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Goals for Peer Ministry Programs
The ministry of individual Christians cannot be coerced, but must be encouraged. Campus pastors have
expressed most frustration in this area. When struggles begin in a peer ministry program, they do so in the
area of motivation and accountability. When expectations are not made clear and communicated they are not
met. When goals of the program are not clear, expectations are also muddied, and failure is inevitable. When
the student peers and the other staff are unclear about what might constitute a successful program, success is
never achieved.
Creating accountability within a peer ministry program begins with the development of a purpose statement for
the peer ministry program as a whole. A number of goals for programs are to be found across the Lutheran
Campus Ministry system. Some sites have as a primary goal the creation of intentional Christian community,
out of which ministry will happen. In other sites the primary function of the program is outreach to new students.
Other goals include leadership training, worship or Bible study leadership, engaging students in peer
counseling, and providing leadership for social activism. In other programs students are responsible for
maintaining the hospitable nature of the ministries. No one student can be expected to take on all of these
tasks. It is unlikely that any individual site will incorporate all of these tasks within a single peer ministry
program.
Students' schedules are, if anything, quite full. The purpose and limits of the peer ministry program need to
take this into account. The goals of a peer ministry program cannot exceed the ability of students to meet
them. Realistic expectations of students' time and abilities can be obtained in conversation with college
student services personnel.
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