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The Kingdom of God is all about relationship. Events and programming are important, often even a critical component of Kingdom growth, but ultimately it’s about people growing closer to Jesus and closer to one another.
But life gets busy, and next thing I know, my relationships tend to consist of chit-chat at weekly gatherings. This isn’t acceptable in my book. My heart is to know and walk with my students. If you feel the same struggle, a couple of thoughts that have helped me that may help you.
Purposeful Is OK
When it comes to relationships, in an effort to avoid forced and to embrace “organic”, sometimes I’ve refused to be purposeful. This is a mistake.
Jesus was purposeful with the Twelve; while many came and went, He specifically identified a group of men to follow Him. Paul encouraged Timothy to be purposeful as he invested in leaders who could invest in other leaders (2 Tim 2:2). We see this principle of purposeful relationship in Scripture itself.
Make Time for Conversations
Particularly with your leadership team, before or at the beginning of the semester, sit down with one or two at a time. Chat about break and the upcoming semester, ministry programming and brainstorms for outreach. Pray together.
Try to connect at least a few times over the course of the semester to encourage them and refocus on the vision God has given us: to make disciples!
Maybe keep a short list of students you’d like to connect with over the next month. Don’t feel constrained by the list but allow it to help you stay focused and purposeful.
Social Media Works Too
In my opinion there is no perfect substitute for some quality time with someone, one can only meet with so many students in a given week. How can we connect with more? Technology.
Email often feels a little too formal, but simple texts of encouragement or Facebook messages asking how someone is doing and if there’s anything you can pray for, this shows students you care and keeps you in the loop of what God is doing in the group.
And be open to new media. How does your group communicate? Maybe give Snapchat a try—many students use it more than Facebook!
Photo credit: Sam & me on the bleachers via photon (license)
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