Propel 2011 is in the books. This past weekend was a great time of encouragement, making connections, and seeking God for the next school year. I hope you were able to attend, but for those who weren’t able here are some things that stood out that summarize the weekend.
Four Things, Small But Wise – Todd spoke Friday night on what we can learn from the animals in Proverbs 30:24-28. The ant speaks of preparation because they plan ahead. The hyrax speaks of team-building because they surround their weakness with what they’re not (you should surround yourself with people who are strong in the areas that you lack). The locust speaks of cooperation because they know there is strength in unity and the lizard speaks of service because as it fulfills its purpose with excellence, its helpfulness brings it to places of influence.
Tips for Church Based College Ministry: Part 1 – Benson Hines spoke in his first session Saturday morning about how we as student leaders or church advisors are all four things: college ministers, missionaries, part of the campus tribe, and sent by a church. He gave us a lot to chew on, but the two points that stood out to me were as college ministers we must be learners and as a part of the campus tribe we should love the land God has called us to.
Tips for Church Based College Ministry: Part 2 – Benson’s second session covered ten ideas that could be helpful to your ministry. The two points I wanted to highlight were that we should keep the end in mind every time (being purposeful about what we do) and prioritizing teaching students to be great in the basics (Bible study, prayer, evangelism, etc.).
Tips for Church Based College Ministry: Part 2 – Benson’s second session covered ten ideas that could be helpful to your ministry. The two points I wanted to highlight were that we should keep the end in mind every time (being purposeful about what we do) and prioritizing teaching students to be great in the basics (Bible study, prayer, evangelism, etc.).
After Benson’s sessions we held a number of shorter workshops:
Todd talked about the importance of starting the year off right by holding events the first week of the semester and advertising as much as possible to get BASIC’s name in front of as many students as possible on your campus.
I talked about the importance of defining your ministry’s vision before trying to cast the vision to your students and student leaders.
I discussed how to run a good meeting and why we should work to do everything with excellence, especially since this is the one aspect of our ministry that nearly everyone who comes into contact with our ministry will see.
Jon spoke on effective evangelism through forming genuine friendships. His three points were: A friend like Jesus isn’t condemning, a friend like Jesus isn’t compromising, and a friend like Jesus is compassionate.
James Harrington (Ugandan Water Project director) spoke on how to effectively engage campuses through projects.
Cheryl talked about the importance of developing community and some tips on how to get better at cultivating community in your group.
That’s a highlight of the weekend’s teaching. We were able to record most of the sessions (but not all) and you can listen to them in their entirety here for those who were unable to make it this year or want to hear them again.
We want to make those sessions available because equipping leaders is so important to us, but there are other benefits that your group receives by coming to Propel like networking with other groups, team building, many free resources that we give out, a time to plan with your leaders for the fall, the opportunity to interact with leaders and ask questions, and more. I would strongly encourage you to make attending Propel 2012 (May 11-12) a priority for your student leaders next year.