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Growing from 10 to 50 November 2, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Discipleship, Evangelism, Leadership, Prayer, Sending, Student Ownership.
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We are in the middle of a series of tips about going through the various stages of development of a movement.


Today we consider how to grow a ministry from 10 to 50.  Sometime ago, a team put together and sent me a copy of a strategic plan for growing from 10 to 50.  Here is their plan.

Vision:

  • Exciting/momentum building to give every student an opportunity to say “Yes!” to Christ.
  • It will only take 1% of the student body to influence the whole campus.
  • What is most influential group on campus?  How many from that group are involved?

Situational Analysis:

  • There are examples of growth for 10-50.
  • There are specific challenges/obstacles to overcome.

    • Leaders with limited vision/passion.
    • Leaders who can’t gather/lead.
    • Beware of becoming ingrown.
    • Want to develop authentic community.
    • The weekly meeting becomes the ministry.
    • Leadership not multiplying.
    • Not looking outside for other critical mass resources/volunteers.

Critical Mass:

  • A student leader.
  • A staff/intern coach.
  • Aligned students.

Critical Path Steps:

  • Prayer.

    • Depend on God to reach the campus.
    • Develop real opportunity for worship.
  • Evangelism.

    • Training in evangelism.
    • One on one and large group evangelism opportunities.
    • Exposing the campus with EveryStudent and FSKs.
  • Discipleship.

    • Effective small group strategy.
    • New groups starting.
    • Discipleship happening.
    • Know how to get resources.
    • Bring staff in for training and recruiting.
  • Sending.

    • Attending faith-building events.
    • Expose to vision of others.
    • Cross-pollination.
    • Training.
    • Extended time with staff.
    • Defeats isolation.
  • Leadership Development.

    • Growing from one leader to a team.
    • Instill vision and mission.
    • Asking what the next step is.
    • Invite others to ownership/responsibility.
    • Train volunteers.
    • Keep connected with staff coach.


There is nothing complicated about any of this.  Of course, we know that there are challenges and obstacles to growth.  But we start with the assumption of having the right leaders and then we need to be intentional in coaching those leaders in win/build/send and leadership development.

One coach (wish I could remember who) told me that she gives her leaders a bite of the campus in which they can see success (some target area).  She works to move from one key leader to a leadership team.  She makes a point to know GodSquad and sends students there with links to specific resources.  Finally, she develops a master calendar for herself each year where she puts recruiting, sending, events and outreaches on it.  This is really more about helping her help her leaders lead.

Praying for the Lost March 15, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Prayer.
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We know the vital role that prayer plays in our ministries.  We know that movement launching and building are spiritual endeavors where prayer opens doors for effective ministry.  We want students to catch a picture of how God will use prayer in their own lives.

But sometimes it is difficult to cast vision for prayer as something other than a vague mystical exercise.  Beyond simply praying for lost students to come to faith, what do you pray for?  Some time ago, Mike Carr, team leader for the Ministry Effectiveness and Leadership Development team in the NCO talked about some specific ways to make praying for the lost more specific.  He took these thoughts from Love on Its Knees: Make a Difference by Praying for Others by Dick Eastman.

Pray that God would cause people to ask certain “heart” questions that will direct their thinking toward the things of God.

  • Whom Can I Trust?
    • Plant in the hearts of the lost a skepticism about the lies they hear, whether philosophical, social, or political.
    • Cause them to begin to question whom they can really trust in life.
    • They would look for someone to trust beyond themselves.
    • That political leaders would do things that will cause distrust.
  • What is My Purpose?
    • That lost souls will search for the meaning of life.
    • Plant in their hearts an urgency concerning this question.
  • When Will I Really Be Free?
    • Plant in the hearts of the lost an inner unrest, together with a longing to know the Truth that will someday set them free.
    • That they will feel an emptiness that can only be satisfied by receiving Jesus into their lives.
    • Cause them to ask, “When will I be free of this emptiness in my heart?”
  • Why Do People Hate Religion or Reject God?
    • Cause lost souls to question why their leaders so vehemently reject the existence of God.
    • Question why people find it necessary to fight the concept of God.
  • How Can I Cope?
    • Plant in the hearts of the lost a sense of hopelessness.
  • Where Will I Go When I Die?
    • That God would turn this question into a quest for an eternal answer.
    • Plant in their hearts a longing to resolve this issue.
    • That an urgency will fill their hearts concerning their eternal destiny.

