In a previous post I asked the question: Do your students know WHY you do what you do?

I suggested that you might be surprised by what your students — and student leaders — might not know, or be able to articulate, regarding your mission and/or purpose on campus.

I firmly believe that for our ministry efforts to be most effective, and our student leaders to be most focussed, they’ve got to have an increasingly clear understanding of why we do what we do!

A second important point of clarity for student leaders is in understanding how ‘we’ (our ministry and the student leaders that populate our ministry team/s) fit within the larger scheme of university life.

One of the things I’ve appreciated about working at BU is that we are intentional (increasingly so) when it comes to trying to help our students catch a glimpse of the ‘bigger picture’.

As a part of our week-long training with students leaders we have components that are:

1. Area specific (university ministries, student affairs, athletics, etc.),

2. Ministry or organization specific (worship, discipleship, outreach — SGA, res life, orientation, greek life, student activities, etc.), and

3. Campus-wide

It’s during these shared, or campus-wide, training sessions, when we pull together all 350+ leaders from across campus, that we are reminded that we are but a piece of the puzzle.

Helping our students leaders to recognize that they/we are not the only leaders on campus is important.  Helping them to recognize that they/we are not the only Christian leaders on campus — who are leading out of a sense of calling and conviction — is even more significant.

While our mission and purpose may not be the same as others across campus, helping student leaders to become aware of how we fit into the larger schematic of the university puzzle is essential to:

1. Helping them understand the importance of their unique role,

2. Helping them to appreciate the work of other leaders in other areas, and

3. Helping them to recognize some natural partnerships and potential collaborators within campus.

We are all called to play a certain role within our campus community.  We don’t have to do it all.

Learning who the other leaders around campus are, as well as what they do AND why they do what they do, should be a significant part of this time of intentionally training and equipping our student leaders at the beginning of the new year.

The more our students can make these important connections now — at the beginning of the year — the more effective we can be as we launch into a new year!

What do you think?

> How are your student leaders connecting with those across campus?

> Do your student leaders know how they ‘fit in’?

> Do you believe knowledge, connections and relationships with departments, organizations and leaders from across campus can benefit (even multiply) your ministry efforts on campus?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!