Updated 4/16/12

Working on a Christian campus, I routinely get students who stop by my office who are struggling with how their faith is being “challenged” or “threatened” or even “torn a part” by a religion class (or professor) they are taking.

They don’t know what to do with the ways their faith is being challenged, or stretched, beyond what it has formerly known.

In these conversations I often spend a good bit of time playing the role of  “devil’s advocate,” and trying to help these students understand how their present struggles might not really be their professor’s best attempt at ruining their faith, but instead, a way of encouraging them to consider that God might just be a little bigger than the “box” they have been keeping God in.

As you probably know, sometimes these conversations go better than others… but this last one got me wondering:

How is our ministry shaping our students?

Do we know?

Do you?

Are the sermon series, bible studies, service opportunities, times of fellowship and pastoral care conversations — all of our very best efforts — having the kind of impact that we intend?

If so, how do we know?

If not, shouldn’t we want to know?!

And exploring how we assess our ministries, and students spiritual growth through our ministry efforts, is not the intent of this post (maybe tomorrow).

Instead I want to explore the “how” or “to what extent” question.

Because I think it’s fair to say that our ministries are, indeed, shaping our students.

But do we know how?

I think it’s probable that we could be shaping our students in one of the following 4 ways:

• Initial Formation — In some instances we get the chance to walk with students as they take some of their first intentional steps on their faith journey.  We get the privilege of working with them to establish some of their core beliefs and practices.
• Re-formation — In some instances we serve as a reforming agent.  Our students come to us with some form of faith, and some assemblage of beliefs, and we get the opportunity to walk alongside them as they begin to look at their faith in some new ways — with an openness to change — willing to ask some significant questions about the things they currently believe.
• Af-formation — In some instances we serve as a voice that affirms what students already believe and now calls them to live-out their faith with more conviction  and consistency.  It’s a call to live a congruent life — where the ways they live better line-up with what they say they believe.
• De-formation — In other instances we might actually be unknowingly mis-shaping a student’s faith.  It’s possible that they might come to us from a very different back ground, a different religious tradition or denomination, and the ways that we interact with them could be more harmful than helpful.

And while the 4th option (de-formation) is the only one I mentioned as being harmful, I think there are ways that each of the 3 ways mentioned before it (initial formation, re-formation and con-formation) also have the potential to be more harmful than helpful for our students.  What I mean is that there are ways we can assert ourselves into too large of a role in the spiritual formation process — taking the space, responsibility and decision-making power out of the hands of both God and the student.

This, for obvious reasons, would not be good.

So, I again ask the question: where does your ministry fall?

Do you know how your ministry is shaping students?

How do you know that?

Are there any changes that might need to be made to your ministry efforts with students?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!  Please take a moment to share your thoughts in the comment section below.