The A, B, C, D's of Campus Strategy

Developing a ministry strategy for your fellowship can be simplified by following a series of simple steps:

A — Analyze your campus and your fellowship
B — Build relationships
C — Continually pray
D — Develop a vision and then a strategy

A — Analyze your campus and your fellowship
What are the characteristics of your campus? What kind of students populate your school? Where are the opportunities to build bridges for witness?

To effectively minister and witness to students on your campus, you will need to seek out sources of information. Most colleges have a department of information that researches the demographics of the student body. Check with them to learn the students’ religious, racial, economic, and geographic backgrounds. Facts about housing (on-campus, off-campus, commuter, and sorority/fraternity options) are also important.

What are the majors, extracurricular activities, and weekend habits? A study of bulletin boards and announcement kiosks can provide helpful insights for your fellowship’s outreach strategy. Walk around your campus. Look and learn. Talk with other students and ask lots of questions.

At the University of New Hampshire, for example, the IV group has greatly benefited from encouraging mature upperclass members to become Resident Advisors. On this campus, the RA’s all work with programs and program budgets, and they are expected to arrange for various outside speakers. The RA’s in IV do the same. One RA sponsored a dorm talk on “The Meaning of Christmas.” Others have addressed topics related to Christian faith. Without being manipulative, these RA’s can encourage the students in their dorms to investigate Jesus Christ.

An analysis of your Christian fellowship is equally important. This includes learning about the fellowship’s strengths and weaknesses, prayers, traditions, and history. What has God done in our chapter over the years? Who has God used? Where does the fellowship need to grow?

A few years ago, the Harvard-Radcliffe fellowship analyzed where its members were living on campus. Residents were then mobilized to participate in a dorm-based Bible distribution. Rather than having anonymous outsiders distribute New Testaments to students, it was usually a friend or at least a familiar face offering the copy. Bridges for continued witness were built.

B — Build relationships
Jesus was the master architect of meaningful relationships. He got to know people. He asked caring, penetrating questions. As a result, people felt loved and challenged.

Without solid relationships, strategic planning and campus and chapter analysis are pointless. Our relationships must not be pointless. They should have the overarching purpose of glorifying God and conveying His love.

We live in a relational culture. As a result, it’s virtually impossible to exert positive influence outside a context of trust and care. The most effective leaders will be those with a “high social IQ.” Occasionally, people influence others through prophetic challenges, but most often people influence others through their friendships and relationships. Although Christian leadership includes some administrative and logistical duties, the heart of leadership centers on influencing people.

Whether working with other Christians or non-believers, several truths apply. All students, faculty, and staff are sinners — broken and fractured inside. To various degrees, all of them are insecure. To some extent, all suffer from a negative self-image and carry some sense of guilt.

Our relational skills must extend the grace, generosity, and hospitality of God to these people. They desperately need affirmation. Even though all men and women are unworthy of God’s love, no one is worthless from the perspective of God. It is often our privilege to affirm their worth with God’s love.

Don Posterski suggests a three-dimensional model for ministry in our pluralistic and relational culture. First, we learn to accept people wherever they are (this is not to be equated with approval). Second, we seek to affirm everyone. Each person is a creation of God and, as such, possesses the beauty marks that result from His handiwork. Third, we hope to influence people to change and grow. The Apostle Paul used the words persuade, convince, and win to express this idea of influencing.

It is intriguing to realize that as the student culture has changed, the pattern of spiritual change and growth has also shifted. During the 1970’s, the dominant pattern was that a non-believer asked searching questions, then became a Christian, and finally joined a fellowship group. Today, the pattern is quite different. Seekers often become involved in the life of a fellowship, then they raise questions, and finally make a commitment to Christ.

C — Continually pray
All human efforts must be bathed in constant, continuous prayer. This point has been made repeatedly. Prayer is the attitude of dependence on God. It is the discipline of seeking God’s guidance. It is also the source of power that distinguishes ministry from human-centered activity.

I had described one fellowship’s recent struggles to an InterVarsity veteran. The group had experienced internal tension. Little fruit had been borne in recent months. No strategy seemed to work because a major roadblock always interfered. The wise veteran asked me a simple question: “In what condition is their prayer foundation?” He put his finger right on the problem.

D — Develop a vision and then a strategy
The InterVarsity vision statement should furnish the core of your campus vision. But it may need to be contextualized so that your group can really own it. Once you really own the vision, your fellowship can become “mission-driven.” You can escape the downward spiral effect of problems and frustrations. The problems won’t go away, but they don’t have to consume your group. Instead, you can regularly return to the vision to which God has called you.

Now you can develop your strategy. You can determine and prioritize primary objectives and action plans. You can establish ways to develop leaders.

You can also make your plans for building your fellowship group, developing disciples, and engaging the diverse peoples of your campus. While this chapter provided an overview, the next three chapters will go into the specifics of building, developing, and engaging.