Campus Ministry Today’s Top 16 of 2016
It wasn’t simple to do, but by surveying all that we’ve published since January 1st, we’ve managed to procure the top eight articles and top eight tools from 2016 in what we’ve so aptly titled “The Top 16 of 2016” (pretty proud of that title, by the way). So here they are, in, yes a very particular order.
Top Articles
8. 10 Things Single Staff Women Should Know
Single staff women are, obviously, necessary cogs in the campus ministry machine. Too often, however, they don’t get the ministry preparation education they deserve. Hillary Walters is here to do just that.
7. 3 Secrets to Reaching the Campus Hellions
Each year, thousands of new students start college. No doubt some of them will be harder to reach than others. Reading this article should help develop some resiliency for doing so.
6. Top 5 Steps to Significant End of the Year Gifts
Please, do yourself a favor and leverage the Christmas season for your support raising endeavors. And take heed from one support raising guru with just five easy steps.
5. Is Steve Shadrach Wrong?
Here at Campus Ministry Today, when Steve Shadrach speaks, we usually listen. But we couldn’t help but also listen to the perspective Carl Gulley shared on the type of students we, as college ministers, should focus on. You should be listening, too.
4. Developing the Whole Person: 8 Essential Areas
Most times, though, Steve gets it right. If you really care about your students and want them to be as successful as they can in all areas, you will probably have to help them in a number of the seemingly simple tasks of life. Start with these.
3. Launch Yo’ Self
If case you haven’t noticed, having a solid plan for ministry at the beginning of each new school year is among the principles CMT values highly. This article covers a multitude of focus areas and shares loads of ideas that will help add your ministry to the blitz and take advantage of the most impressionable time of the year.
2. Kickstart Welcome Week
“Welcome Week” can sometimes mean “mass hysteria,” but the first 10 days of the semester provide maybe the greatest opportunity of the year to have engaging conversations about Christ with students and increase your impact. This webinar won’t disappoint in guiding your ministry plans for the beginning of the school year.
1. 3 Lies Every Campus Minister Must Silence
Let’s be real: campus ministry is already hard enough. We need to stop making it harder on ourselves and our #1 article helps us do just that.
Paul Worcester addresses three things that we may or may not want to be proved wrong about, but, gosh, these things are self-mutilating at times and need to be stamped out of conversations about our own ministries.
Top Tools
8. How to Keep Your Spiritual Fervor
Tyler Ellis shares a brief, but educating message on the keys to spiritual “fervor”—a weird word with contagious effects.
7. The Wheel Diagram
Sometimes the simple things are the most useful. Most of us have heard and probably used The Wheel Diagram, but just because something is common doesn’t make it any less effective. Don’t let your discipleship run flat!
6. Xplore
It’s hard to find a tool that will better convey the purposes of God. Help your students who already know and love Jesus embrace their God-given role to make His name famous throughout all the earth.
5. Gospel Appointments
It may seem pretty self-explanatory, but meeting up with somebody to talk about the gospel is actually pretty ambiguous—you never really know what direction it will go. But you can be prepared for that divine rendezvous which will ultimately bring someone closer to Christ, even if you don’t see the immediate results.
4. Personal Development Plan
As self-created, individual, custom development plans go, this one is the best that we’ve found. It’s a great way to see measurable, self-initiated growth in your disciple’s life, helping them take steps of faith and continue to move forward in ministry and personal growth.
3. Sharing Your Personal Testimony
One’s personal testimony is arguably one’s most powerful witnessing device. Taylor Tollison helps us craft an effective one.
2. Mapping Out Your Strategy
You know what stinks about the chaos each new semester brings? Not being prepared for the chaos. If you had the chance to simplify the semester insanity, wouldn’t you take it? Consider this an opportunity of a lifetime, then.
1. 10 Steps to Getting Fully Funded this Summer
Yes, we know it’s the winter time, but there’s no doubt that summer is one of the best times to do support raising. And with Steve Shadrach’s simple 10-step plan, you’ll be at 100% in no time.