With another blogathon starting tomorrow, I thought it might be good to talk about how we can make the MOST of our few days ‘together’.

As I have thought more and more about this time, and how God might choose to use this time of thinking and sharing and learning together; here’s what I’ve found myself thinking about… that this would be a time and space of:

• shareing ideas
• meaningful dialog
• mutual encouragement
• growing a network of co-laborers
• spurring each other on to meaningful ministry with college students

SO, in order for us to make the most of this ‘blog-a-thon’ I think there are a few things that WE need to do as we prepare:

1. Pray – please join with me in praying for this time!  I’m excited about all of the contributors that God is bringing to the table for this online event.  Let’s pray for the Spirit to move in our midst, to give us open and teachable hearts and minds, a desire to engage and encourage one another as we explore different ideas and ministry-related practices, so that we might all become more effective in the work we’ve been called by God to do.
2. Set aside time – I would encourage you to block off some time on each of these days (April 5-7), if you can, so that you can thoroughly engage the content and conversation that will be taking place.  While online conferences (like this one) are very accessible and convenient, they can also present the challenge of being ‘fully present’, so if you can carve out time in your schedule each day – and even block it off on your calendar – you will likely be more focused and intentional in your engagement.
3. Plan to participate – this may  seem redundant, but what I mean here is that I hope you will be an ‘active’ participant in the blog-a-thon.  Your thoughts and comments are INCREDIBLY valuable to this experience! It’s one of the reasons I love the idea of a blog-a-thon… it is designed to give everyone the chance to sound off, push back, add to, question, and wholeheartedly support other things that have been written.  Of course, we should hope to do this in loving and respectful ways, and with each new ‘voice’ that contributes the impact and overall education for all will be multiplied.  This is a great chance for us all to be both leaders AND learners!
4. Help spread the word – a part of will add to the overall experience is the breadth of voices that will come to the table… and I NEED YOUR HELP to make sure that this event is known about in as many corners of campus and college ministry world as possible. Here are a few suggestions for how you might help to publicize the Future of College Ministry ‘blog-a-thon’ this week: — Tweet about it – there’s a convenient link below and it will only take you 140 characters (or less)!  Just click on the ‘t’ button to share this post with your followers.   — Share it on Facebook – again, use the button at the bottom of this page to share this post with your FB friends. Consider adding a personal message to your post that encourages folks to check it out.   — Blog about it – if you’re a blogger, consider writing a post on why you’re excited about the ‘blog-a-thon’ and why you think your readers might benefit from participating in it as well.   — Email your colleagues – if you’re not into the whole social media scene, or the people you might want to invite are not, consider sending them an email with a link to this post (http://faithoncampus.com/making-the-most-of-it/), or the link to the Facebook event (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138295056249322).

If you have any other thoughts or ideas about how we can further prepare for this upcoming event please add it in the comment section below… or shoot me an email.

Thanks to all who are finishing up their posts in preparation for this event.  Please see the FB event page for the most up-to-date information and a full list of contributors.

Grace and peace!