Example Ministry Strategy
submitted by Jason Makowsky, Fall 2002
Mission Statement…
In my role as a Resident Director I will model a life that is passionately growing in God, model a marriage that is affectionate and authentic, model a ministry that is intentional and Spirit lead and model a work ethic that is above reproach and guided by creativity.
Core Roles…
The following “core roles” are my life areas that I live out my mission statement. I have listed them here to give context to my life, what it is about ad what is important to me.
Adventurer
Living a life of adventure taps into the passion that makes a man.
“The Spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept it and even rejoice that it remains untamed.” - Howard Macey
Colleague
Those relationships that exist within my workplace or ministries.
“Faith is lived out in Community.” - Dr. Judy Huffman
Disciple
That relationship with my Heavenly Father, becoming like His Son.
“The place that God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet” - Frederick Buechner
Family Member
Those relationships within my extended family.
“Over 50% of my extended family members are unsaved, living a life of faith in front of them is so important.” – Jason Makowsky
Friend
Those relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ I am closest to.
“Synergy: one plus one plus one is equal to more than three” - Matthew 4:19,20 and Matthew 28:19,20
Learner
That part of me that longs to take in new information.
“Add to your faith, knowledge…”
Temple
The focus on my health, habits and stewardship of my body.
“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit…”
Husband/Father
The relationships I have with my wife and son.
“One’s primary ministry is to his family…”
Personal Goals…
A. To live in alignment with my Core Roles
□ Maintain a weekly accountability relationship with Paul Stonehouse directly focusing on these roles stability.
□ Through a weekly campus bible study I want to focus on the discipline of prayer.
□ I will learn and practice skills in sharing my faith with non-believers. And attempt on two occasions this semester to share my faith, processing the experience with my accountability partner.
B. To become a husband who knows and nourishes my wife’s needs.
□ Practice healthy boundaries by making Wednesday our date night.
□ Be the leader by initiating our regular devotion times.
□ Find out what her goals are and champion them.
□ Improve my punctuality, an area I need growth in.
□ Having given up cable, devote the time each evening to prayer, walking, talking and reading with my wife between 5-9pm.
Professional Goals…
A. To be a disciplined Student Development Professional.
□ Prepare for every one-on-one with my student leadership setting vision for this development time.
□ View each student interaction as a time of ministry and encouragement.
□ Be faithful in the small things.
□ Arrive early to meetings when I can to prepare mentally.
□ Work with Jana Day to stay true to my Mission Statement.
□ Never plan an event or interaction without reviewing this strategy.
B. To be a relational Student Development Professional.
□ Use my “Office” times to pursue residents, cultivating a caring, environment that builds trust.
□ Planning programs and small “by invitation only” events that build connectivity and community among residents, such as my Monday night “Sexual Man” group or small group get-togethers in my apartment.
□ Have each RD (and their spouse) over one at a time at least once a semester to get to know them personally.
□ Look for ways to get involved in the larger campus community.
Other Main Areas of the Position and Strategies to Develop Them
Community Center Front Desk…
A. Building Community
□ Have each Desk Worker be responsible for filling the community center on their shift, inviting friends or study groups.
□ Hire a desk manager that is a visionary who can also motivate people to accomplish the smaller parts of the job.
□ Regularly meet with this manager to cast vision on new programming the desk can do.
□ Re-design the community center, focusing on student needs in the apartments, not re-creating the dorm lobby concept.
□ Re-work the RA expectations and other leadership expectations to compliment each others ministries, not overlap or compete with each others ministries.
□ Post office hours and encourage students to come see me during these times.
□ Encourage other events or groups to use the community center.
Apartment RHA
A. Structure
□ Redesign what the structure of the apartment RHA looks like to meet upperclassmen needs. More of a “council” format.
□ Re-name the Apartment RHA yearly as part of the vision casting meeting at the beginning of each year, seeking student input, decision making and ownership.
□ Seek to get better representation within each apartment area.
B. Format
□ Re-define what sort of events this new “council” will work on, reflecting needs of upperclassmen.
□ Re-define what business meetings look like, focusing on empowering and developing participants, not just delegating tasks or framing events.
□ Seek to integrate a co-ed model into the “council” where we educate residents to live appropriately in a co-ed environment.
Other Leadership in Apartments
A. Spiritual Life Coordinator
□ They work in conjunction with the spiritual “unit-reps” to carry out their vision and mission for the year.
□ They are part of the executive council (see below).
B. Unit-Representatives (rep’s)
□ Two types: Spiritual and Administrative
□ Spiritual aid SLC and RA’s in spiritual programming
□ Administrative aid RA’s and RD in communication issues
