Why 15? Because I felt like there were so many great posts on the Concepts for Campuses blog this year that I couldn’t limit it to just 10!
This year brought an exciting new addition to the blog as Ryan Alsheimer became a regular contributor and the themes of technology in campus ministry and helping people feel welcome seemed to be most popular. So, without further ado here’s the top 15 posts from 2013. Let the countdown begin!
15. Effective Planning Pt.2: Evaluating Your Ministry – Edison could have been happy with reading by candlelight. Henry Ford could have decided there was no better way to get around than horse driven carriages…
14. We Set the Lid – It can be a scary thing when you realize just how important you are to the success of the ministry on your campus…
13. Planning Your Semester’s Theme – Preaching of the Bible is one of the key ingredients of the college ministry that I have the honor of leading…
12. Summer Prayer Challenge – Last week I had the privilege of meeting Mark Batterson, author of The Circle Maker, and hearing him speak. Mark’s main message right now is about the power of prayer…
11. A Lesson from the Sower – It’s not very often that I’ll admit a weakness so publicly, so pay close attention! Here’s the thing: I’m really terrible at plants…
10. Helping People Feel Welcome – Part 2 – Last week, Chris introduced a great new blog series on making people feel welcome at our meetings…
9. 7 Reasons to Invite Everyone (and their brother) to BASICcon – We expect God to show up in a powerful way at every conference…
8. The Key to Building a Successful Ministry – As the semester gets started we’re all hoping to see the same thing – a successful ministry built and lives transformed…
7. 6 Stress Relief Ideas for Finals – We all know that finals time can be the most stressful time of year for students. The late night cramming sessions, staring at their computer screens for hours writing papers…
6. Exciting Announcement: New Contributing Writer – After writing this blog for the last two and a half years I have an exciting announcement to make…
5. The Funnel Effect – For many of us working or volunteering our time in college ministry, summer break is an amazing time…
4. More Ideas for Using Technology: Cheap (Or Even Free) Leadership Training – Over the last five years webcasts and webinars have been growing in popularity. People are finding that they are great ways to get training from experienced leaders…
3. 10 Things I Love About BASICcon – Seeing incredible performers like comedian Carlos Oscar and Dustin Kelm riding a 10 foot unicycle while juggling…
2. Helping People Feel Welcome – Part 3: My Most Awkward Church Experience – Music blared as people shouted excitedly. The cramped room was buzzing and the air smelled of sweat. One by one more people were added to the conga line that circled our family and I was praying I wouldn’t get pulled in…
And the most popular post of 2013…drum roll please…
1. More Ideas for Using Technology: Anonymous Texting Q&A and Poll Questions – Over the past month my wife and I had the chance to speak at the SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Geneseo groups. With love and relationships as the theme of the upcoming BASICcon we decided to speak on the topic of finding “the one” and then finish up with a time of anonymous Q&A…
Thank you so much for reading this year! I hope your leadership team was truly challenged to grow and we can’t wait to keep improving the blog in 2014. If you have any thoughts or ideas on how to make it better or topics you’d like to hear more about please feel free to share in the comments below. We’ll take next week off for Christmas, so have a Merry Christmas and we hope your time with family is blessed!