Staying Connected 101

Introduction

Most statistics suggest that the majority of the students who come from a strong habit of church involvement at home will arrive on campus only never to darken the doorway of a church or campus ministry while attending college. In fact, many of the habits broken while in college will take years to restore. All are diminished by this reality. Moreover, the effort to maintain this connection is vital for the spiritual health of our students and the long-term health of our local congregations and denomination.

But what can we do? How can we prevent our students from leaving both their homes and their faith communities when they go to college? How can we stay connected to them and keep them connected to us? In this article are some suggestions that might help sustain our connection. These suggestions do not make for a foolproof plan. However, they will better the chances that when our students leave for college, they will not also leave their faith at home.

Chapter One—

Preparation

Students might think they are ready. They might tell us that they are ready. However, sometimes, those all-to-ready students arrive in the great wide world of the college campus only to be overwhelmed by everything new. They have new sheets and pillowcases, new classes, new lives. Their whole world has been altered. And, in such an altered state, one’s bearings can be hard to find. With a little cooperative preparation both on the part of their home church and the campus ministry at their new college, we can better ensure that when they are overwhelmed they will seek out the familiar. They will seek out the church.

Here are some ideas that might make that transition easier:

1. Before they leave, get the student’s new address at college. Regularly, send them a copy of the church’s newsletter and/or bulletin. This will keep them up-to-date while also reminding them that the church, both at home and at college, remembers them.

2. Also, as a graduation gift, encourage their family, the church, or someone in the church to give them a good study bible. While exploring the world anew, this will encourage a deeper, more investigative stage of their faith.

3. Give the student the contact information for the UM campus ministry at their new school and encourage them to visit that ministry once they have arrived on campus. Also, provide the name and location of local UM churches that they might attend. Lastly, give the student’s name and contact information to the campus minister at their new college.

Chapter Two—

Practice

Once your student has arrived on campus, start several habits.

1. Begin a habit of regularly e-mailing or writing your students just to say hello, to keep in touch, and to keep their faith community in the forefront of their minds while away from home.

2. Send them a devotional book. They might not read it. But, it will let them know that you are thinking of them. And, you never know, between homework and classes, they might open it.

3. Invite a group within your congregation to adopt your students. A UMM’s or UMW’s group would be a good start. Have them send care packages, cards, and general notes of encouragement.

4. Include those students in your personal and corporate prayers.

Epilogue—

Furthering the Connection

These efforts will better the chance that your students will see the importance of faith and a faith community as they challenge and expand their perceptions of the world. And, together, we might encourage our churches to retain its faithful students as we struggle to be faithful caregivers to them.

I have offered just a few practical strategies that you might employ. There are many more to be suggested and tried that not been included. The campus ministers and chaplains of the colleges and universities within the bounds of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference are a vital resource for this information. Below is a listing of how to contact them:

ASU

Brad Farrington

brad@CHARTERINTERNET.COM

Bennett College

McLean, Natalie

nmclean@bennett.edu

Brevard College

Webb, Shelly

webbsf@brevard.edu

CPCC

Dan Herrin

Dan.Herrin@cpcc.edu

Greensboro College

Brewer, Robert

rbrewer@gborocollege.edu

High Point University

Warlick, Hal

hwarlic@highpoint.edu

Mitchell Community College

Lepley, Lynne

lmlepley@aol.com

NCA&T

Sadye Joyner Milton

smilton3@triad.rr.com

Pfeiffer University

Hughes, Chris

chughes@pfeiffer.edu

Winston-Salem Wesley Foundation (WFU, NCSA, and Salem College)

Larry Jones

joneslv@WFU.EDU

WSSU

Pamela Blackstock

pamelablackstock@YAHOO.COM

UNC-A

Jennifer McSwain

umcm@BULLDOG.UNCA.EDU

UNC-C

Stephen Cheyney

scheyney@email.uncc.edu

UNC-G

Amy Rio Anderson

ajrioand@UNCG.EDU

WCU

Tim Moore

tim@wcuwesley.com

Contact them. They are a great resource. And remember, stay in touch! Our church depends on it.