Reaching out to the Residential College

Any strategy for building a fellowship must be founded on and informed by prayer. The Spirit must inhabit our thinking and empower our plans. And the strategy must be appropriate for the personality of the campus, the giftedness of students and staff, and the stage of chapter development.

No formulaic approach will satisfy the needs on our diverse residential campuses. Yet there are general principles or patterns that you can use in various settings. The following comments are offered to help you develop a strategy that suits your situation.

Integration of Students
It is very important that students are integrated into the chapter during two times: 1) at the beginning of the school year, through a well-planned New Student Outreach; and 2) throughout the school year on any ongoing basis.

New Student Outreach (NSO) -- This process actually begins in the early spring. At that point, you will need to select a committee for the event, establish a calendar of events, make room reservations, and delegate numerous responsibilities. Throughout the summer and the first weeks of school, you will need to look for and create opportunities to meet incoming students via university orientation programs and your own events. The type of event, timing, location, publicity, and word-of-mouth enthusiasm seem to be key at UNC-Chapel Hill. By fall, you will be full swing into events designed to integrate students into the chapter.

To follow up on students, we ask them to fill out interest cards at each event. The information on the cards is then given to the small group leaders, who are committed to getting back in touch with those students within 48 hours. At UNC-Chapel Hill, this personal attention has been significant. We then work at weaving those students into the fabric of the chapter. We've incorporated them through strong involvement in small groups and a freshman retreat held within the first two months of school.

Ongoing -- Many students check out the fellowship throughout the year. This is primarily due to chapter members who bring their friends with them to activities and meetings.

If visitors first come to a small group, then it will most likely be up to the small group leaders to work on follow-up and integration. If visitors come to the large group chapter meeting, either the small group leaders or some type of visitation team should work on follow-up.

Generally, students tend to be more committed to the life of the fellowship if they have a sense of ownership in and responsibility for the group. As a result, it is important to help people find their niche of ministry within or extending from the chapter. This will strongly enhance their integration.

Structures
Our normal structures include large group chapter meetings, small group Bible studies, and prayer meetings. Many schools have other regular structures as well. Remember that these visible structure are much like the 10% of an iceberg that is seen above the waterline. A majority of the life of your chapter takes place outside of those meetings (for example, in the late night dorm discussions or friendships which develop).

Since our fellowship is both for the building up of believers and the outreach to the non-involved, it is important that we think through how to use our structures to accomplish both goals. Some chapters have decided that large group chapter meetings will be a primary net for outreach to non-believers. As a result, their small groups and discipling relationships are essential for the nurturing of believers. Other chapters have gone the other route -- using chapter meetings for strong teaching and worship, and the small groups as a more effective entry point for students who aren't yet Christians. Decide whether one of those polar views, or some combination of them, would best suit your campus. Decide on the function of the structures and then shape the form accordingly.

A few comments about our standard structures:

Large Group Chapter Meetings -- Without making this time a performance, it is increasingly important to have well-planned and well-run meetings. Today's students have become accustomed to sharp media presentations.

Small Groups -- Given all of the factors working against deep, healthy relationships, continuity of relationships is especially important. Organizing your small groups in a way that allows "core groups" to remain together from year to year can be very helpful. Group membership could be shaped according to where people live, academic departments, and/or special interests (for example, nursing and missions).

Prayer Meetings -- Although prayer is central to us as our expression of dependency on the Lord, many chapters struggle with these meetings. Before any structure will work, we must first ask the Lord to first give us hearts of prayer. The structures that are working across the country are quite varied -- daily noontime prayer; regular "Concerts of Prayer;" meetings by gender, year in school, dorm. Experiment and stick with what works best for you.

Student Leadership
One key to the growth of IV at UNC-Chapel Hill during the past decades has been strong student leadership. At times, leadership has come from a key individual. Other times, it has come from a strong team.

In one sense, we do have to run with who the Lord gives us in the chapter. Yet, we can also work to develop solid leaders and groups of leaders. It is important to remember that these people (yourself included) are not just means to the end of building a fellowship. There is also an end with in the leaders -- that Christ's image be further developed in them. Both of these ends are important because they glorify God the Father.

Develop a system of leadership selection that depends on the Lord, encourages students to be stretched, and yet also remains responsibly aware of quality control issues. Require appropriate training. It does no good to throw someone into the deep end of a pool if you haven't first taught them to swim. Sustain these leaders in an ongoing fashion. Hold weekly, biweekly, or monthly leaders meetings in which these students can be nurtured.

Challenge leaders to be spiritual leaders. Biblical principles must be the basis for their ministry. These principles include such truths as: dependence on the Lord, leading by serving, serving by leading, losing one's life for Jesus' sake in order to gain true life, and so on.

One final word regarding leadership. Student and staff partnership has proven to be an important factor in building the fellowship. I strongly urge both staff and student leaders to work on building mutual trust, respect, and friendship.