Yoda. Freshmen. Guys. Girls.

Reflect on a relationship you had with a Yoda (Mentor or Discipler).

I never really had a specific one Yoda, but the Lord has brought in many people in my life during seasons I needed someone the most. Each of these individuals took time to listen, speak to truth into my life, and show me unconditional love.

Reflect on what type of Yoda you want to be.

I desire to be the type of Yoda that challenges individuals to seek Christ, to fall more in love with him, and to become more like him.  I long to help students grow in all areas of their life and be someone they can come to for discussing life and Christ.  I desire to have an open home and to love student with the love of Christ that is in me.

In what ways can college ministries help freshmen?

Collegiate Ministries can help freshmen connect with other students for building friendships.  They can help by being there and teaching them how to balance the new type of schedule they will be living out. Freshmen are usually looking to create an identity for themselves so college ministries can offer opportunities to be in small groups of Christian community where Christ likeness is the main influence in their life.  They can also help students connect with a mentor and local church as well as be a constant, available presence in their lives. Freshmen can be help by teaching them more in depth about the “culture” they are now a part of on the campus. This can help them become more secure as an individual on-campus.

How can college ministers specifically minister to guys and girls?

Collegiate ministers can begin by addressing the issues most typically faced by each gender through same sex small groups or accountability. Additionally, they can teach, focus, and model what is Biblical womanhood and manhood.  It is important to understand that no two guys or girls are the same, but genders do have some commonalities. For girls, they usually bond better by giving them a new task to work together on; whereas, guys bond over a specific areas of interest mainly.

In class we discuss how males typically work from identity to commitment and girls do the opposite. The importance is recognizing guys are striving to figure out who they are, while girls are wanting commitment.  The difference in thought process is clear and is evidence to the lack of understand and fail communication that occurs many times between guys and girls.