Leadership & Missions

In class, we skype with Andy Haynes, a NANB missionary, in the New England area in collegiate ministry. He spoke about how collegiate ministry is different in the emerging regions than in the southeast.  He explain many collegiate ministers have to raise their support and develop a partnership to meet financial needs. He express how many college ministers are using collegiate church planting as the means to reaching college students and not the traditional BCM para-church ministry. The reason is in the northern areas collegiate ministry lacks facilities, sufficient funding, higher number of students in one area, and many have not heard the Gospel.  He approaches the campuses like missionaries reaching out and sharing the Gospel in new areas. He encounter much opposition to Christianity; therefore, he strives to build relationships with people and share Christ through those relationships.  Soularium is an evangelism tool he has found to be helpful. He also uses small groups to disciple and involves students in the ministry. Additionally, he uses mission trips as opportunities to develop leadership and pour specifically into them.

Leadership

·      Helping students becomes disciples who in turn become the disciple makers

·      Character: One can not lead without character. Autenticity and consistency are important to character. One has to be able to identify their pitfalls and work on those areas of life.  In other words, character (fruits of the Spirit) flow from that person; it becomes their DNA.

Missions

Missions can be a great opportunity to connect with students, to build leadership, for students to live out their faith, to serve and share Christ, and to help students to think about and become aware of those outside of themselves. The following are some points we discuss in class about missions.

1. The way you describe the mission trip is important.

·      Mission trips can easily become about the destination and not the purpose. How the trip is presented and describe will impact the view of the mission trip. 

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2. Since of Call: individuals motive for the trip

·      Talking through with students about their motives for attending the trip is important.  For some students, they will attend the trip for the opportunity to serve and “do good.”  As a collegiate minister, one has to decide if you will allow such an individual to attend and use the time to minister to that student or if you will not.  I believe the purpose of each trip must be determine through prayer as well as who should attend. Obviously, a sincere heart to serve Christ and to share him is to be the motive of the heart of individuals, but the trip can also be used to minister to those who do not know Christ.

3. Debriefing

·      Debriefing is vital to keeping the focus on Christ and the purpose of each element of the mission trip.  Every mission trip I have been apart of the debriefing has been the opportunity for students to share what God is teaching them daily through their experience as well as how they are going to take what they learn and apply it to their own life and community.

Cross cultural trips

“4 things that make a difference: Dissonant (creative tension), habituation (learn more on the second trip), modeling, community (richer: team)” – Article from Class

Missions are important to any collegiate ministry.  We must teach students the purpose of missions and what Christ speaks of missions.  Missions have to be more than a “free trip to do good deeds.”  They are to be intentional, Christ-centered, and purposeful.