Helping Students Find a Balance in Serving Between Collegiate Ministry and Other Ministries in the Church

By Aaron Clayton

Do you struggle getting your people to commit? If you can get them to commit, do they flake out at the last possible minute...or just not show up at all? Do you find it hard to make plans because you never know what to expect? Congratulations! You’re in college ministry.

All this hesitation toward commitment is not all that unexpected with 17-23 year olds who are independent for the first time, but there is one area that is of particular interest to those of us who shepherd this generation: their commitment to the church.

In Romans 15:19 Paul says, “I have fully proclaimed the good news about the Messiah from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum.” How could Paul possibly say he had done this? Because he had preached the message and established local churches in those areas. Those local churches were the agent of the gospel in those areas.

We see a pattern in the NT of God using the local church as his agent in the world. Nothing happens outside the context of the local church. Those who are sent are always sent from and return to the church. There is always oversight and support given by the church. Seeing this pattern, it is fair to say that to disengage from the local church is to disengage from the mission of God because God has chosen the church as his missional agent. It is our responsibility to implant this understanding in our students. But, how?

If all we expose our students to is “college ministry,” it is very possible that they could grow and have a great time while they’re with us, but completely miss the bigger picture of what the church is.

One way to pass along a vision that is bigger than college ministry is to involve your students in areas of the church outside of college ministry. They will see the value and the joy in plugging their lives into the lives of people from other generations, and they will connect to the bigger ideas and vision of the church.

The intent of the team blog website and format is to aid collegiate/young adult leaders in their ministry to college age students in Texas.  The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention does not necessarily agree with or condone all of the thoughts in every blog written by ministers, they simply are providing a platform for resources and thoughts to be shared through this blogging opportunity.  If you have any questions contact our offices.