9. Experienced Students Focus Group (Part 1)

12/1, 11a
Conference Room
Dawn Led, Randy helped, Amy took notes

AK - female, 5th year, full time grad student sports administration, works at MSU, Carlson Craft and Y (over holidays),
AD - female, 5th year, marriage and family counseling grad student (almost done), did undergrad in spanish and psychology, Plymouth MN
RH - female, 3rd year, junior eled major, minor in dance from Harmony, MN
SW - female, 1st year freshman, dietetics and dance major. Aberdeen, MN
JB - male, 3rd year, 4th year student major in computer science, minor in business. Database, programming, HTML. Small business. Leroy, MN
BI - male, 1st year as a resident, sophomore. Social studies, secondary ed. Mankato
M@ - male, arrived late…

FF: How are you involved here?

RH - I met Fred at Good Earth Village summer of 97 or 98 - I was volunteering there and looking at colleges. Fred offered to give me a tour here and so I came. I was the faith building team leader two years ago - helped organize the Friday Night Live event, last year I was something that appeared on the back sheet of the bulletin, now I do volunteer work here.

BI - Since I'm secondary education and Fred teaches education stuff one of his colleagues recommended him to me as a resource for a project I was doing. So I met him, we talked, I got involved here and moved in here. We're ministers of hospitality - we have to work so many hours to live here, plus we attend Bible Study.

AK - I quit school and moved to Mankato, and was referred to Fred by the minister at my last college - Augustana in Sioux Falls. It took me 9 months to come in and see Fred, I came in and he gave me his business card and I got involved in Bible Study - been here for 5 years. I'm on the board here - we make decisions about $, the directions we're going. Now I have a time crunch with full time work and school so I mostly worship. I was the service learning team leader - we set up food for friends, highway cleanup, other service opportunities.

AD - I was a postsecondary option student in fall of 96 - maybe didn't do much while I got acquainted with things. In the fall a friend and I decided to look around for churches, visited here and kinda ended up staying here - liked the services, people were friendly. Participated in some service projects and continued - got involved in Bible Study, they had parish nurses and counselors here that were doing stuff during the week and we took part in that. Ally and I were team leaders and did some promotional things to get people involved with service stuff. I like the atmosphere here - I'm comfortable here, have a good relationship with Fred. Was a resident here, got married here,

JB - When I was a freshman I came up to MSU with a high school friend who knew Fred. I met Fred when we were visiting here, and decided to come here. Dan played guitar and got me to pick up bass guitar so we could have a band. Now we do services on Sunday mornings. 2nd year Dan moved over here and lived as a resident, I moved over here the next year and have been here for 2 years. Kinda lost the band after Dan graduated...

SW - I'm in a learning community - the one that Fred's the head of. So we have to do a lot of community service projects that are a part of things here at the church and I've been here ever since.

M@- I like to get involved in everything. I came over here because it looked interesting. I like the set up. I like the fellowship. I'm doing a lot of stuff at school but there seems like lots of things to do here.

FF: Impact?

M@ - Provides fellowship and interactions with other Christians in a church environment. I'm a part of Campus Crusade too, but the church part is important. It's provides a place to come and worship and fellowship and someone who's been trained in the word to talk about the lesson. It's good that the opportunity is here to do both.

JB- Change in aspect from bigger churches - it's definitely more youth oriented than my church back home. About 80% of my home church is 60 years old or older - they're hard core Lutheran - if a lightbulb goes out no one is going to change it. : I had 30 kids in my class and 8 were confirmed with me. Coming from that every single service is set, set, set. When I go back home I don't even need a book, I still have the whole thing memorized. Here it's totally different - from pews to semi-circle, more conversational, oriented to you - the sermon pertains to college students. It was quite a big change

SW - I went to a huge RCC church - coming here is so much more fun, I can get involved in things, people know who I am. It's really different from RCC but I like it a lot. It's smaller, you can understand what Fred's saying.

BI - I grew up Methodist, by the time I was at MSU I needed a change. All my high school life I've been involved with youth ministry, but I felt like a needed a change, things were getting to be too routine. This is actually more routine than what I'm used to as far as worship. But I've come to really like it, so I worship here one week and at my home church the next, which is really cool. I like both pastors. I like the small community atmosphere here. I like that the pastor can walk around and really talk to you, rather than being in a pulpit.

AD - Offered continuity for me - after confirmation I was involved in a high school youth group and to come to college offered my that kind of continuity and support that I needed.

M@ - There's so much stuff going on so there's always an option for stuff to participate in. If I wasn't already so busy I would be taking advantage of all the opportunities to hang out with people during the week. We're looking for some people to do a worship band for Sunday mornings. I attend worship on Sundays and that's the starter for my whole week. Worship has been on my mind.

FF: Why do you come to worship?

M@ - It's part of a relationship with Christ. If you don't have worship it's like an empty relationship. I think that music plays such a big part. This grandma who lives across the street from me - she says music is the prayer of the angels. It's a whole other level of praising God. And Fred's really interested in having the Campus Crusade band (which I'm in) come in and lead worship here.

AK - We had a band a couple years ago, but it kind of depends on students to make it happen.

FF: Does the music make a difference?

AK - yes. I think it's nice to have a change of pace. We had a choir one year and that was nice to have a switch.

BI - Fred always talks about this being a transitional year. There used to be a lot of involvement - but then last year we had 15-20 in worship - now it's more like 45.

AK - a couple years ago we graduated like 50 seniors and that was really hard.

JB- It went down to just me, Dan and Ally. So we had to build up from the bottom again.

AK - We had to rebuild. Now we're 30-40 people Sunday morning, 5-10 people Sunday night.

RH - I like how it's a smaller community - like you're coming here to see friends. Lutherans gotta talk, you know. So I like the semi-circle atmosphere and how Fred talks to us, not at us.

AK - I always feel when Fred is preaching like he is taking my hand and we're walking together somewhere. He came to my graduation this spring, and he's so funny.

BI - Fred's brain is full of so much useless knowledge and he loves to share it with you. And if he doesn't know the answer he'll find it.

FF: How is Crossroads perceived on campus?

RH - Most people know Crossroads (Lutheran Campus Ministry) but get it confused with the campus Lutheran chapel (LCMS).

AK - But if you say you go to church and Fred is your pastor they know Fred.

JB - People get us confused with the Campus Lutheran Chapel pretty often.

FF: So it's mostly Fred?

BI - Yes, he's really friendly and involved on campus.

AK - he would talk to a post, and the post would probably talk back.

JB- Last year he had 3 classes of FYE and some education classes - he put in like 2000 hours just teaching. It's just another way to bring younger kids in. People think he's just a professor, but when he says he's a pastor people are curious.

BI - Everyone I talk to who's had him for class think he's just great.

M@ - People think of this is the cool looking building - they don't necessarily know what it is, or what goes on here. So there might be people who are interested in coming and getting involved but we're still working on getting them here.

AK - 50% leave on the weekend, so that makes a huge difference.

BI - We do a lot of stuff during the week to have activities when people are around.

FF: Genius?

Continue to Part 2