CAMPUS LAUNCH PAD

I remember the first year we had the budget (and enough students) to warrant an intern. I was excited! We were now “multi-staff.” We could have staff meetings instead of me talking to myself on the way to campus! The only problem was I had no clue what I was doing. Literally, no clue. I had little direction therefore I gave little direction. And by the end of the first semester our intern was burned out, feeling overwhelmed, and unsupported. I blew it. Interns are a great way for us to shepherd the next generation of collegiate ministers. They are also great ways to multiply our ministry and the gospel footprint on our campuses. We have to get this right! Here are a few thoughts when thinking about interns and what to do with them: USE RECENT COLLEGE GRADS Might I suggest to you that it’s better to have interns who are recent college grads instead of students. Why? If you pay a student to do ministry than you have a harder time helping other students understand that ever...

Five years ago it was an anomaly for our students to go on mission projects.  We’d offer them occasionally, but the response was dismal and few seemed interested. We knew that had to change so we began to be more strategic and intentional about how we approached student involvement in missions.  We have seen a paradigm switch in our ministry over that past few years.  Then, the majority stayed.  Today, the majority go.  This past week I asked several of our students and staff what it was that made them become involved in missions.  Their answers confirmed that they had picked up on the shift.  Their answers were things we’d begun implementing four years ago. Here are four things that God has used to create a sending culture in our ministry: Missions is Expected We believe that if you are going to follow Jesus than you’d better be willing to be sent out because Jesus a sender to the nations. Because of that, we talk about missions ALL THE TI...