Lead a Weblog for Young Adult Leaders

Nearly 19 million college students are preparing to begin class next month. How will you and your church seek to be involved in their lives? Consider the following: make the first three weeks of the semester count, develop a specialized ministry to at least one people group on campus, and have a plan for your collegiate ministry.

Any ministry is stressful, but ministering to young adults can be especially draining. It often requires you to stay up late at an event just to get up early to head into the office the next morning. You have intense physical demands on your body, especially when you top that ministry off with a family. How are you supposed to have the energy to exercise?

My heart joined hundreds of sad hearts this week as I learned of the death of Palmer Maphet, a sophomore at Tennessee Tech University who was serving as a missionary in Maine through Baptist Collegiate Ministry. Palmer and his team were traveling to minister at Laconia Motorcycle Week in Laconia, New Hampshire, when a car accident ended his life on earth. While none of us ever want to be the bearer or the recipient of the news of the loss of someone in your ministry, those who have walked this path have wisdom to share on how to most effectively and compassionately lead your students through times of grief.

With a flash and a clap of thunder the rain began to fall on middle Tennessee. The storm pounded Nashville and surrounding areas with more than 13 inches of rain. So much rain, in fact, that my city, my neighbors, and my life would never be the same.

In this month’s leader tip video, young adult ministry specialist Jason Hayes answers the frequently asked question: Where do we start getting involved in local and global responsibility?

As leaders of young adults in churches, many of us spend a majority of our time focused on numbers, not individuals. We set goals for how many people we hope and pray will come to our Easter services. We set markers for the numbers of people we hope to attract to Sunday School or our small groups. I don’t believe that’s completely a Jesus-focused thought process. To be sure, He spoke truth to the masses, He fed them, and Scripture tells us He had pity on the multitudes. Yet, most of His ministry was focused on the individuals who were lost. He focused on them each day.

In this month’s leader tip video, Jason Hayes answers the following question: “What if my small group/Bible study group has differing levels of spiritual maturity?”

We feel the weighty expectations of people. Our pride in long hours invested and a job well done may drive us to even greater expectations of ourselves. What does God expect of us?

Threads recently had the opportunity to chat with Guy Chmieleski, university minister at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, about his experience leading college students.

By definition the church is a body of believers sent into the world. But many churches, particularly in the United States, seem to have developed a more stationary identity, requiring the world to come to them to receive the healing, redemption, and salvation promised through Christ. We have issued the call of “come to us” and planted our feet rather than promising a “we’re coming to you” proven by moving our feet.