Thoughts on Urban Project Recruitment
By: Barb Weidman, Gateway Philadelphia
Ethnic and gender mix:
Difficult in some areas when chapters aren’t very mixed. Directors need to spend extra effort & time to nurture relationships with ethnic specific groups on campus that aren’t tied to IVCF. This takes time throughout the year. Obviously, you can’t just visit every March to recruit for your summer program. (This effort will hopefully bear fruit in relationships between groups on campus and increase trust in InterVarsity.)
Age:
Urban programs may be too intense for freshman (but don’t rule them out entirely – some are mature enough to handle it and then still have a few years back on campus to influence others, change their majors, etc., if appropriate. Sophomores and Juniors are good choices since they have at least 1 year back on campus to influence other students in the values and convictions they learned. We’ve also taken seniors who are going onto grad school, and were glad we did, because the summer changed their goals and emphasis for grad school.
Maturity:
We look for students who are stable emotionally. The intensity of the summer brings up a lot of discipleship issues as it is, but students need to be able to still function while they work on these. Good essay questions on the application can really help you assess this. You’ll also want to speak to their staff person.
General:
I make sure people know that the program is not only for folks looking to pursue urban ministry. Nearly everyone can & will benefit from the opportunity to live in community, be influenced by staff, be exposed to different people, cultures, types of worship, etc., and challenges to lifestyle and career aspirations.
Potential Staff:
Urban projects are helpful in recruiting new IV staff. This can be of great service to the Region and to students considering staff. Program staff get to see them in action, influence and disciple them fairly intensely, and see how they relate to others in a variety of situations. The students learn a lot about themselves, have opportunities to try new things, exercise their gifts and get a taste of “full-time” ministry.
How to Recruit – Two Groups of People are Crucial.
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Former Participants. If you’ve had a project in or near your area, alumni of these experiences can be strategic.
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Staff in your region: Sometimes other staff are reluctant to actively recruit their students until the program is tried and true. This means that the first few years are harder for recruitment, until there is some momentum. It gets easier as staff see the fruit. Staff need to know what you’re doing. Make sure they grasp the goals and intents of the program. How will their students benefit? How will their chapter benefit? How much more will their chapter benefit if they send a team of students instead of just one? Here are some further suggestions for involving staff:
- Invite staff to co-direct with you.
- Host staff in your region during a day of the program so they can visit a site, talk to the students and catch what’s going on.
- Help staff to see than an urban program is as life-changing, cross-cultural and challenging as an overseas opportunity and costs a lot less.
- At your regional or area staff conference, give a report on the previous summer. Meet with the staff that had students in your program. Fill them in on your observations and conversations with their students, exploring issues which came up. Or, if they were there, exchange evaluations.
