Connecting with Collegiates

For most people it’s easy to plan events, coordinate meetings, and teach lessons. It’s not as easy to make real connections with students. So how do we do it? How do we move past the church roles into authentic relationships? It may be simpler than you think.

Shawn Shannon, BSM Director at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor recalls a significant experience in her life: I went on a sort of ‘you’re off to college’ retreat right before I went to school. I could have easily stayed lost in the group there. But one of the leaders caught me on my way out the door that night and walked and talked with me a bit. He asked me about what I thought was ahead. Then he challenged me to live out my discipleship before the campus community (professors and peers) by simply doing two things: 1)going to class 2)prepared. He helped me connect my personal life with Jesus with the rest of my Daily Doing. It was a word fitly spoken and I was readied soil. So I did those two things, and they made an amazing difference in how I lived my college days.

As an adult who works with students, I see three good gifts in this: Time: This adult saw me as a person worth the spending of his precious time. Timing: This was at a moment of significant risk and opportunity–a crisis in the best sense. Truth: He did not give me advice, really, nor did he talk down to me. He laid out to me a truth about sowing and reaping, cause and effect. Applying that truth set me in a good path.

There is an old saying: Where there is the desire to learn, the Teacher will appear. I believe behind every valid teaching is the Master Teacher. I am glad this elder brother of mine was an attentive servant to his Master. It made (and still makes) a difference.

Intentional Discipleship: One Student’s Story

by Jeremy Higgenbotham, Junior at the University of
Texas in Austin.
Every summer during Freshman Orientation at the
University of Texas, FOCUS (Hyde Park Baptist Church
College Ministry) hosts a pizza party.  These events are
designed for incoming students to meet other incoming
students and learn more about the ministry of FOCUS. 
It was at the FOCUS Pizza Party that I met Everett, a
financial planner who has been discipling
students for twenty-plus years. I was a
little bit nervous about going because I didn’t really
know anyone in the room yet. Then Everett approached
me.

 The first thing he wanted to know about me was
whether or not I was I true believer. I quickly replied
with a matter-of-fact yes.

 ”And how do you know that?” He insisted. We began to talk and he soon found
out that I did have a personal relationship with Christ,
but I was ready to take the next step, ready to mature
in my faith (even though I didn’t know that at the
time). Everett seemed like a nice guy, and he kept
mentioning that he did a discipleship group with 4 guys
every year. I was interested, but not sure if I was
ready.

A few weeks after moving into my dorm, after
everything was starting to settle down, Everett called
me up. He was inviting me to the FOCUS Freshmen
retreat. I had class until late that Friday, so I told him I
couldn’t go. He didn’t like my excuse and informed me
that he would be leaving his office late because he had
a few things to tie up and wouldn’t mind swinging by
and picking me up. I figured this guy was willing to go
through the extra trouble of picking me up, so I might
as well.
On the ride over to the ranch we were having the
retreat at, we talked more about the books he goes
through with his discipleship group, and I told him I was
interested and willing to join. We continued to talk
about it, and he let me know exactly what I would be
committing to if I joined. After thinking it over for quite
some time, I decided it would be a good idea and would
help me grow. I let Everett know of my decision, and I
could tell he was excited.

Throughout the year Everett taught me and the 3 other
guys how to have an effective quiet time, the
importance of prayer, and tips on evangelism. We went
through both Experiencing God and The Heart
of the
Problem, two books that had daily devotionals to
read
and answer. During my time in the group, I grew closer
to God than I had ever been before by spending
precious time every morning reading the devotionals
and talking to Jesus. I had never before experienced
the power and importance of a daily quiet time, but
soon found I could not do without it.

Although we met as a group once a week and went
through the readings, the most valuable part of our
meetings to me was hearing Everett’s stories (and he
has a lot of them). It gave me a chance to see into the
life of an amazing man of God. It helped me see the
way he acts and thinks, and the way he lives out his
life. I was impressed and even shocked by the
situations that he used to share the Gospel of Christ
with others. I wanted to know more, but at the same
time I wanted my life to look like his. I really used this
time to try to soak in as much as I could and truly
understand the driving force behind this man.

I don’t think I will ever be the same after having spent
an entire school year getting to know a true man of
God in a discipleship group setting. The things I have
learned, spoken and unspoken, will forever affect the
person I am and will become. The shot of growth that I
saw in my spiritual life that year was more that the two
years before it combined. Being in a discipleship group
brought me to a new level of faith that I hope God will
continue to build on and that I refuse to turn back on.
Everett is still a true friend a year later, and we still
talk close to every other week. He still encourages me
to this day, and his stories keep me thinking of the man
God is making of me.

Welcome to the Collegiate ChurchLife Network!

The Collegiate ChurchLife Network exists to facilitate, train, and resource the local church’s ministry to college students. Here you will find information about upcoming college ministry events, leadership conferences, and networking opportunities. We will also post a variety of articles about  college ministry and share what’s happening in individual college ministries.  You will also want to check our website from time to time for other resources and contact information at www.bgct.org/college.