Plunges (1 week) and short programs (2 weeks) have proven useful in acting as onramps or springboards for recruitment for longer programs and internships (5-8 weeks). In addition, categories are introduced into the lives of students that are then more fully developed in longer programs.
A multiplicity of Programs of varying types and lengths appeals to diverse constituencies based on student schedules, financial abilities, and local family or church-related commitments. It also allows for staff to develop experiences that focus specifically on their goals for their chapter or area.
Short programs are an important part of the mix. Students who cannot sacrifice a summer income (or summer school as is often the case with International Students) are attracted to short programs. These programs tend to be larger and more ethnically diverse than longer programs. Though their content is more introductory in nature, their impact on chapters has been measurable in terms of team building, risk-taking, and staff/student and relationships, as well as launching pads for further discussions and conversations on campus.
The existence of multiple programs allows students to respond to the lessons learned on the program in their own cities by continuing to serve in the neighborhoods or agencies they were exposed to on the program. This reduces the “been there, done that, got the t-shirt” mentality we sometimes see after a program – that sense of having gone off somewhere else and having had an experience that doesn’t touch real life back at home. A program in one’s own city conveys a sense that ministry among the poor can be a regular commitment in the life of a follower of Jesus.
Full-sized summer programs/internships are not hurt by the presence of short programs in the same Region, Area or even city, in terms of recruiting power. In fact, in Regional contexts where there is full regional commitment to this form of training, and the expectation & recruiting mechanisms to encourage wide participation, program data shows that summer-long programs have grown in size.
A Regional commitment to multiple programs has helped to retain staff who have heard the call of God in their lives to model commitment to the urban poor. In regions where these staff are valued, understood, and encouraged to create, to follow the things that God has given them a passion for, etc, there is often a high degree of ownership, entrepreneurial creativity and staff satisfaction. Students are the beneficiaries of this as they participate with and observe a staff person living out a commitment to things about which they care deeply and are passionate.
Multiple UPs in a Region provide a chance to train greater numbers of staff in leadership, racial reconciliation, justice, relating with the urban church, manuscript and Bible study, and many other valuable issues and skills.
