Alumni

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

Restored for Restoration

ashlye.vanderworp@intervarsity.org — Tue, 08 May 2018 20:38:30 +0000

Katie Ziegler

Restored for Restoration

As a senior in high school, Adryahna desperately wanted to fit in. Many friends turned their backs on her, and others bullied her. The friends Adryahna did have made poor choices, including bringing alcohol to school to drink together every day.

Lost and hoping for a change, Adryahna left home in San Diego to attend California State University, Long Beach, where she met some students from ��ñ�� who helped her move into her dorm. She ended up attending a few of their large group meetings.

However, Adryahna continued to make choices that chipped away at her well-being. By the end of freshman year, she was depressed and diagnosed with anxiety.

“My main goal was to turn up,” she said. “I was pretty much just partying. It was really unfulfilling, and I got really tired really quickly.”

One night, while Adryahna and a friend were walking home from a party, someone drove by and threw a milkshake at them, calling them horrible names. That moment was devastating and pushed Adryahna to get to know Jesus a little better. She decided to read through the entire New Testament that summer.

A New Family and New Desire

On the first day back on campus as a sophomore, Adryahna ran into an ��ñ�� acquaintance who invited her to get involved with Black Campus Ministries (BCM).

“I went, and I loved everyone. They became like family,” she said.

From that moment on, Adryahna found not only the community she longed for, but the desire to put Jesus at the center of her decisions. Then, at her ��ñ�� chapter’s Spring Conference, Adryahna officially gave Jesus lordship over her life.

Now, Adryahna is finishing her last semester of school where she leads the BCM portion of ��ñ�� on campus. During her time in the chapter, she saw not only her own relationship with Jesus deepen, but also the chapter grow exponentially with those invested in seeing change on campus.

Seeing her campus transform as her own life transformed prompted Adryahna to serve as the student emcee at this year’s Ambition Conference, where she shared vulnerably from the stage, prayed for speakers, and encouraged other students to be bold in following Jesus by carrying his mission on campus.

An Unexpected Leap of Faith

In her commitment to follow where God leads, Adryahna recently made the decision to return home after graduation with no job and no clear career plan. This decision came at the expense of turning down other opportunities, including Teach for America and an internship with ��ñ��.

But God gave Adryahna a vision of restoring relationships with her high school friends and inviting them to study the Bible with her.

“I’ve learned that we’re not supposed to have faith in our faith; we’re supposed to have faith in God,” Adryahna said. “I trust that God will sustain me and that there will be fruit and healing from this huge faith leap I’m taking.”

In the future though, Adryahna hopes doors will open to her ultimate goal—to help reform the prison system. Growing her relationship with God also grew in her a commitment to bring his justice and hope to our broken world.

“God used ��ñ�� to show me the truth of who he is—he is love. He used ��ñ�� to give me the confidence to use my voice and the discernment to know where to invest my time in the future,” Adryahna said.

While moving home feels scary for Adryahna, as though her future plans are on hold, she knows that serving God after college looks different for everyone, and that what she chose is just as important.

Are you graduating from college this year like Adryahna? Your involvement with ��ñ�� doesn’t have to end. Learn about the different ways to stay connected with ��ñ�� by clicking the button below!

Visit the ��ñ�� Alumni Page

News Keywords

Black Campus Ministries