Tough Love in College Ministry

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Chris Bean | Leave a comment

After four years of campus ministry at the University of Cincinnati, I’m still figuring out what the summer season should look and feel like. (The Edge House is the place where a lot of my ministry conversations, bible studies, events, etc happen.)

During the year, I’m trying to intentionally and weekly disciple about 12 students in hopes that it indirectly impacts 50-70 students. During the summer, I have about 4-6 students who stick around and want to continue to engage on a regular basis.

Screen Shot 2013-05-21 at 9.03.52 PMWith my added responsibilities as the College/Young Adult Pastor at Springdale Nazarene Church, I instantly have another 50-70 young adults to connect with. That’s a welcome challenge but a challenge none the less. This Sunday we will start a new Connect Group which will explore the idea of merging…merging into adulthood and merging faith with all of life. One of the ways I believe “tough love” is going to come into play in my church-based college ministry role is keeping this idea in front of them: the more successful we are in accomplishing our goal, the shorter your time in this ministry will be. (Find our more about our College/Young Adult Ministry here on Facebook.)

Unlike a typical age-based ministry environment in the church (children, youth, etc) ministry to young adults will be more outcome-based. Although the college journey could mark a definite season of involvement in this ministry, successfully navigating the major issues of identity formation, intimacy needs, pleasure, meaning, and Truth will be the proverbial finish line.

To that end, I am realizing that on the campus-based ministry side of things…I need to be a little more challenging. I recently saw my first “batch” of college students graduate and leave campus after being connected with my ministry all four years. Although there are some great things to celebrate, I would love to send students off being a little more confident in the spiritual, social, and vocational progress that was made. For that to happen, I need to become a little Screen Shot 2013-05-23 at 10.25.48 AMmore like the coach or personal trainer who pushes students beyond what they think they’re capable of spiritually.

I sat across the table from a college student just the other day. As we were having lunch, I challenged him to consider what our goals might be for the summer term. After one of my suggestions, he wrinkled his nose and indicated that he wasn’t interested in the particular “medicine” I had prescribed for our time together. In the moment, I let it slide and offered a less challenging agenda for our next conversation. But as I’ve thought and prayed about this student, I know I have to go back to him and let him know that I believe in him. More importantly, I believe in the God who calls him out of mediocre spirituality into a life of robust faith and mission. No more Mr. Nice Campus Minister, Ha!

 

Posted in College Ministry

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My New and Improved Ministry Role

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Chris Bean | Leave a comment

Screen Shot 2013-05-17 at 11.26.05 AM

Two weeks ago, we added a new role to my job description with the title of “College & Young Adult Pastor” at the Springdale Nazarene Church.

This church (SNC) is about 15 minutes north of the University of Cincinnati. A few months ago, we began attending this church as a family and realized they were in need of some leadership for the 18-29 crowd. After much prayer, discussion, and discernment with their leadership team, we decided it could be a great church to be our “home base” for reaching out to college students…not just at the University of Cincinnati but to several other campuses in the area as well.
YAM at SNC2Many of you have already noticed this transition via the Facebook and Twitter updates. We have hit the ground running and will be starting a new connect group with 20-30 college students at SNC on Sunday mornings at the end of this month. Later on in the summer, we will have a few worship gatherings which will be designed specifically for young adults and there’s a lot of excitement about the transformation and impact which will develop out of SNC and this ministry.

CCO_short_logoThe CCO (Coalition for Christian Outreach)  is the campus ministry org based in Pittsburgh that makes this all possible, so to speak. I fell in love with the CCO and their partnership model about 5 years ago when I attended my first Jubilee conference.

I believe that the CCO’s core values, their excellent training, the networking and support I receive, etc all coalesce into the perfect organization for “transforming college students to transform the world.” If you want to see specific details about their values, partnership model, etc then click here.

Of course, one of the things which the CCO provides is the infrastructure, human resources, and training around the support-raising effort which accounts for half Screen Shot 2013-05-17 at 11.35.38 AMof the financial load of this ministry. We have been raising over half of our salary and support for this ministry through the CCO during these past four years. Many of you have joined our team of financial supporters and we could not have continued reaching and discipling college students without that support! If you would like more information on how to partner with us financially, click on the fundraising image above.

What is NOT pictured above is an image representing the Southwestern Ohio District Church of the Nazarene. 4 1/2 years ago it was the district, and specifically the leadership courage of our District Superintendent, Dr. Doug Van Nest, that helped create the initial partnership with the CCO as a strategy to reach and disciple students at the University of Cincinnati. Over the past four years, the denomination/district has covered the other 40-50% of the cost for this ministry. Without their generosity and commitment to campus ministry, the fundraising task probably would have prevented us from pursuing this call to ministry.

For those who may be wondering about the financial implications of adding Springdale Nazarene Church to this partnership equation, the bottom line is that it’s very helpful. However…we still need to raise a significant amount of monthly support to keep this ministry fully funded. And the more we can raise in monthly support through the CCO, the sooner we might be able to create a new  CCO partnership with the SWO District in order to reach other campuses in the area. We are very excited about that possibility and hope to see this happen in the next 2-3 years.

To make this long story slightly longer, Debbie and I want each of you to know that we value your support as we continue this ministry endeavor. Whether that support shows up in a

bank account,

a prayer account,

or an encouragement account            

…we need it, receive it, and thank God for it! Please keep our family and this ministry in your prayers as we launch new things this summer at SNC and prepare for another season of ministry at UC in the Fall

Posted in College Ministry, Faith

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