Here are a few other questions to help students develop a vision for leading prayer on their campuses:

  • “What are you believing God to do on your campus?”
  • “What could it look like?
  • “What would God do if He were at work here (unhindered)?”

Is there a student who you have been wanting to ask to step into leadership in the area of prayer?  Here are a couple of resources to help them lead in prayer.

Students leading prayer movements January 12, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Prayer, Student Ownership.
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Burn, Baby, Burn.  That was the title of Rick Pridey’s seminar title at TCX, the winter conference in the Upper Midwest.  Rick, Sioux Empire team in South Dakota, intended to give lift to revival by encouraging students to burn “white hot” for the Lord.  The real heart of his seminar was to provide motivation that will serve to encourage students to launch prayer movement throughout the region during the Spring semester.  I thought you would enjoy some of his thoughts.

Burn, Baby, Burn

intro:  reference Joel 2.12 – return to me with all your “heart”…. A prepared (but not perfect) heart is God’s prerequisite for successful launching of a prayer movement.

Practice Godliness

  • Read the Scriptures (Psalm 119. 11; Joshua 1. 8 – 9)
    • Commit to a good one year Bible reading plan
  • Live by the 10 commandments (Exodus 20)
  • Reflect on the Lord’s prayer daily (for 30 days) (Matthew 6)
  • See Tozer handout on spiritual renewal

Pursue Brokenness

  • Focus on praise (Psalm 145.1-2)
  • Repent of sin daily
    • Practice spiritual breathing (satisfied booklet, p.9 )
      • Transferrable concept on spirit filled life .
  • Determine who you are at your “core” (Psalm 139.23-24)
    • Invite close friends to help you examine your heart
      • an unexamined life is not worth living
  • reference Proud/Broken People, and credit Nancy Leigh DeMoss,

Prepare for the Lord’s presence

  • Commit to moments of solitude (Luke 5.12 – 16)
  • Seek out like minded prayer warriors (Acts 4.31)
  • Launch a 24-7 prayer group on your campus
    • go to http://www.24-7prayer.com/ for resources, esp. How to Launch a Prayer Room.
    • Join the Campus America facebook group
    • Read Red Moon Rising

Rick has always had a heart for prayer and his ministry reflects his own passion for the Lord.  I placed the Tozer and DeMoss resources he referred to in his seminar on a page I created for attachments on the wiki.

See You At The Pole September 22, 2008

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Launching, Prayer.
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Do you ever drive by a high school or middle school and find yourself praying for God to work on that campus?  Do you have students in any of your ministries that seem to have a passion for seeing God use them in the lives of teenagers?  Then this tip is for you.

On Wednesday, September 24, students will gather at the flagpole on their campuses to ask God to move in and through them.   Many youth ministries across the US have “See You At The Pole” rallies.  My son, Tom, is one of his FCA huddle captains.  They will hand out “Yes, I Believe in God. The 40-Day Challenge” guides at SYATP.  Student Venture uses SYATP as one of their WAVE days.  This is a special hour of evangelism starting on the East coast and sweeping like a wave westward across each time zone.

Why not consider…

  • Take some others with you and visit a local high school on Wednesday for SYATP.
  • If you get a chance before going, check out this START Handbook.  This contains all anyone needs to start a high school or middle school ministry.  You can also request you own hard copy of the handbook.
  • You can find other thoughts on how to plan for SYATP here.  On this page you will also find links to an informal questionnaire to strike up conversations with others about the role of prayer and to learn more about other WAVE dates and topics.

As the START Handbook points out “Teenagers are like wet cement, just waiting for someone to make a lasting impression.  Every day teens are making decisions that will affect them the rest of their lives—whether or not to take that drug or drink, to sleep with that guy or girl, or to give in to peer pressure.  But they are open to spiritual things as they look for answers to the problems they experience.”

Launching on PELT Day March 3, 2008

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Evangelism, Launching, Prayer.
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I am copied on emails that Neil Downey sends out to the student leaders on the Sioux Empire campuses. Here is one he sent recently. Neil told me they went to campuses where they had one or two students already aligned. It was meant to help give each campus a strong launch.

