9 Tips to Remember
So, you’re interested in meeting some faculty on your campus? That’s great! But it can be intimidating. Never fear; it can be done!
Christian faculty can be an amazing resource for you and your fellowship, and many of them genuinely want to be. As you think about how to incorporate faculty ministry into the work you’re doing on campus, here are nine things to keep in mind.
Respect Their Time
We all know that faculty are busy people. Between teaching, researching, writing, advising, serving on committees, and pursuing funding, the average faculty member’s plate is overwhelmingly full. And that’s just the work-related stuff. We can forget that faculty are people with lives outside the university where families, friends, and church communities also need their time and attention.
It’s important that we keep this in mind as we work with faculty. If we truly want to partner with them to bless our students and the campus, we need to recognize the cost to faculty and ask only what is necessary. Where our undergrad students can afford to “minor in InterVarsity,” faculty’s time is at a premium. If you want some tips for how make the most of a brief faculty meeting, see Engaging Faculty: Office Visits.
Curiosity Is Your Best Friend.
When we engage with faculty, we’re talking with people who are experts in what they study and teach. They have given years of their lives to their disciplines because they are passionate about what they do and they believe they’re following God’s call on their lives through their vocation.
All of this means that if we want faculty to take an interest in what we’re up to on campus, we have to take an interest in what they’re up to. And our best tool for this is our curiosity. Faculty will never expect us to be experts in what they study or even all that knowledgeable. But they will greatly appreciate your genuine curiosity.
So take the time to do your research. You don’t have to read everything a faculty has ever written, but try googling them and see what comes up. Maybe read their faculty homepage or see if the university or the local paper has published anything about them. If that doesn’t turn up much, check if any of your students know the faculty and could give you some direction. Really, as long as you go in with a few informed questions that demonstrate your genuine interest, you’re already ahead of the curve.
Dream big . . . But Start Small and Specific
Because there are so many demands on faculty’s time, many faculty have become skilled in the art of saying “no.” And the bigger the ask, the greater the chance that the answer will be “no.”
So, as important as it is to have a big plan for how you will incorporate faculty into the life of your fellowship, you don’t have to lead with that. Instead, start small and be specific. Though you might feel tempted to paint a picture for faculty about how they can transform their campus and contribute to developing world changers, maybe just ask if they can come give a talk. Or maybe start even smaller. Do you have a student in their department who’s thinking about grad school? Maybe ask if the faculty would be willing to chat with them.
As faculty have positive, meaningful interactions with you and your students over time, they’ll open up to bigger possibilities. But start small and be specific.
Play to Their Strengths
This one’s kind of a no-brainer, but it needs to be said. Faculty have a distinct set of skills. What you want to do is draw on those skills in a way that benefits your fellowship and the campus. So, consider what your faculty spend their time doing and let that inform what you ask them to do for you. Above, I suggested inviting faculty to speak to students or to advise students who are considering further studies. Often times, faculty have connections into the broader community through their work. Maybe ask faculty to help connect you to organizations where students can volunteer or find internships. These are things that faculty do already as part of their jobs. This work is in their wheelhouse, which means they are confident enough to do it and they do it well.
Understand Your Role as a Connector
In working with faculty, it’s important to remember your role. The reality is that most Christian faculty have a church community and a pastor. So you’re probably not the first person they’re going to look to for pastoral counsel or care. Hopefully that’s a relief to you and not a disappointment!
What you can be for faculty members is a connector. You are in a unique position to connect faculty to students, to ministry opportunities, and to one another. You have a very unique and specific job on campus, and this means you are one of very few people who can fill this role in a faculty member’s life. And it’s a valuable role.
Most Christian faculty desire to reach out to Christian students. They understand their responsibility to minister in their own unique way on campus. And they often feel isolated in departments where they may be the only Christian and so they feel deeply the need to connect with other Christian faculty on campus. But given the demands of their work, they need someone to help them make those connections. You can be that someone.
Longevity Is Key
Students come and students go, but faculty remain. And because faculty are rooted on campus, they take a longer view of things. For this reason, it can be hard to get your foot in the door with many faculty. The tough reality is that they can be slow to give their time and attention to campus staff, because they see us come and they see us go.
So, longevity in ministry is really key to building strong and lasting relationships with faculty. It may take two or three or more years before they give you the time of day. Don’t be discouraged; they just want to know that you’re going to stick around a while.
This doesn’t meant that you should only work on building faculty relationships if you’re going to be on campus for several years. But it does mean that you should have reasonable expectations, because these relationships take time. And it also means that, when you do move on to your next thing, it’s so very important to set up well whoever is coming to take your place. If you’ve earned the trust of faculty, do your best pass that trust on to the next staff person.
Don’t Take Criticism Personally
Many faculty are, by nature and by training, critical people. They have to be to do what they do. And that critical thinking sometimes has no off switch.
So, if faculty pepper you with questions about how and why you do what you do, if they seem to shoot down every one of your ideas, if they give you less than affirming feedback on your most recent event, don’t take it personally! The criticism does not mean they don’t like you or that they don’t value what you do. In fact, as hard as it may be to believe, you can and should take it as a sure sign that they want you and your work to flourish!
Keep Confidences
It goes without saying that what faculty members share with you in confidence should be kept in confidence. But keeping confidence involves more than just keeping faculty’s personal matters to yourself. It also means leaving it to faculty to decide when, how and with whom to share about their faith and about their involvement with Christian groups on campus. It is never our job or our right to “out” Christian faculty to their colleagues or students without their expressed permission. So, be careful when you speak about the faculty involved with your ministry on campus. Doing so will go a long way toward earning and guarding their trust.
Beware of Your Assumptions
So, this is where I say that there are exceptions to nearly everything I’ve just said. It’s true that many faculty won’t have the time or interest to hear your grand plan for their involvement with your fellowship. But some will. Most faculty won’t look to you for pastoral care or counsel. But some will. And with many faculty, it will take you years to build trust and relationship. But some will be eager to jump right in.
So just be careful. Be attentive. Pray for your faculty and listen to the Spirit. And, of course, listen to the faculty themselves. They know better than anyone what they need and what they’re able to offer. They can be great allies and resources for you and your fellowship, and they’ll often want to be. And you can be for them a truly helpful resource, connecting them to students, to ministry and to one another.
