Volunteers

Developing Partners in Campus Ministry

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Thu, 30 Aug 2018 16:42:43 +0000

Developing Partners in Campus Ministry

Katie Mentzer was in her second year on staff before she was sure that she was called to campus ministry. Up to that point she had thought that God was calling her overseas as a missionary, and she had looked at campus ministry as part of her preparation.

Katie was helping plant a chapter at Fairmont State University in West Virginia as she was keeping her options open. But then as she attended an ��ñ�� staff conference, and several other events, she had a sense that campus ministry was where she belonged for the long term. “Things kept pointing in that direction with the opportunities that I had that seemed like a good fit with my personality and skills,” she said.

The chapter plant at Fairmont State was challenging and did well for several years despite high turnover. But the eventual loss of some key student leaders ultimately led to the closing of the chapter. At the same time, though, a group of students at West Virginia Wesleyan College (WVWC) announced that they wanted to affiliate with ��ñ��. That opened the door to a new experience in teamwork.

WVWC was an hour away from Katie’s home in Fairmont. “I realized if we really hoped to see what we wanted to happen I needed to get other people who are local involved,” she said.

Some pastors who were working with the WVWC students connected Katie with local churches and other venues where she was able to appeal for volunteers. She ended up with a team of 18 volunteers, including 6 core leaders. The team members include pastors and youth ministers, WVWC faculty and staff members, a business person, an engineer, a stay-at-home mom, and a teacher.

“I’m investing in the volunteer partners and they’re investing in the students,” Katie said. “The students are going to minister on campus. This helps me with my limited amount of investment to have a big impact and to empower people with the gifts that God has given them to work on campus.”

Katie meets with her core team once a month and does individual coaching on a weekly basis. The core volunteers are united by their desire to reach college students with the gospel message and they appreciate the opportunity for training in the tools and techniques that come out of ��ñ��’s expertise in campus ministry.

Figuring out how to work with volunteers and develop them took a lot of time at first. Some of the challenges that Katie addressed included working with people who have a variety of commitment levels and a variety of skills as well as figuring out who has transferable skills that are useful in campus ministry and what skills need to be taught. “Pastors have a lot of transferable skills, but they might not be contextualized for the campus,” Katie said.

She also discovered the importance of partnering with volunteers, offering them investment and ownership, and not just delegating to them. “We’re the body of Christ working together,” she said. But there are others who can only volunteer a little bit here and there. “We need all of them,” she added.

Katie is hoping what she’s learned about calling and equipping volunteers will help other staff find ways to multiply their efforts, as ��ñ�� seeks to expand to hundreds of additional campuses through our 2030 Calling. Alumni, faculty, pastors, and local community members can all play key roles in campus ministry.

Currently a lot of volunteer activity in campus ministry exists at two extremes: those who occasionally bake cookies for the local chapter and those who are official full-time volunteers. “We haven’t found that nuance in the middle,” Katie said. When more options are identified, it’s possible more people with a greater variety of skills and abilities will be able to find a place to fit, such as mentoring, coaching, helping at events, leading a meeting, etc.

When there is no local campus ministry staff, volunteers offer the possibility of stability and better connections with the community. “How do we connect to the people who love the campus even more than we ever will because they are there, they are connected?” Katie wonders. “It’s been really refreshing and life-giving to work with people who are of a similar mindset and I know will be around longer. We’ve seen the ministry blessed as we’ve opened the doors to other people coming in and investing in the students.”

This year, after the annual regional staff conference, volunteers were invited to a partners conference. There they prayed for all of West Virginia’s campuses and received further training from other ��ñ�� staff. “It was a good time for staff and partners to network, be encouraged, and learn from each other,” Katie said. “We are planning to do it again in the coming years.”

Jesse Roselius, Katie’s supervisor, has been observing her faithful and bold discipleship ever since she transferred as a student to West Virginia University (WVU) and helped reestablish the WVU ��ñ�� chapter. “She steps up to the challenges even when she is faced with new obstacles,” he said. “Katie has hit her stride developing leaders, seeing folks come to faith, starting work among Greek students, faculty, athletes, and internationals. Most recently, her work in partnership development with volunteers has been stellar.”

Katie likes seeing people discover God in new ways. That can happen a lot in campus ministry. It also happens when working with volunteers.

News Keywords

West VIrginia Wesleyan College

Fairmont State University

West Virginia University

Arts Partners Mentor the Next Generation

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 19:18:33 +0000

News

By Henry Lucey-Lee, National Director of Arts Ministry

Arts Partners Mentor the Next Generation

As an arts student, Daniel never expected to walk through an art gallery accompanied by an experienced scholar and writer like Walter Hansen. He was even more surprised when Walter asked for his opinion on the stimulating art that surrounded them. Walter was genuinely interested in Daniel’s work, and his ability to listen well to young creative people was the motivation behind this meeting. Their relationship and friendship continued to grow through similar conversations.

The arts influence culture in a profound way, and young artists need to learn more than just trade skills in their media. Our arts schools often prepare students to be proficient at pursuing their art work, but leave them unprepared emotionally and spiritually for life after graduation.

Furthermore, arts students with irregular, demanding, and performance-oriented schedules often find it difficult to fit into traditional ��ñ�� communities. They face high expectations to succeed academically and live with pressure from studio professors who tell them what to do. For these reasons, connecting students like Daniel with mentors like Walter is significant.