This week our staff team embarked on our first ever PELT day. For those of you dying to know about the new Acronym we made up, PELT stands for Prayer, Evangelism, Launching and Teamwork. On Wednesday morning (when it was very cold and very dark) our team split up into two groups to spend a day giving lift to a couple of fledgling movements on outlying Sioux Empire campuses. Team Luke traveled to Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, while Team Matthew made the long drive to Northern State University in Aberdeen. FYI, these teams were named after our two interns, not after the corresponding Gospels.

While I can only speak for myself, I would venture to say that all my fellow staff learned a thing or two as we experienced being part of a Missional Team – a group of people focused on seeing God raise up a Spiritual Movement – so that everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus.

Here’s what I learned:

  1. Even “professional Christians” fail – I attempted to initiate conversations with a lot of people, with varying degrees of responsiveness. But I wasn’t frustrated with people giving me the cold shoulder as much as I was by my own fear. On several occasions, I had a chance to strike up a conversation with somebody, but rationalized why it wasn’t a good idea (He looks busy, he doesn’t look interested, he’s eating, he might punch me, etc…) My own apprehension drove me to seek the Lord and the power of his Spirit to enable me to talk to people about the gospel. And that was a good thing. Moving from fear to faith to action is a tough but rewarding progression.
  2. It’s a small world – as soon as we set up our information table in the lobby of the Student Center, a Korean student approached us and said “You’re CCC?!? I was in CCC in Korea! I’ve been waiting for you to come here!” In addition to lots of Koreans, we encountered students from other nations and cultures (like Wyoming). The nations are here! And when students from around the world return home, I would love it if they’d take the gospel with them!
  3. God is at work – Yes, God is drawing people to himself, even on the frozen tundra of South Dakota. As we prayed for the campus, cast vision to Christian students, shared the gospel with nonbelievers and took steps toward seeing new movements launched, we couldn’t help but wonder how God would use people who truly follow him to bring himself glory. Time will tell.

As you think about what God has called you to do, I hope you realize that we are all Apostles (sent ones) – sent by the King to help build his kingdom. It took a road trip to remind me of this. But you don’t have to drive hundreds of miles in order to be sent somewhere. Maybe God is sending you across the hallway.

Remember that you too are a part of a Missional team. Campus Crusade is not a social club. We don’t exist for comfort, but for Mission. And we get to experience the mission together.

Neil told me after, “Now the real work begins. There were a bunch of students who indicated some level of interest – either in joining a bible study or just talking to people about a relationship with God. If we’re going to see any lasting fruit come from this trip, we (staff and student-leaders) need to be intentional about contacting all these people in a timely fashion.” Rick Pridey agrees saying “any intentional launching strategy needs a more intentional… coaching strategy to try and move things toward sustainability.”

Fireseeds and GLC on Prayer November 5, 2007

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Prayer.
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Earlier this semester we were called to 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting. During that period, our Student LINC team decided to read the re-printed Fireseeds Of Spiritual Awakening by Dan Hayes. We read a chapter each week and discuss it in staff meeting. It has challenged us. Last week, heads nodded around the table as someone noted, “Who is that person that is calling us to prayer? And why is it not me?”

Although Fireseeds is a motivating read, not everyone enjoys that type of book. I was reminded of another resource for instilling a vision for prayer. Ben Rivera in one of his ministry tips, called attention to a lesson on prayer in the on-line Global Learning Center. Anyone can go through it. But you must sign up if you haven’t already. Check it out.

I was challenged by the questions in the “Experience” portion of that lesson.

  • As you stand in Jesus’ shoes: Begin to notice how you feel.
  • What do you see?
  • What are you thinking?
  • As you walk through the hallways, what becomes obvious?
  • Who do you notice?
  • What do you think about them?
  • As you walk into the cafeteria, who do you end up sitting with?
  • What do you talk about?
  • As you sit in a lecture, what do you become aware of?
  • How do you participate?

I had to ask myself, do I bring prayer into my day to day activities?

Parenthetically, the four modules of the Global Learning Center (Dream, Build, Lead and Coach) and the considerable resources available were unveiled at CM2007 and are designed to train staff and students to launch and build a ministry. Lots of great stuff there.

All of us are in ministry because of what we have seen God do in our lives. We are very mindful that we are in a spiritual battle. We also know that we are dependant upon prayer. But honestly, prayer, as simple as it is, is really the hardest thing most of us do. Let us continue to call one another and to heed each other’s calls to prayer for our campuses.

