10. Lutheran Campus Ministry couples, plus a single student (Part 1)

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FF: How do you think this ministry is perceived by the community?

PH - At the university it's pretty good. Fred has worked more full time (teaching at MSU), but now he's back to adjunct, which I like better. During Lent we have noon services with bread and soup lunches and faculty come over for lunch and they always say really good things about Fred. I think it crosses denominational lines, it's a nice service, and a nice way to reset your clock in the middle of the week. It's a good time to talk to faculty outside of class.

KH - They have a big party to bake bread for the Lenten services. That's really fun.

TH - I don't think it's the most popular one on campus - other churches and weekly fellowships have bigger numbers.

PH - One of the biggest problems we have is getting people to attend worship and be excited about worship on Sun. We have 75 chairs and usually 2-25 people. But we usually have more than enough people to do service projects. Intervarsity is the exact opposite.

DH - I used to do Youth for Christ in IA. And the size just keeps growing, what attracts people is people. Girls attract guys and guys attract girls. It's about checking people out - that's how it works.

RH - we went to Bible study one night and we were all sitting around the table, and this guy was kind of checking Eve out, and I said, "How are the wedding plans coming?" and his head just dropped. He never came back.

DH - It's about single people wanting to meet single people. But now for Fred, he doesn't pressure people into coming here. He's professional - people heard about him because he was teacher of the year.

KH - We had people from his class who helped at the last food for friends - so it was fun for us to meet people who know him as a teacher, and we know him as our pastor. That was cool.

FF: What's the genius?

DH - We attribute a lot to Fred. He puts things together - the community does things as a whole, but Fred is the brains behind it.

PH - Our community attitude is to welcome the stranger - so when somebody new comes we are intentional about making them feel welcome. That's our calling. Fred has pushed that but the community has adopted it.

KH - Fred can do everything, but he doesn't. He's really excited about having other people involved. He gives the opportunity for us to be involved of the ministry - one time I worked with him on putting together food for friends. That was good to have the opportunity to be a leader in a new way

RH - The structure and form also contributes. It's not so big you could get lost. But it is geared to young people - everyone is welcome.

PH - He tries lots of different things in worship. It's varied and eclectic, which is good. He tries different things. Kelly and I went to another church one week and I could have recited the whole service by heart - which isn't bad, but we were the only people our age there.

TF - I don't come to Sunday mornings that often. He says things that makes me say, "Yeah - that totally makes sense in my life." Bible study - I like it a lot - because you can always come here and ask questions. It's not structured, you can ask anything and he'll talk about it for 20 minutes

KH - he makes sacrifices for the ministry here - time, effort, it doesn't bother him - he's very willing to put himself into his work - and he wouldn't call it work - it's just his life.

FF: So most of you have done pre-marital?

DH- we didn't do that but we have done Bible Study. I'm a bible idiot - I grew up catholic and asking questions just got me sent to the principal's office. So questions that weren't ok there are ok for Fred. Now I met the right people and got hooked up with good friends - normal people just like myself.

FF: How is God at work here?

DH - I know God is present because he's gotten me here. Being in the military now I encourage a lot of my guys to attend, too. God has worked through me and others to encourage people to come back to church. It's kind of like you've died and brought you back.

KH- God provides for this ministry - especially finances. He provides the means to provide those resources. He touches a lot of people individually. He has really active in Fred's life.

TH - God is at work in that we've been able to come here and learn from Fred and then take that out to where we are and spread it around.

FF: Anything else?

DH - I fear Fred leaving. I'd hate to see him leave. He always encourages me even in stuff outside the church. He's like a friend you're talking to and you're always sad to see a friend go. I can't say that about any priests.

KH - It certainly wouldn't be the same without him. I can't imagine how someone else would do things.

RH - One thing that Fred feels a concern about is a lack of people in our generation wanting to get involved. Besides the people sitting here we don't have a lot of friends or relationships in this community. People aren't as interested in getting involved in organizations - not just here but on other campuses as well. Things are going well, but there are larger trends that affect it.

DH- But we can see growth.

KH - But there may tend to be too much reliance on Fred. We should probably also be inviting people to come to church.

TH - There's really no substitute for the hard work done by our leader - Fred does a lot.

DH - But we also really need to step up as leaders, too.

KH - Fred tells a story about when he used to be a pastor and he was mowing the lawn and the mother of the bride came out and frantically asked for a bowl and he helped her. Then he came back later to do the wedding and she was surprised. It just goes to show Fred will do anything.

Observations:

• They graduated and they still attend at Crossroads - why? Didn't fit in at other churches, no people their age, plus connection with Fred, service orientation/opportunities, possible evolution into a congregation with Sunday school, etc.
• LCM offers a meeting ground for couples of different faith backgrounds.
• Atmosphere makes room for questioning, Fred helps them develop critical thinking skills.
• Residents create a feeling of hospitality, keep the place clean.
• Always a bigger turn out for servant work
• Fred will do anything to make the ministry work. He knows all kinds of people (see quotables)

Quotables:

• DH - "I was at a café in a little town in Kasson, MN and these two ladies were looking for directions for Elmore, so I gave them directions. We got to chatting and they knew Fred. Somebody I met in Chicago knew Fred…" RH - "The door to door salesman who came to our house knew Fred."
• PH - "Our community attitude is to welcome the stranger - so when somebody new comes we are intentional about making them feel welcome."
• DH - "I know God is present because he's gotten me here."
• KH- "[God] is really active in Fred's life."