Lead a Weblog for Young Adult Leaders

A couple of years ago I started polling my readers so I could:

•Better understand who you are

•Gain some statistical data

•Test out some theories I have

•Attempt to provide some posts that are meaningful and relevant to the work we are doing

One of the first questions I ever posted was:

How long have you been serving in college ministry?

Nearly 70% of those who took the poll reported having served in college ministry for 6 years or more (6-10 years 31%; 11-20 years 31%; and 20+ years 6%).

I, myself, am just finishing my 15th year serving in college ministry.

Over my 15 years of working with college students, I have worked on 4 different campuses — within 3 different denominations — spanning 3 different geographical regions within the US.

The results of my poll, coupled with my own experiences over the course of my ministry life thus far, have served to confirm a bit of wisdom I was given when applying for my first position in college ministry:

College ministry is a difficult field to get into, but once in, people rarely choose to leave it.

One category of religious identification that often gets overlooked is the religious “nones.” Church leaders must understand the trend of the nones, and its implication on church life in America.

Mentoring is one of the hot-button words floating around college ministries right now. More and more people are realizing that one on one relationships are vital for the mental, emotional, and spiritual health of students. So how can we tell if mentoring is really having an effect on the students within our ministries?

I examine a ton of discipleship material each semester as we prepare for our collegiate church/campus ministry small groups. And I’m a huge Threads proponent. I do my very best to be exclusive with Threads material. Sometimes it’s hard, but for a large majority of our small groups, we do use Threads. When I first saw Holy Vocabulary though, something clicked. Even though it’s laid out like a “typical” small group resource, having each “word” stand alone gave me a whole new dynamic to work with. My challenge at that point became trying to figure out the “how.”

That’s when fellow campus minister, Scott Bryant, introduced me to the Ten-Minute Takeaway (TMT) micro-Bible study concept. In just 10 minutes, we take a look at Scripture, break it down, and find ways to apply it in everyday life. TMT is one of the most innovative additions to our small group family ministry.

Threads talks with Jared Wilson, author of our newest Bible study Seven Daily Sins.

The time has finally come to begin leaking some sneak peaks of “Seven Daily Sins,” by Jared C. Wilson. Huzzah!

Threads editor Sam O’Neal answers your questions about leading a Bible study.

Psychologists have concluded that everyone responds to conflict in one of three ways: move away (flight), move against (fight), or move toward (peace). Let’s take a look at how those three reactions break down.

Here’s something I know: leading a Bible study is hard work. It’s rewarding work, yes. It carries the potential for community and depth and transformation — yes to all of those. But even when things are going well, leading a Bible study the right way requires effort and determination.

The church is beautiful. I’ve seen it first hand. And many of you have as well. It’s not a building of bricks and mortar. Instead, it’s the body of Christ functioning together to provide communion with one another while glorifying God by its existence. And when the church is rightly focused on its mission, it’s a stunning display of God’s goodness and grace.