The Making of the Arts Partners Group

The ��ñ�� Arts Partners Group is a group of professional Christian artists who volunteer their time and resources to develop young Christian artists so they may flourish both as experts in their work and as influential culture-changers.

Karen Mains, a writer and former ��ñ�� Board Chair, spearheaded the creation of the ��ñ�� Arts Partners Group out of her love for discipleship, along with the help of many friends of former Arts Ministry Director Dick Ryan. These friends enthusiastically volunteered themselves to mentor Arts Ministry students in order to create opportunities for students to engage in conversations about life and art.

For the past five years, ��ñ�� Arts Ministry has connected members of the Arts Partners Group with students in Chicago’s School of the Art Institute (SAIC), Roosevelt University, and Columbia College. These connections motivated a variety of activities with the volunteer Arts Partners. Every few months, members of the group host dinner meetings for students in their homes in downtown Chicago. One member, a professor of music at Northwestern University, hosts monthly prayer gatherings in his studio. Another member hosted a festive Christmas party. Many of the professional artists have attended the students’ musical performances or gallery showings.

All of these events have a bottom line commonality. They all create a Christian community for the students in which their well-being and development is encouraged. These spaces provided by the Arts Partners allow students to engage in conversation about how art, life, and faith intersect. In addition, these volunteer mentors understand the students because of their shared identity as Christian artists. This spiritual support system inspires students to break beyond the technical mold and step into their arts departments as the salt and light of Jesus.

The Next Generation of Leaders

Dick Ryan observed, “I believe we are in the beginning of a revolution across the country. Arts communicate feelings and a sense of well-being. God wants to send art students out into the world to talk about His truth and beauty and justice.”

We want to be a part of God’s revolution in the arts. Our vision for ��ñ�� Arts Ministry is “to develop serious artists, with a serious faith, to lead witnessing communities inside their art department or art school, and then go on to be influential leaders in the arts world.”

By successfully connecting arts students and volunteer arts professionals, the Chicago model is a template for other top arts departments nationwide. In line with our vision, we hope that similar relationships and communities can develop future generations of influential arts leaders within the Christian community.

Next Steps

Interested in becoming an Arts Partner? Contact Henry Lucey-Lee, National Director of Arts Ministry for the next steps.

News Keywords

Thankful for Volunteers

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:45:43 +0000

News

Alec Hill, President of ��ñ��

Thankful for Volunteers

I love volunteers and believe that they are critical to the Fellowship’s future. Why?

Personal Experience

Prior to coming to ��ñ��, my passion for volunteers was shaped by three experiences. The first involved serving for three years as a Young Life staff volunteer. At the ripe age of 20, I became the team leader of a team of fellow volunteers. We planted a club and watched it grow to 150 weekly participants, a transformative experience for me. Several of my “kids” still support my ministry.

Second, at age 27, I became a World Relief Regional Director in a five-state region. My team’s task: resettle 1,000 refugees per year. U.S. State Department funds were inadequate for a staff-only model. Our strategy was to recruit church volunteers to host refugee families. A State Department audit told an encouraging story: For every public dollar granted, our office generated seven dollars worth of volunteer time.

Third, in my forties, I served as dean of Seattle Pacific University’s business school. Several programs were instituted that involved large numbers of volunteers, such as mentorships, service learning, and mandatory internships.

Application to ��ñ��

Utilizing volunteers is a growing missional issue for us. Recruiting and hiring staff is a painstaking and deliberate process. Even at the rate we are growing – 380 new staff in the past three years – it would take decades to place staff on the 4,000 campuses in the U.S. Volunteers allow us to be better stewards of both our mission and our donor resources.

Ministry opportunities are expanding. As we have become a more proactive planting movement, doors have opened on numerous campuses. Likewise, as our ministry to various niche communities has expanded – e.g. to artists, Greeks, athletes, internationals, and commuters – volunteer opportunities are increasing.

Perhaps most significantly, we already have a trained pool of eager volunteers to draw from. Each graduating student leader has been equipped to lead small groups, disciple students, and share the Good News. Each understands our values of missional outreach, multiethnicity, discipleship of the mind, and vocational stewardship.

New Strategic Plan

The new Strategic Plan (2012-17) calls for increased focus on volunteers in several areas:

launching a new program, Ministry Partnership Development, to more intentionally involve our supporters in ministry;
piloting chapter planting models staffed by volunteers who commit to serve a minimum of ten hours a week;
utilizing volunteers to build existing chapters;
piloting the deployment of five “faculty ambassadors,” (current faculty who will volunteer to travel to other campuses to serve as catalysts for new faculty chapters); and,
exploring ways to recruit, train, and mobilize volunteers for Virtual Ministry (our new internet-based ministry).

Encouragement

As one honed by a volunteer ethos over many decades, I see great opportunity ahead for the Fellowship and am optimistic about the next steps on our journey. Let us be humble as we learn from other ministries.

News Keywords

Volunteers

Volunteers

Developing Partners in Campus Ministry

Developing Partners in Campus Ministry

Arts Partners Mentor the Next Generation

Arts Partners Mentor the Next Generation

The Making of the Arts Partners Group

The Next Generation of Leaders

Next Steps

Thankful for Volunteers

Thankful for Volunteers

Personal Experience

Application to ��ñ����

New Strategic Plan

Encouragement

Application to ��ñ��