This is the fourth part of the series 5 Values of a Great College Leader.
1. Gospel-Centered 2. Sent 3. Empower
It can be easy to revert to doing things the way they have always been done, or rely on traditional methods of ministry. If you’re not careful you can in fact get caught up protecting the past rather than shaping the future. It’s important to keep God’s kingdom in perspective as you do ministry. Great collegiate leaders do this, realizing that times are changing and so should they.
WHO THEY ARE: Kingdom Minded
A great college leader realizes how strategic this generation is.
A great college leader’s focus is God’s kingdom, not their own. Their goal is to raise up men and women who make disciples who make disciples. Robert Coleman, author of The Master Plan of Evangelism said, “We must decide where we want our ministry to count—in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of our lives in a few chosen people who will carry on our work after we are gone. Really it is a question of which generation we are living for.”
A great college leader realizes how strategic this generation is. College students are in the prime of their learning and are being shaped every day by what they experience. These four years will determine their trajectory for the next 10, 20, or 30 years. They realize that time is too short to give in to shallow metrics; people are the focus and making them into disciples is the mission. Great collegiate leaders create simple reproducible ways for students to grow as a disciple.
WHAT THEY DO: Make Disciples
Everything is on the chopping block unless it fits into the mission of making disciples.
A great college leader’s end goal in ministry is not necessarily large gatherings, community groups, or evangelism outings. Their end goal is disciples. They use the programs of the ministry to mold and shape students into disciples of Jesus Christ; working against using programs as isolated and disconnected events that have become a tradition. Everything is on the chopping block unless it fits into the mission of making disciples. They are dogmatic about the mission, but flexible in the methods they use to make disciples.
Diagnostic Questions
- What is the end goal of your current programs in college ministry? Is it disciples or events, programs, and hangouts?
- Can the students reproduce what they’re doing in college ministry beyond their college experience?
- If you were to walk away from the ministry, would students be able to lead the ministry?
- Are the tools you’re using to disciple students reproducible? Are they memorable?
Key Verse:
Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20, CSB)
Leader Statement:
Time is too short for me to give in to shallow metrics; people are the focus and making them into disciples is my mission. I will create simple reproducible ways for students to grow as disciples.
Resources
The Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman
Growing Up, Robby Gallaty
Movements That Change The World, Steve Addison
