Instead of the normal buzz of activity and laughter, the only noises inside the BCM building at Vanderbilt University is the gentle hum of the air conditioner and a vacuum cleaner.
No sounds of a ping-pong ball bouncing back and forth. No study groups chatting about their projects and upcoming tests. No foot traffic moving up and down the stairs or loud talk coming from the patio.
Mostly just silence — almost like a library.
“It’s pretty quiet around here in the summer,” said Tiffany Hudson, collegiate ministry specialist at Vanderbilt. “The summer months are usually mostly just me, organizing and sprucing up around the building.”
The same is true at most all of the BCM buildings in Tennessee and across the country during June and July when most of the students are either home for summer break or traveling.
So, where does that leave the collegiate ministry specialists and other BCM leaders? Do they have mountains of free time on their hands? Do they spend the summer months feeling like a shepherd without a flock?
Hardly, said Grace Johnson, collegiate ministry specialist at Cleveland State Community College and Lee University.
“It’s a quieter time, but the work done in June and July is pivotal to set us up well for the upcoming school year,” Johnson said. “(The pace is different because) the majority of students have gone home until August, and our building does not maintain regular operating hours. … But I spend a lot of time planning out the next school year: what our fall theme will be for our weekly worship gathering, when to schedule Fall Retreat, what missions trips we will promote, etc.”
Rodney Norvell, collegiate ministry specialist at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, said his “work hours” change dramatically during the summer — certainly not as many late nights at the BCM building — but that doesn’t mean it’s not an important time.
“Summer is full of administrative duties — kind of like a 9-to-5 job,” Norvell said. “During the school year, working with students is relationship-oriented, whereas summer is often project-oriented. It has a beginning, and you can finish it when you are done. Student work is much more open-ended.”
Johnson said much of the groundwork for the academic year is laid during the so-called “down time” of the summer.
“Even though the months in between the spring and fall semesters look differently in BCM life,” she said, “there is much happening behind the scenes that propels us into the next school year.”
The countdown begins
Almost from the moment that students start leaving campus for the summer, the BCM leaders start looking ahead to the following August. They know that the next few months will zoom by — and that it’s never too early to start planning ahead.
“For me, it’s always a very busy time of the year,” said Jonathan Chapman, collegiate ministry specialist at East Tennessee State University. “I have to get everything ready for the next year, which includes my building, calendar, Bible studies and discipleship material for the new year along with maintaining or upgrading the grounds and the other maintenance needs. There’s a lot to do, for sure.”
Ben Maddox, collegiate ministry specialist at Tennessee Tech, recently wrote an article for the website CollegeMinistry.com regarding BCM ministry life in the summer.
The article — titled “Making the Most of Your Summers” — provided a five-step guide for campus pastors and other college leaders to follow during the three months in which most students are not on campus.
Maddox’s five steps included:
1. Celebrating the wins (such as decisions for Christ, spiritual growth among students and evangelism participation) from the past school year.
2. Resting, playing and recalibrating.
3. Working on personal development and the BCM facility and grounds.
4. “Framing” (or planning) the upcoming school year.
5. Equipping and empowering the students and local churches.
Maddox said he spends a great deal of time each summer looking back on the previous year and using those experiences to help formulate his plan for the coming year.
“I am consistently evaluating and making adjustments to improve the quality of the ministry from year to year,” Maddox wrote. “I take the input from student leaders from the end of the spring semester and my evaluation of the previous year to begin developing a frame for what the upcoming school year needs to look like.”
No job too small
Chapman said some of his summer job duties include things that don’t necessarily have much of a biblical theme — like, say, putting up fresh wallpaper. But, he said, these jobs are nonetheless vital to his BCM ministry.
“Truthfully, some of the most time-consuming projects involve getting the building back in order for the coming year,” he said. “We have to get smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, etc., back up to code. We have to get all of the carpets and rugs professionally cleaned, and the grounds take a while to get back to looking good. A lot of these things we do ourselves, but some are done through volunteer work via churches.”
Johnson said that she, too, often finds herself doing various maintenance jobs during the hottest part of the year.
“The summer months provide a great opportunity to deep clean and organize basically everything in the building,” Johnson said. “If there are building projects that need tending, this also is the perfect time to paint the rooms, get new carpet laid or install updated lighting.”
