This past weekend was a great time of learning and planning with leaders from the BASIC network at Propel. One of the things that I touched on briefly was the idea of keeping our ministries updated.
I’ve talked before about how quickly the world is moving in the Internet age. Things are changing so fast that now many people recommend completely redesigning websites at least once a year. Your students and the campus are probably changing faster than anything else. So, we need to be aware that students and their needs will change and even the spiritual atmosphere of the campus will change.
If you’re doing the same things you did even 3 years ago it’s probably outdated.
Students are always aware of what is trendy and cutting edge. I don’t think that means we completely need to cater to that, there are some older resources that are really good, but we definitely need to be aware of it and adapt when necessary.
Some things probably won’t need to be changed such as discipleship, prayer meetings, etc. However, if you’re playing the same worship songs you were 3 years ago you need to pick new songs. If you’re using the same media or doing the same events you were doing 3 years ago you need to come up with some new ideas.
One of the best ways to assess if what you’re doing is outdated is to sit down with a student who is always paying attention to the latest trends and pick their brain. I’m sure you can think of at least one or two students in your ministry who always know the newest worship music, the latest websites that have gained in popularity, and has already seen the biggest movie that came out last weekend. If you don’t have students in your ministry that fit that description that’s a pretty telltale sign that your ministry is already outdated.
If you attended the Propel Leadership Summit we handed out a Resource Guide with tons of ideas, websites, and books to get you started in revamping areas that need updating. If you weren’t able to make it you can download the latest version of the guide in PDF format.