There are a large variety of ways to reach freshmen, to connect them to a local church and to strengthen them in their faith. In this and in future transitions articles for our BCM E-Newsletter various collegiate ministers will share how they do so. Please email me strategies, ministries, materials, etc… that you use to reach freshmen which will be included in future articles. Email me at lsubcm@eatel.net. Thanks to Tony, Nate and Austin for sharing.
University of West Florida BCM
The University of West Florida is a commuter campus. Only 11% of the students live on campus. We involve freshmen in many ways. We involve freshmen in the following ways:
1. They serve on our leadership team
2. We do have freshmen "fish schools" or small group Bible studies.
3. They serve in our Praise Band.
4. Freshmen participate in our mission trips
5. Freshmen participate in all activities, ministries and campus events in which BCM is involved or leads.
6. They lead dorm Bible studies in their dorms.
Our BCM mission statement is "To know God and make Him Known". We want freshmen involved in every aspect of our ministry. We provide a wonderful environment for students to discover and develop their gifts and passions in service for Christ.
Tony Olesky, BCM Director, University of West Florida, (850)473-7474, aolesky@uwf.edu
First Baptist Church, Denton, Texas
Our main goal for freshman is to get them connected to community before anyone else. By anyone else, we don't mean other ministries, we mean Fraternities, Sororities and other organizations on campus. We feel like if we can get them connected to community early on then we can keep them from being among the percentage that bail from the church.
The main way we try to accomplish this is by trying to get them to commit to being in a 4 week, Freshman Community Group at the beginning of the semester. Those Community Groups are led by upperclassmen who, once those 4 week Freshman Community Groups are over, will continue to lead Community Groups that are open to all students. The idea is that after those 4 weeks, the freshmen know each other as well as their leaders and will hopefully continue to stay plugged into their leaders' Community Group.
Austin Wadlow, University Minister, FBC Denton, 940.382.2577, www.overflowdenton.com
University of Alabama BCM
1) We kick it all off with our "10Days of Insanity" (10 events in 10 days at the beginning of the fall). Survival is the Monster within the rest of the madness.
2) Journey Groups (Small Group Bible studies): Survival occurs on Monday night, School starts on Wednesday, and Freshmen Journey Groups begin the very next Monday (first full wk of classes).
3) Over the past few years we've done variations on Monday night. We've used multiple "Threads" studies (Chase the Goose, In Transit, Connect the dots). Most recently we did "Chazown" (lifechurch.tv - Craig Groeschel).
4) Freshmen Journey Groups meet at the BCM (we want them in our building getting comfy and feeling like they can 'belong' there).
5) On Monday nights, the entire group of freshmen meet together for a short time of welcome, ice breakers (first 2wks), announcements, and worship through song. After about 20 minutes, we divide into groups (co-ed) and keep the same groups for the duration of the study.
*note: Most recently we did a dvd driven study (group leaders were not asked to prepare - simply to facilitate conversation and foster relationships with and among their freshmen). The corporate time lasted about 30min - leaving 30min of discussion time.
6) Freshmen Leadership Team: most recently, we've opened participation in this to any freshmen interested (I like this). Formerly, we asked each journey group to select 2 reps (we also appointed some at-large members). Like I said, I like the open to anyone thing better. I see us repeating this next year.
7) FLT in the fall: we spend our wkly meetings pouring into and developing these students. There are no "tasks" assigned. We've mostly used Tim Elmore stuff. This year, we invited key upperclassmen to teach a few times - I see more of this in the future.
8) FLT in spring: toward the end of the fall, we work with them to identify a target group on campus to reach out to. We're 2 years into this. Last year they selected the Theater dept. We identified a cast and crew. We assigned prayer warriors for them. We assembled and delivered goodie bags, pizza after rehearsal, sent encouraging cards, and mobilized other BCM students to attend the show least likely to have good crowd. This year, they've identified the Air Force ROTC Cadets. We're working through the local detachment commander to provide breakfast in a bag after PT, an invitation to our weekly Lunch (Wednesday), and a nice dinner after their drills. In addition, we are working to provide an Airman's Bible to each Cadet. Once we receive Cadet names, students will be assigned to pray for them.
9) With regard to Bible studies in the spring. We offer a variety (Fall: Freshmen do their thing and Upperclassmen do theirs - Spring: everybody is mixed up together). Students sign up for what they want when they want it. *Studies are approved by BCM staff and must have a book/curriculum (none of this "where the spirit leads" stuff).
In February we select our new leadership team. Ideally, we have a strong showing of freshmen on this (maybe 1/2).
Nate Young, BCM Director, University of Alabama, (205)345-3983, nate@bama.ua.edu
Steve Masters, Transitions Contract Worker
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