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Author: Eric Guy, eric.guy(at)iaumc.org
Iowa Conference Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries
Date submitted: February 15, 2005
(The material on this page is used by permission of the named author. It remains the creative property of the author. Permission is granted for use by youthworkers in their non-profit local ministry setting. Other use or publication should only be by permission of the author.)
"Objects in mirror are closer than they appear." Chances are you see that brief message countless times whenever you're behind the wheel. Most times, I'm guessing, without noticing it much. After two weeks of that phrase's absence on the vehicle I drive most often, I'm now seeing it once again.
The morning that I left for Youth Annual Conference the mirror on the passenger side of my SUV fell off - not gradually, or with much warning. It just fell off. Encountering the dilemma of a 400 mile round trip ahead of me, four days away from home and no way to get it fixed, I did what any sensible person would do. I bought a role of duct tape and taped the mirror back to the side of the vehicle. Amazingly it worked. (Thank God for Duct tape!) At least it worked pretty well. I had to continually keep retaping the mirror several times over the next two weeks until I could get it fixed properly. The problem with the duct tape was that whenever the weather warmed up, the tape softened, the adhesive weakened, and the mirror sagged. Sometimes it would be perfectly aligned, other times it was slightly askew, still other times it hung limply to the side. What I had to learn over those two weeks without a reliable mirror, was to adjust to a different perspective every time I glanced out the window.
The lives of young people are filled with opportunities for new perspectives. What is my changing role in my family structure as I mature? How do dating relationships begin to fit into my life? What role do friendships play? There are many new perspectives to be considered, but, perhaps no perspective change is greater than what will be experienced soon by young people heading off to college. How is your church preparing to help young people heading to college make the transition? What role can you play in helping make the change in perspective less overwhelming and more constructive?
One way is to make sure that young people who are entering college this Fall know where and how they can connect with others students who are living out their faith, asking pertinent questions, and growing in their discipleship on campus.
You will find in this packet of material - or have already found it, if this article isn't the first thing you read - a poster provided by the Iowa Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry. It has updated contact information for the four Wesley Foundations, Wesley Connections, or United Methodist Student Ministries in our Iowa Conference - Drake University, University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa, and Iowa State University. (There is also an extra sticker to update the poster you may already have hanging up somewhere in your church). Each of these campus ministries offers an excellent way for students to connect with their faith and to connect with other students. If you have students attending one of the four universities with a Wesley Foundation or Wesley Connection, see that they have the information that will help them make a connection.
The poster also has information for the four United Methodist related colleges in Iowa - Morningside, Cornell, Iowa Wesleyan, and Simpson. Likewise, these ministries offer great ways that students can connect with each other and live out their faith. If you know of young people attending one of these four colleges, help them connect with one of the chaplains. Each of these eight ministries provides students with the support, challenge, and resources that they will benefit from during a time of transition and new perspective.
Each of the college chaplains and Wesley Foundation directors are eager to make connections as well, so it might not hurt to contact them yourself, be sure they know you have students coming to their campus and ask them to look for your student on campus and invite them to attend ministry opportunities.
Finally, if you know of students attending other colleges or universities, either within or outside of Iowa, and would like to know if they have a Wesley Foundation or would like assistance in locating a local United Methodist church in the area they will be living either contact me (eric.guy(at)iaumc.org or 515.283.1996 x144) or use the Find-A-Church locator at www.umc.org. (Click on "Ministries" and then "Chaplains and Campus Ministries" if you are searching for a campus ministy. If you are searching for a church, simply type in the information you want to search by.) Take a minute right now to ensure that young people you know of, who are heading off to college have the resources and connections they need in order to make their change in perspective a good experience. Don't put it off. The time of transition to college is closer than it appears.