t just about attending a church, but if they’re in church, it’s more likely that they have a relationship with Christ.

So, Reggie suggested that the church has been programed to draw a finish line at the end of the 12th grade. The problem though is that we’re abandoning our kids when the stakes are the highest. The solution might be to move the finish line out an additional four years. We’ve invested in these kids for YEARS and taking care of them during their college years is about protecting that investment and ensuring that what’s been put into them comes to maturity.

This isn’t about “a” college ministry. Small groups, bands, relevant teachers and social events. It’s about seeking out college students and investing in them during these critical years. It’s about every leader taking ownership of this need, investing in a student. Your ability to appeal to college students isn’t as important as your ability to be authentic with a young adult. This is a an issue where everyone needs to be be “in.” Maybe it’s 12th grade small group leaders continuing to reach out to the kids they led in High School even though they may have scattered across the US.

Whatever happens, we have to be more intentional about this problem. For the past few years, I’ve had a soap box where I’ve suggested that most Children’s Ministries are measuring success the wrong way. Rather than judge success in how many kids we have attending this years as opposed to last year, we should be measuring if the kids we had in 5th grade 13 years ago are still following Christ. Yeah, it’s probably near to impossible to measure, but permanent life change is what we’re after, not a bigger crowd. Until we figure this out, how to help kids grow up into adults who love and follow Christ with all their hearts, we’re just fooling ourselves into feeling good about temporary (and potentially meaningless) successes.

So, what do you think?

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Orange 09: Preconference – College Ministry 101

Posted on 13. May, 2009 by Kenny.

So, why are you posting notes about a College Ministry session on a Children’s Ministry website?

1. Technically my role is the Next Gen pastor and it’s my job to oversee College Ministry. This is why I did this pre-conference session. I put all my notes on the blog so it’s easy for me to find later. So, it’s kind of a convenience things for me.
2. Just becasue it’s College Ministry doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from them. Will your kids in preschool eventually enter college? Do you have any college students serve in your ministry? So, it’s probably a good idea to know something about college ministry.

Like I said before, I’m going to oversee college ministry here at Gateway. I don’t have much experience in college ministry. I’ve been in ministry and I’ve been in college. Does that qualify me? Seriously, my knowledge of college ministry tripled at the Orange Conference. So, here we go:

Overview:

This pre-conference was taught by Chuck Bomar. He’s amazing… the grand czar of college ministry. For a good portion of the pre-conference, I felt like I was in a sociology class looking into the way college students think. It was really detailed, but really good. I think I would have connected more if I was actually a College Pastor, but it was helpful. The final part of the final session was all application and it helped me tremendously.

History:

This age stage really developed in the last 100 years.

In the late 1800′s, child labor laws are passed keeping kids from working and sending them ot schools. In 1910 and 1912 the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are formed since kids are not working. Older teens were still working though. However, during the Great Depression, teenagers were the first ones let go from jobs, so now there was a need for High Schools. In 1930, the first high school in New York opens. After depression, companies are hiring more educated people, so high school becomes a necessary step. In the 1970′s the church first recognizes high school students as a age group to focus on. In 1900, less that 10% of age group in college. Today the number is more than 65%.

Characteristics of this age (18-25)

• Prolonged adolescent thinking/living
• Delayed family life
• Financial dependence

Many churches start a college service:

• Rarely accomplishes what we think
• Temporary solution
• Overly focused on a church service
• Inherently teaches disunity
• Makes discipleship more difficult
• Has teaching difficulty

Ultimately college age is a transition time much like moving from elementary to middle school. The purpose is to transition them from High School to Adult life. We want to protect our investment in these lives. Whether they have grown up in our church or came during college, we want them to fully integrate into our church.

Philosophy

Chuck spent a lot of time talking about philosophy. College students are in the identity formation phase of their life. They don’t need to be told who they are or who they need to be, but someone to walk with them and help them discover their identity.

Application

You don’t need a David Crowder or Louie Gigleo to pull off a successful college ministry. You need seasoned adults (probably the age of the college studetn’s parents) who will form relationships with these students (intergenerational relationships). Again, the focus is assimilation. This happens through home gatherings, justice/service projects and occasional retreats. Ultimately, college ministry is not student ministry on stereroids.

My Take Away

My job description states that I will oversee our college ministry at some point. Up until this point, my only thoughts of college ministry was a college service. This meant finding a leader first. Someone who could teach and lead. With this thought, I knew that it would probably be another year before we attempted to start something like this.

However, this session turn my thoughts of College Ministry on it’s head. The idea of a ministry based on groups really fits with our church’s philosophy. If this is the case, we can probably launch a college ministry this fall. So, I’m encourage. I also work with college students in our Children’s Ministry. This information will also help me know how to best interact with them.

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Quick Interview with Chuck Bomar

Posted on 29. Apr, 2009 by Kenny.

I spent the day in a college ministry concentration with Chuck Boamar from collegeleader.org. I know, you’re a Children’s Pastor… what does college ministry have to do with me? If you’re concerned about the kids you minister today, you will care. I spoke with Chuck right after the three sessions for a few minutes. See what he has to say to Children’s Pastors.

Complete notes will follow later tonight.

Orange Conference 09 – College Ministry (Chuck Bomar) from Kenny Conley on Vimeo.

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