Norvell said he finds that summertime projects can often be therapeutic.
“Going from mental work to physical labor is sometimes a needed break,” he said. “When the students leave for the summer, I often put on my grubby clothes and pull weeds, trim the yard and mentally take a break. In my time at UT, we have used the summers to remodel/renovate a lot of the BCM Center, putting in a commercial kitchen and making our student center a place that students can be proud of and a place where they want to bring their friends.”
None of the BCM leaders went so far as to call the summer jobs “enjoyable” — but they each talked about the importance of those tasks.
“You’ve heard of ‘spring cleaning’? Well, in our case, we deal with ‘summer cleaning,’” said Morgan Owen, collegiate ministry specialist at UT-Martin. “We spend a big chunk of time focused on facility projects, such as cleaning, repairs and other improvements like cleaning out closets, files and our outside shed. There is so much more that makes the summer busy.”
Looking ahead
The BCM leaders each said that one of their main focal points during the summer was mapping out the all-important “first week of school” when the students return in August.
“That first week having students back on our campuses is a crucial time for BCM,” Johnson said. “So, solidifying our plans for ‘Welcome Week’ is one of the biggest items on the agenda for summer.
“Freshmen generally get plugged into their college communities within the first month or two of school,” she added. “Our goal is to create inviting spaces for new and returning students to engage BCM for the first time and learn what we are all about. We want them to know BCM wants to invest in them and offers an outlet for them to grow, serve, connect and just have fun.”
Owen said he spends a great deal of time each summer contacting local pastors and youth pastors to find out some information about incoming students at UT-Martin.
“Our hope is to get the word out about our BCM Survival event before classes begin,” he said, referring to one of the big “welcome events” for the UT-Martin ministry. “We have had a huge success in connecting over 900 students over the last 13 years through BCM Survival.”
Not completely quiet
Even with fewer students on campus, some of the BCMs across the state continue to have weekly worship gatherings and offer other events for those who either stay on campus or live nearby.
At ETSU, for instance, Chapman said ministry opportunities continue throughout the “off” months.
“We do have some summer programming,” Chapman said. “We offer a Tuesday night summer Bible study during June and July, and I would say that we typically have 20 to 30 students attend.”
Johnson said the same is true at Cleveland State.
“BCM Cleveland’s programming slows down during the summer but does not come to a halt,” she said. “We have a weekly Bible study to keep students engaged spiritually and communally. This summer we are going through the Gospel of Mark together. We also like to plan fun get-togethers too. We have a movie night coming up in just a couple weeks.”
Norvell said the BCM at UT-Knoxville maintains “a small group of 15 to 20 students that do the summer BCM Bible study,” he said, noting that the group sometimes meets at the BCM building but other times meets at Norvell’s home or at the park.
Although the BCM building at ETSU is not open during the week, Chapman said there are still different groups “coming in and out throughout the summer, including some churches and student groups.” He also noted that “student orientation” is a big event during the summer months.
“During ETSU orientations, we are allowed to do what we call ‘tabling’ where we have giveaways, like t-shirts and other things, that we give the students while we explain about the ministry, what we do and how they can be involved,” he said. “We answer lots of questions from students and parents during this time as well. I love orientations — and we do 12 of them during the summertime, so they are time consuming. I would say that we interact with 300-plus students during summer orientations.”
Quality time
Even though they maintain a steady workload, many BCM leaders said that the more relaxed summertime schedule does afford them with the opportunity to spend quality time with their own families, including taking much-needed vacations.
The downtime also gives BCM leaders the chance to do many of their favorite leisure activities — ranging from fishing to reading.
“(I use the summer) to set aside special time with family,” Owen said. “Family is a high priority for me and that includes our five grandkids. I love going to the special events, games and programs they are a part of during the summer. Plus, we always set aside a week of time together as a family — such a great time of laughter, games and memories.”
Hudson said that even though she loves the hectic pace of the school year, she also appreciates the less-frantic nature of the summer months.
“I’m grateful for summer to have less structure and that it becomes a time to refuel, rejuvenate and spend quality time with the ones I love most,” she said. “I make goals to read as much as possible, to fill my heart and mind with God’s Word and resources that will enhance ministry during the year.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by David Dawson and originally published by Baptist and Reflector.
