Avoid Autopilot Syndrome

A couple of years ago, as I was taking some time at home with my family after being on spring break with a group of students, and I hopped on Facebook and saw this status update from a faculty friend of mine:

Next to last day of Spring Break. Just a heads-up to any of my students out there on Facebook: I’m planning on pretty much “mailing it in” with regards to my lectures for the rest of the semester. Whatever your expectations had been, you may wanna dial ’em back a notch or two.

I have to admit… I laughed out loud.

What honesty!

But it got me thinking about how true that statement can be… possibly for my friend, definitely for most students… and potentially even for me.

The spring semester can be an incredible challenge for those of us ministering to college students. The first half [February in particular] is often filled with struggles related to a lack of motivation, seasonal depression, etc., and the second half is often a sprint to the finish.

In similar fashion to the students we serve, our temptation after spring break can be to slip into auto-pilot, and coast on into the summer break ahead. The second half of the second semester [for those of us on the semester system] can be one of the most challenging in which to find meaningful ministry opportunities. But here are a few that I think we need to be certain NOT to overlook:

Follow-up with those who went a spring break mission/service trip
Seniors who are preparing for graduation
Celebrate your leaders who have faithfully served with you this year
Next years leaders

We definitely want to finish well with those students we have been actively involved with all year long… but these four areas might be some of the best opportunities we have for new, meaningful ministry in this final segment of the academic year.

Follow-up with spring break mission participants. This is a group that just had a powerful shared experience… quite possibly something that was life changing [I talked about this possibility in some recent posts here and here]. Taking the time to intentionally follow-up with them — individually and as a group — can provide some meaningful space for these students to reconnect and share their stories, and can prove to be an affirmation of their experience as well as a confirmation on some directions that they may sense God leading them in as a result of their spring break experience.

Seniors preparing to graduate. Speaking of a group in search of God’s direction… Seniors preparing to graduate tend to be looking for people with wisdom, willing ears and a possible ‘in’ with ‘the Big Guy’ to hear them out and ask them questions. Regardless of how involved students have been with our ministries throughout their time on campus, preparing to graduate seems to create a sense of urgency, as well as a willingness and openness towards seeking out and receiving spiritual care and guidance regarding their future. We must find ways to be available to this group.

Celebrate student leaders. This is so important! When we celebrate our student leaders at the end of the year [especially if we’ve not done it throughout the year] we show them how much they are valued. This can be incredibly important for them, as well as the future of our ministry. Leaders who are not appreciated are likely not to return, nor are they likely to have fond things to say about our ministry to others.

Next years leaders. Finally, this final segment of the academic year is a great time to start preparing for next year. BE INTENTIONAL! Recruit your new team. Begin praying, building relationships and training for the upcoming year. This is valuable time that we don’t want to forgo.

There is still plenty of ministry to be done in this final leg of the year. Setting our system on autopilot cannot be an option. We MUST finish well!

What ministry opportunities do you see from where you sit?

FAITH ON CAMPUS

Avoid Autopilot Syndrome

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