“…so they continued their daily prayer meetings for four months. Then suddenly the blessing began to be poured out.”   Fireseeds Of Spiritual Awakening, p. 114, quoting J. Oswald Sanders, Prayer Power Unlimited.

Fireseed Anthology team September 17, 2007

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Evangelism, Prayer.
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I had a fascinating conversation with Melinda Carter recently. She and the Fireseed Anthology team in Austin, Texas are a contextualized, post-modern STINT team, focusing specifically on ministry to post-moderns. Many of those they are seeking to reach tend to be outside of most of our typical ministry efforts. Melinda says that they want “to pioneer new ways of communicating the gospel to those who might not respond to traditional forms of ministry.”

As you read Melinda’s blog, The Fireseed Anthology Blog, you will notice several creative initiatives.

  • First is a specific focus on those in the arts community. The Red Cube Project is one such effort that incorporates prayer and art.
  • A second emphasis is learning about those whose normal or exclusive means of learning and sharing is oral. Increasingly, many in our society are not able to read or write or chose not to. The Austin team believes that post-modern students will be more responsive to this kind of communication.
  • Another effort of this team is with Good News/Good Deeds. Many of us found that as non-Christians joined our Katrina relief efforts, they were more responsive to the Gospel. Incorporating Good News/Good Deeds efforts creates an environment where non-Christians can serve as well as observe Christians in action, seeing our motivation and watching the Body of Christ minister to the whole person.

During these 40 days of Prayer and Fasting, the stint team is partnering with a ministry called Austin House of Prayer. Different churches are joining them for prayer. As they rally Christians to pray, they anticipate the work God will do within their hearts to be the ones most likely to be the answer to their own prayers, participating in a ministry of serving and reconciliation.

There may be many in our ministries who have a heart for creatives or the gift of mercy and would be interested in more about what the Fireseed Anthology team is doing. It will be interesting to watch this year as they experiment with new approaches.

40 Days of Prayer and Fasting August 27, 2007

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Prayer.
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No doubt you have read Barbara Francis’ and Sam Osterloh’s emails and you have probably seen the Facebook posts on Prayer and Fasting. I have enjoyed reading some of what others are planning to do.

  • Jason Weimer wrote that he and Maria are doing a media fast.
  • Like so many others, Daniel Curran says that they are asking Bay Area student leaders to read the new Fireseeds of Spiritual Awakening.
  • The National Campus Office has a different person leading a prayer focus every day.
  • Melinda Carter, with the Fireseed Anthology team in Austin, Texas, will have a good news/good deeds focus this year. But they will take the first 40 days to partner with a ministry called House of Prayer in Austin and other churches as they pray and fast to prepare the ground for sowing.

Let me encourage you and your team to participate in some way in this 40 day emphasis. We all know the role of prayer in our ministries is important. But often when we get busy, prayer is the first thing to be set aside. With all that we are hoping to see happen with new ministries launched, connecting incoming freshman and seeing students lead in evangelism, we are desparate for God to open doors of effective ministry. I look forward to hearing what God does in response to believing prayer.

Here are some prayer resources on GodSquad that you may find helpful.

Numbers 13 Decoding February 12, 2007

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Prayer, Student Ownership.
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Last week’s tip was on Prayer Mapping. That idea probably is more staff focused as you think about pioneering efforts on a campus. But maybe you have some students that are getting serious about reaching their campus or they would like to help launch another campus with you. Here is an idea from a former staff, Dave Peterson. He used a Numbers 13 exercise that helped his students decode their campus. This might be helpful as you think about growing critical mass or casting vision for transitioning new leadership.

Numbers 13 Decoding

It is really pretty easy to do. Last week I met with a team of leaders who had just transitioned in because the key leader from the fall is spending the semester abroad.

I had the four students work together to make a map of the campus. I had them highlight the dorms and write in how many students were in each dorm. If a dorm had freshman concentrations I had them write that information. I then had them identify how many commuters came to the school and write that information where the commuters would park. The next thing I had them do on the map was have them do some basic decoding by identifying the main pathways and nodes that exist on the campus.

When they had completed this I had them open to numbers 13. We read the passage and I asked them

  • What was happening in the passage?
  • What was the land like that the spies explored?
  • What was the report that the spies gave?
  • Did all the spies agree?
  • What was the difference between Joshua and Caleb and the other spies? (eyes of faith)
  • What do you think God wanted the people of Israel to do?

