9. Experienced Students Focus Group (Part 2)

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FF: Genius?

AK- Fred. I told my boyfriend when we get married Fred's going to do and that's it. He's what keeps me here. He's been there for me when things were really yucky and when I'm really excited. Like when my boyfriend's dad died of a brain tumor, or now when my sister is expecting a baby.

M@ - I agree that Fred is a strong part, but location and opportunity for people to get here makes a big difference. And that the building is always open, you can always come in and check out the sanctuary for stuff. There's nothing holding people away - you're perfectly invited to come and do activities here or just have a group meeting here. Plus the building itself is a nice facility - it has a different look than a church with a steeple. Nowadays people are all about look and glamour.

FF: Do people think of it as a church?

JB- No. More of a community. The church has a certain image - a steeple. If this was a place with a huge steeple, it would have a different impression. This doesn't have the image for that - which works against it and for it. Might not be recognized right away, but once people get to know about it they realize it's a community.

BI - Other ministries on campus are like a youth group - back to high school thing. One of the first things Fred told me about this ministry is to know God and understand about Jesus and his story. This is the ministry for the more mature college student. I love doing all the high school stuff and its cool, but I wasn't getting anything extra out of it. Fred prides himself on communion every week, he wants people to leave here knowing God. There's ton of alumni who leave here and go to seminary. Fred really has the goal for strong pure heart ministry.

AK - We have a lot of traditional pieces in the midst of the non-traditional stuff we do. Like communion every week.

BI - We take communion in a circle and we all hold hands and say the blessing right there. That's really cool. It's not like you have to get ushered anywhere.

FF: You like the tradition of the communion and the non-traditional practice of it?

AK - Yes.

BI - We were talking about affirmation of faith and I thought that would be really cool. Methodists do it all together, but Fred called me up by myself and I thought, this is really different and really serious.

AD - Openness to diversity, people coming in at different stages of their faith walk and still being accepted. If you're a regular and you miss you're welcomed back - there's a lot of volunteer opportunities but no pressure.

SW - I think it's Fred. He's inviting, and it's different for me from the Newman Center, which I like.

FF: So it's been comfortable for you to invite other people, too?

SW - Yeah, Fred invites everyone. So it didn't seem like a big deal

AK - We get a lot of foot traffic during the week, people do stuff with us during the week and worship other places on the weekend.

FF: So all the ministries seem pretty cooperative?

BI - Yes.

M@ - Fred also emphasizes open table, which models the actual body of Christ the way it's supposed to be. It has confession and the reading and hymns at the beginning, but communion doesn't set anybody apart because it says, this is how we do it and you're invited to do it with us.

AK - My boyfriend can take communion here, but I can't take it in his church. I like that you can come here from other faiths and if you feel comfortable then you can take it, and if you don't it's ok not to take it.

FF: What else should we know?

BI - If you want to know about ministry you should come and talk to Fred.

AK - If Fred ever leaves… wow, I can't imagine it.

FF: Where do you see God at work?

M@ - using this place as a place to see the spirit working - once the holy spirit fills somebody its contagious. It creates an excitement for his word, people want to keep learning. It's mysterious, but there's a lot here.

FF: Can you describe what you're talking about?

M@ - People have curiosity about what's in this building. People are searching, especially since 9-11 there's an unusual number of depression and suicide - and in the middle of it God is starting to call people. If you show them, people are curious about God, they want to learn more, try and seek him.

AD - When you learn faces and meet new people here, and you start to recognize them on campus. Just like all the people I've run into by being a CA (like an RA or PA) - you start to notice the presence of having someone to say hello to - a friendly atmosphere. You meet someone and you think about Jesus being in their life, and have kind of a warm feeling.

JB- It's forever building - last year was a trying time, and I've been seeing it a lot with trying to get things going last year, and now we can see people starting to come and want to learn more. More people coming for Bible study and worship. It's forever building for people on campus too, like during passing the peace here we walk around and try to say hi to everybody and learn everybody's name, learn a little more about someone you've never seen before in the service and meet them. It gives people a learning community and building community. It gives you a totally different relationship with people that you see here and on campus.

AK - We have young moms that had tried other churches but came back here because they felt so comfortable.

BI - Like one time a baby started to cry and Fred stopped his sermon and said, "I love that sound - it's a great sound to hear in church. Get used to it."

JB- When the alumni come back they bring their kids, it's fun.

RH - I really agree with everyone

BI - I see it in the way everything gets pulled off. No matter how busy we are or what's going on in our lives - everything gets pulled off - finances, activities. That's amazing to me. It always works out good, even if it's not the way we planned it. Everything just works. That's where I see God, the mysteriousness of that.

AK - We can never get together and be done in 45 minutes - everything always takes longer here. Like doing Fred's review last year took us over an hour. That's God at work there for me - it wouldn't take that long if it wasn't a minister we weren't crazy about. And now the finances are coming together, people are coming…

JB - Everything takes off, it has its place and it happens. Like the 9-11 thing, in 2 hours we planned 2 services for that day and packed the sanctuary that day.

AK - Then he planned the service for that Friday and packed that.

JB- Just to watch things happen

FF: Fred makes things happen?

JB- Yeah.

Observations:

• People are "in the community," not part of the church
• Fred meets people all over - Good Earth Village, by reference (campus faculty, other campus ministers, friends), through learning communities on campus, classes he teaches.
• To new people Crossroads has a confusing identity (who knew there were multiple Lutherans?) But once they make a connection with Fred, Crossroads becomes the place where Fred is.
• This group talked quite a bit about service opportunities.
• Openness to diversity, acceptance, lots of opportunities to get involved but no pressure to do it.
• Location and opportunity for people to spend time in the building, get involved with activities, make friends, connections.
• Building is always open, convenient to campus, looks interesting but not too church like because there's no steeple.
• Lots of worship stuff - mentioned open communion every week, sharing the peace, communion in a circle, blessing in the circle. Tradition done non-traditionally.
• Students spoke clearly about how God is at work at Crossroads - impressive!

Quotables

• AK - "He [Fred] would talk to a post, and the post would probably talk back."
• AK -"I always feel when Fred is preaching like he is taking my hand and we're walking together somewhere."
• BI - "One of the first things Fred told me about this ministry is to know God and understand about Jesus and his story. This is the ministry for the more mature college student…Fred prides himself on communion every week, he wants people to leave here knowing God."

• FF:"So it's been comfortable for you to invite other people, too?" SW - "Yeah, Fred invites everyone. So it didn't seem like a big deal."