APRIL Collegiate Ministers Update

APRIL 2010

In This Issue

Quarterly Teambuilder

Quarterly Recipe

College Ministry is Harder Than Ever!

Ministry Employment/Opportunities Links

Who's In Your Phone?

WHAT'S COOKIN'

Easy side dish for a large crowd!

Collegiate Ministers Fellowship

Monday, July 12^th to

Wednesday, July 14^th

at the BCM at the University of Tennessee. All local, state and national campus and church based collegiate ministers are invited to participate. The purpose of the meeting is to provide opportunities for fellowship, networking, encouragement and idea sharing. Facilitators will include Linda Osborne, Bruce Venable and Arliss Dickerson. There is no fee to attend. Most of the meals are being provided by SBC agencies. To sign up, email Bob Hall at Baptist@utk.edu or call him at 865-546-8272. To secure lodging, call and reserve a room at Holiday Inn, Worlds Fair Park. The room cost will be $86.00 per night.

Quick Links

THREADS

www.bcmlife.net

Greetings!

I love reading the facebook status' of my collegiate minister friends this time of year!

"You guys made it! Have a great summer! Be safe traveling home."

"Looking forward to the Senior Cookout at our house tonight-last BCM event of the year!"

"Just cleared a bunch of pictures of men in kilts off the college ministry camera"

"Spring Fling event today. Hope I don't get suckered into the dunking booth."

"Midnight Pancake Breakfast tonight at the BCM!! 11pm to 1am gets you 10 pancakes!! Hope to see you there."

"Shipping some Inupiaq language New Testaments out to Barrow for a friend"

"Apparently needs to learn a few synonyms for "homey" before playing Catch Phrase again"

"Pumped about the baseball game tonight. Go Tops!"

"Just sent a new option for the Haiti team. If you are on that team, check your email for the new and ever changing plan. This team is getting to practice flexibility before they go!"

"Seniors, I have decided that I really don't want you to graduate. See what you can do about changing your plans."

Collegiate ministers are amazing-semi-exhausted at the end of the school-year, yet still nurturing, still sharing the gospel, still cooking, still playing games, still guiding, still organizing, still leading. Be encouraged as you make the transition to summer school, Orientation for new students, and mission trips.

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength. He demonstrated this power in the Messiah by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens-" Ephesians 1: 19-20 (HSCB)

Hope to see you at Collegiate Week at Glorieta! It's almost sold out! : )

Linda H. Osborne

National Collegiate Ministry Leader

Church and Network Partnerships, LifeWay

College Ministry Is Harder Than it Has Ever Been!
The following are 11 different ideas. Let me know what YOU think. They are not in any particular order.

1. Less commitment of incoming freshmen.

2. Declining financial support for college ministry.

3. Declining commitment tocollege ministry by denominational leaders.

4. Competition between campus-based ministries and church-based ministries rather than a team concept.

5. Rapid turn over in campus ministersdue to declining financial and emotional support.

6. Increased part-timework schedules of students.

7. Increasing separationand divide between the religious and non-religious students. They live in separate worlds.

8. Turn off of manyChristian students toward organized religion with a desire to be more spontaneous.

9. Star or concert mentalityamong Christian students and only events with with big name speakers or bands have appeal.

10. Increasedexpectations placed on college ministries due to the loss of high schoolers and the success of high profile collegiate events such as the Passion conferences.

11. Mega Church thinking - only that which is big is

successful or worthy.

One more thought: The National BSU Advancement Fund is an endowment that gives money each year to help support collegiate ministry efforts in Emerging Regions areas (where they don't have much). Consider giving some amount out of your missions fund, budget or take up an offering at a student meeting that will go to help others trying to reach students with little or no financial support.

Arliss Dickerson

Leadership Contract Worker, Arkansas State University, adickerson@absc.org

Connect High School Seniors to Campus Ministry

Please help us connect the 2010 High School Seniors from your area churches to the collegiate ministers of the colleges or universities they will attend in the Fall of 2010. You can do so by using and encouraging the use of sbccampusconnect.net, the Transitions Ministry Website of our SBC.

At Collegiate Week, college students are discipled and immersed in biblical teaching just before the fall semester begins. As we pour into students they are encouraged to go home and impact their campuses for Christ.
Leaders love Collegiate Week, too! As a training event for leaders, you'll have a great opportunity to network, share experiences, and continue learning how to reach college students in your community and on your campus.
Meet us in beautiful Glorieta, NM to relax in the mountains and reconnect with your students before the craziness of the fall semester begins.
Date: August 8-13, 2010
Location: Glorieta, New Mexico (only location)
Theme: One (community)

DOWNLOAD POSTERS AND SAVE THE DATE CARD HERE

Also use this video at state meetings and student gatherings!

JOB OPENINGS & SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

Click here to see Collegiate Ministry job openings posted for Fall 09

Click here to see information on people seeking employment in Collegiate Ministry

Have a job opening on your campus or in your church? You can fill out this form whether you are looking for an intern or a full time employee.

Looking for a ministry position? Whether you are a recent seminary graduate, have a student about to graduate looking for an internship or are just looking for another ministry opportunity, you can fill out this form to get your info in our eNewsletter.

Each submission will be published in the following quarter's Enewsletter only. Enewsletters are distributed in January, April, July & October. All information submitted is subject to approval of the National Collegiate Ministry office