young adult and campus ministry

I have grown in knowledge and in confidence around raising money. Joe helped me be at ease with talking about the money needs of our campus ministry. I see more clearly the organic connection between our ethos, our ministry, and our need for support from outside of our immediate circle. I have a much better understanding and language that is in tune with who we are as a ministry. Money and other contributions are no longer artificial conversations that seem miles away from more pastoral or spiritual conversations. This new understanding of stewardship has become the foundation of how we elicit funds from members of our larger community.

– Rev. Ed Bird, Canterbury: Indiana University, Bloomington

Knowing how to ask for a donation is so important to ministry. Fundraising is not something that I was taught in seminary. The intentional work of crafting and sharing the story of Grace Place showed me that the way we were asking for money wasn’t connecting with our donors. Our new story has allowed us to connect more deeply with stakeholders we invite into our community. More recently, I used parts of the narrative in our appeal letter to make a direct ask. That is something we had ever done before. We were not only able to bring in more money from donors, but we also received support from donors that had stopped giving for the last several years.

– Rev. Mack Patrick, Grace Place: Northern Indiana University

Participating in this cohort really helped me develop clarity along with the basic tools and steps I needed for creating a robust development plan for my ministry.  As a priest I believe I was woefully unprepared for the work of stewardship and fundraising in the church.  Now, I feel like I have a plan in place that will help us begin the dreaming-visioning-imagining process, which will help with our stewardship goals. While I’m still aware I’m not an expert in development and fundraising, working with Joe helped me to understand that what I was really crafting in this process is a love letter to my congregation and student population. The process that Joe created was an opportunity to really immerse myself in my ministry context and remember, again and again, all the many ways I love being in ministry alongside these people.

– Rev. Hillary Cooke, Chapel of The Good Shepherd: Purdue University

One of the challenges of our campus ministry was maintaining relationships with our alums. Working together, Joe and I were able to develop a narrative framework and process for networking that gave Brent House a way to connect with our alums. Using in-person and virtual meetings we learned more about what Brent House meant to our alumni. We expanded our outreach to include former board members, former residents and other supporters. Now we have regular online gatherings that keep us connected. This experience has energized our alumni community, attracted new members to our board, increased the number of donors and pledge amounts for our capital campaign, and enabled us to think more confidently about how to build a vibrant alumni community despite being scattered across the globe.

– Rev. Stacy Alan, Brent House: University of Chicago

Before starting this program I accepted the belief that our neighbors were only those who physically walked past our building. Now I see that they are also people who engage with our parish and campus ministry through our on-line offering and in-person services when they visit the area. This program helped me see and accept that they are more than visitors, they are part of our community and long to feel connected. The program has helped broaden my language skills to better communicate with people who are traditionally outside of our campus ministry or not part of our church. Now I have some tools that will help me strengthen and deepen those connections.

– Rev. Deborah Woolsey, Church of The Good Shepherd: Ohio University, Athens