The Wesley at Texas Tech worship service. Photo by Benjamin Ellerbrook

By Benjamin Ellerbrook

According to Baptist Press, college ministries offer a space for students to connect and share their lives and faith with fellow believers. Josh Hurst, executive director of the Wesley at Texas Tech, echoes this sentiment, stating that these communities play a vital role for students on campus.

“We want to be a catalyst for community,” Hurst, said. “That is one of the most important roles we can play, is making sure that people who are desiring to follow after Jesus find friends.”

Making Connections

Wesley at Texas Tech intern Brooke Mills talks to freshman Serenna Alarcon at the All City Worship night on September 27 at Redeemer Church. Photo by Benjamin Ellerbrook

Ethan Senne, The Way college associate pastor, said he attempts to connect with students on a surface level; to find common ground before trying to make a more spiritual connection.

“I try to connect with students outside of the church setting,” Senne said. “It is the mindset of being on mindset wherever your feet are. I have a rec membership even though I am not a student anymore and go play basketball. I try to connect on a surface level, like we are both playing basketball; we’re both in Lubbock, Texas; you’re a Texas Tech student, I was a Tech student. I try to find commonalities that help those walls come down in their life to, ‘I can actually talk to this person, like he is a real person.”

Senne emphasizes the importance of proactive engagement in fostering spiritual conversations among students.

“I try to have the mindset of, ‘There you are, I am going to go to you,’” he shared. “People are more receptive to having spiritual conversations than we really think. A lot of my job is sitting down one-on-one, eight to ten times a week with college students to talk life, check in, hang out, how to get involved in ministry, etc.”

Navigating Loneliness in College Students

Lifeway Research reports that two-thirds of American young adults, who regularly attended church as teenagers, leave for at least a year between the ages of 18 and 22. A key factor in this trend is a feeling of disconnection, something that Hurst tries to combat at the Wesley.

“At times, it is very easy to end up feeling lonely in college,” Hurst said. “We try to provide a space where anyone is welcome, where anyone can be in a community that pushes them closer to Jesus. All our events lead to help find a group to be a part of. To make sure you are worshipping with a group of friends around you, whether that is here at the Wesley or at another campus ministry or church.”

Small/community groups are a big way for college ministries to cultivate connections and relationships between college students to help them find community. Many of the leaders within the communities say that providing the opportunity to join these groups allows students to find people in the same stage of life, doing the same things, and allows them to feel safe and connected.

“We want to be a place where students can come meet friends and hang out because I know it can be a tough season of change, leaving a lot of your old friends,” Mills said. “We want to be a place that loves them; a place where they can feel comfortable to be their authentic selves.” 

Leaning on Leadership Teams

And while Senne said he cannot personally connect with everyone individually, due to their Sunday service hosting up to 1500 students, his goal is to make sure everyone feels connected in some way, ensuring that everyone who walks through their doors is interacted with by someone on the leadership team.

“Everybody that comes in has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God. Because that story matters to God, it matters to us, Senne said. One of the ways we combat the challenge of people coming in and just feeling like a number is we have team setups. The welcome team interacts with students before they walk into the church. The connection team looks for smaller groups of people or people coming by themselves to go sit and talk with. Once you get into the sanctuary, the host team is there to talk to people before and after service. We have that structured to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks.”

While Hurst leads a different community than Senne, he also approaches interacting with the student body leaning on student leaders to build relationships.

“We try to cast a wide net where everyone feels invited, but once someone shows up to an event, we rely on our student leaders to make connections with them to where they can personally invite them,” Hurst said. “We don’t just want students to come to our building, we want to be where students are at.”

College ministries at Texas Tech can play a significant role in supporting students as they seek connection and community during their college experience, with leaders of these communities emphasizing the importance of ensuring that every student feels acknowledged and included. By utilizing structured teams and student leaders, these ministries aim to foster relationships and facilitate personal engagement. This approach helps create an environment where students can share their experiences and explore their faith, offering a valuable resource as they navigate the challenges of college life.