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Print By Sabrina Roddy
For some reason I never comprehended the connection between ministry and college, never realized that the two go hand-in-hand, until I was introduced to campus ministry! It was amazing, after three years of wandering aimlessly through college and changing my major every five seconds, I finally found purpose! A group of us joined together to revive a campus ministry at the University of Houston that had been birthed a long time ago. It was incredible, with a consistent group of about 20-25 (non-Pentecostal) attendees, God was moving in a mighty way. Two semesters passed by with great results and amazing testimonies! And then it happened, students graduated, new students came in, some moved, while others took on new jobs that required more of their time, and our campus ministry came to a sudden halt, much to our frustration! Two semesters passed by, nothing happened. Then, while at North American Youth Congress in Ohio, I remember, amidst the booming noise of 15,000 young people, an ad flashed across the screen about Winter Break, January 4-6, 2006, a retreat for college students. A new excitement for campus ministry welled up inside of me once again. Campus ministry would not die after all! I could not wait until the conference. WinterBreak Now I knew that the event would be small in number due to the mere fact that this was a first-time event, but what I found most impressive about the relatively small attendance was that after meeting most of the students, I realized that those that were there were ones that really desired to do something for God! This was not going to be your typical social fest, but instead a new experience all of its own! The speakers lined up were Phil Day, Wayne Francis, Todd Gaddy, David Kuhtenia, Max Manley, Christian Richardson, and Monte Showalter. The subjects spoke upon, such as sexuality, relationships, and money management addressed prevalent issues that college students face on a day-to-day basis. Many of the issues discussed were topics I've never heard a preacher or youth pastor dare speak upon before. The best class for me was Campus Ministry 101, with Christian
Richardson. Not only did he equip students with the essential tools to start a
campus ministry, but he also presented innovating ideas to those who were
already involved in campus ministry. More importantly, he emphasized that “First
and foremost we must bring the presence of God to our campus, or else all of our
other efforts are in vain!” The Power of Preparation Yes, I left empowered, with a new hope and faith in our campus ministry, but the greatest moment came not while I was at the retreat, but rather when I got back to school. I had remembered Richardson making a comment that the three necessary requirements for a college to fund your organization were to register your organization, have a campus chaplain, and find a teacher sponsor. First of all, I did not know a college would fund our organization, so with this new awareness I was ecstatic—no more stressing over fundraisers. The first two requirements weren’t a problem, but at the last, my heart dropped. I thought, “How can I find a teacher to sponsor us, much less one that’s a Christian?” And so I passed off the responsibility to another friend who was a part of our campus ministry, thinking if anyone could do it, she could. And then it happened, on the second day of class, with our first campus ministry meeting approaching, I was stressing on how to delegate roles, and my teacher began to talk about overseeing an organization. I approached him after class on how to apply these principles to our Christian organization. I began to tell him about our organization, and I learned that he was a devout Baptist and Sunday school teacher. Yes, that’s right, my teacher with a Ph.D. also taught Sunday school! One thing led to another, and before I knew it, he was volunteering to help in any way possible with our organization, told me his room is 230 and that I could come by his office anytime. To God be the glory. So, if you feel like throwing in the towel, don’t! If you feel like you’re wandering aimlessly through college, try campus ministry, it just might be the cure. (I’m a proven testimony of it.) If you need the essential tools to reach your campus, try Winter Break, as it revolutionized my way of thinking about campus ministry. Leave the excuses at the door. You’ve got an entire year to plan for Winter Break 2007. Not only will it prepare you for campus ministry, but it will help you to conquer your biggest struggles, spiritually and physically, that might come against you during your college experience. You only live once, why not live it to your fullest potential?
(Editors Note: Audio links from WinterBreak 2006 are available at www.campusnow.org. WinterBreak 2007 has tentatively been scheduled for January 4-6, 2007.) ninetyandnine.com © 2006, Sabrina Roddy ------------- Sabrina Roddy attends Life Tabernacle of Houston, Texas where she is actively involved in youth ministry and campus ministry. Upon her completion of a Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Communications at the University of Houston, she would like to attend Gateway Music College. She loves to travel and can’t wait for Missions Trip 2006 to Costa Rica. |
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