7. Team Processing 1

11/30, 8:15p
Hotel
Randy, Dawn, Amy

Impressions:
D - Fred right there to welcome us - so we experienced what people were talking about.
R - first impressions - building looks clean and well cared for, a professional ambience - upscale feeling that I wasn't expecting at Minnesota State.

Like somebody cared about the building. Location wise it's kind of in an area where all the campus ministries are located - all in the same block.

Building has a cold feeling because of all the stone and tile, but Fred's greeting was warm, and gave an impression of what the ministry is. If the person in ministry there was slightly aloof, or even if he had been wearing a collar that would have given a different impression. Fred was dressed like he had been working on some construction thing - Henley shirt - blue jeans… very casual.

Not much hang out space - just that one area inside. Fred's office was inviting - Amy walked right in. Wood paneling gives a different impression - warmer feeling than all that tile.

Was looking for flyers posters about activities that were going on - but the downstairs bulletin board was totally empty, and the one across from the unisex bathroom had a few things on it - but neither was in a high traffic area.

When they buy things they buy quality and plan well - good acoustics, sound system, lighting, furniture. They have a sense of pride in their physical space.

Themes:
Everyone's comments focused on the impact Fred Fritz has - on program, relationships, he seems to have his fingers in everything. Seems married to his work - lots of time and energy devoted to his work. He has students locking the building and opening the building - so he's not tied that way. Might be harder to empower people to do things because the congregation is so transient - you're developing leaders and when they get really good, they're gone. So we could ask questions about that tomorrow - like how does he do it? And he leads both Bible Studies…

Fred is connected on campus - look at who he got to show up for a random late Friday afternoon meeting - the head of student housing, and a couple other important people. He deals with things systemically and individually.

Building is nice but not what people talked about.

First year students came for worship and though they didn't like it initially, they kept coming and now they like it. Hmm - what kept them coming? Fred, would be our guess. They seem to genuinely like him, think his sermons are interesting -

Fred > Crossroads ministry
Through his involvement on campus teaching, etc.

We could ask - if Fred left, what would sustain the ministry? Or ask Fred what he's not involved in? Sometimes we think that ministries that center around a charismatic leader aren't healthy, but I don't know if that's true. There's a lot to be said for people who are enthusiastic and have vital ministries over many years.

Fred works at Good Earth during the summer - does he ever stop?

Seemed like the faculty that attended [our focus group] were connected with Fred not the programs/ministry of Crossroads

All the students/faculty seemed to be in agreement about Fred's personality - eager to listen, non-judgmental, open, comfortable to be with, can talk about any issue, can approach about topics of religious beliefs without being judged, doesn't push his own agenda. Takes an active role in inviting students personally, including in his class. This must be Ok because the people who hire him to teach told us about it. Seemed like a bridge between his course and the ministry was acceptable.

Stats from the info:

34% of incoming students claimed to be Lutheran - self-selected. Higher than catholic percentage
83.2% have attended a worship service in the past year (before coming to college)