Determining Purpose for Every Fellowship

By James Myers

Fellowships, gatherings, huddles, hang-out time, community time- call it whatever you want, but we all have them.  Some times they are strategically planned and heavily funded, other times they are more organic and led out by your students.  The problem isn’t that we all have them; the problem is that many of us don’t know why we have them. 

There was a time when I held events simply because it was expected, or because it is what my students requested.  The problem with basing your events largely upon the demand of your students is that we forget the world they are coming out of.  Many of our college students are still clinging on to their favorite days in student ministry, where their spiritual growth was like a roller coaster ride predominantly impacted by the events they attended.  It is our job to love our students enough to tell them that you are convinced that events and fellowships are not the best way for them to grow and to sustain growth in their spiritual journey.  Does this mean we should limit the number of fellowships we have?  Maybe, but I will leave that for you to decide.  What is does mean is that we have the responsibility of ensuring that there is a purpose behind every event.   

For my own benefit I have broken events into the following 3 categories: Outreach, Community, and Spiritual Growth.  Every fellowship or gathering you have probably fits into one of these categories.  I would encourage you to plan out events 6 months in advance and label them in categories similar to mine.  If all of your events fall under the categories Outreach and Community you may be in danger of leading a spiritually shallow ministry.  The idea is to have a balance.  You need outreach and community events to reach guests, build relationships, and connect with your students.  But, your students desire more than just being entertained, and they trust that you have a plan for helping them mature in their faith.  So the question is; do you?   

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.