As you think of your campus,

  • What is it like?
  • What are the giants that you face on campus?
  • What do you think God wants to do on our campus?
  • What do you need to do to see God’s plan for your campus become a reality.

At this point I had them calculate the percentage of believers that were involved in their group and other Christian groups on campus. I shared about how the Gallup polls often say that 50% claim to be Christians and how on some schools during the great awakenings 50% or more were involved in Bible study. We talked about how many would be involved if only 10% of the students on their campus was involved and the difference that it would make.

To give them a sense of the possibilities I shared how there are student-led ministries of 200 plus on different schools.

We talked about what it could look like and then we prayed together conversationally about the vision that God had laid on their heart.

I suggested that it could actually be a neat exercise to do this at one of their weekly gatherings.

Dave

I remember when I was a student at Penn State, a friend, Wayne Okamoto, and I would often prayer walk around East Halls. Often we would pray that as the lights in those dorm rooms lit the dark quad, that many would come to Christ and be light in the dark world. God uses prayer walks and Dave’s Numbers 13 experience to help build vision for what God will do and stretch student’s faith in how He can use them.

Prayer Mapping February 5, 2007

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Launching, Prayer.
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Some time ago, Coleen Harvey, currently, ICS staff in Russia, sent me an article on Prayer Mapping. This is a great way to combine decoding and prayer walking a campus.

Prayer Mapping

I have been hearing of a new aspect of prayer for groups of people that really has me intrigued. It is called “prayer mapping” and I think it could open up to you God’s view as well as God’s heart for the lost on your campus.

“Prayer mapping” can be done in a variety of ways. One way that seems easy to start with goes like this:

Go to your campus info desk and get a copy of a campus map (or create a map yourself). Take the school’s map to a copy center and enlarge the map to fit on an 8 ½ x14 or 11×17 page (you might want to white out the info there that does not pertain to you and re-copy the page).

You can map your campus as a group or divide up the regions on campus and assign each region to someone to find out the information and then report back to you. (If one student has most of his or her classes in one building, assign that region to them – they are already in the building at various times and they are familiar with the nooks and crannies where groups of students hang out.) You will want to know:

  • where the dorms are and how many students live there (and any other important info…”freshman dorm”, “international students live here”, “party dorm”, etc).
  • how many commuter students there are & what do you know about them (“most live within 5 minutes of campus”, etc – write info about commuter students in the parking areas on your map).
  • if you have a Monday/Wednesday, Tuesday/Thursday set of students, identify which areas (buildings, times) those students are where (“M/W tend to use these buildings”, “older students attend evening classes here, etc).
  • write on the classroom buildings what the main departments there are in which building…note any Christian faculty/administrators that you know. If you know of any classes that are “anti-God” note that so you can pray for those students, do the same for classes or teachers that are “pro-God”.
  • note the areas where certain groups of students hang out (athletes, international students, skateboarders, Goths, ethnic students, non-traditional students, students with certain majors, student government, etc).
  • if the majority of students don’t hang out on campus, identify the places they hang out, especially if those places are near campus.
  • try to identify the main groups of students that influence the campus the most (it could be the psych department, the school newspaper, the unofficial school newspaper, the off-campus house that has the most parties, etc).
  • identify the main pathways on campus.

You now have a great visual picture of your campus! As you look at the campus, pray for each segment. Commuter students are often the most difficult to reach. Pray that God would put ideas in your mind for what you can do to reach those students. Pray for ways you can reach out to international students in order to build relationships with them that will lead them to Christ. Pray for Christian faculty that they will be faithful witnesses for Him in their classrooms and with other faculty. Pray about strong non-Christian faculty, that God will fill their classrooms with students who will speak out for Him in that classroom…

The ways you can be prompted in prayer are unlimited! This could be a great tool for your campus prayer times or as a tool to use to guide you through prayer before you ask God to lead you in planning for your ministry. Prayerfully it will help to open your hearts and minds to thinking about areas on your campus that are “unreached” areas in your world. Prayer mapping will help you gain a “God’s-eye view” of your world.

Why not have your team prayer map a campus where you have a hard time gaining access. If prayer is difficult and you find yourself praying the same things over and over, consider this article on praying for the lost. Finally, we know that we are in a spiritual enterprise. This article is a good reminder that prayer must be the foundation of our ministry.