Doane Leaders are Asking the Right Questions

Student President Kristin Hasenkamp invited Terah and I to attend their leadership team meeting today at Doane, and we found a group of leaders asking each other some very good questions. As we entered the conference room, the smell of smoke from a burned-out leadership team met our nostrils. Finals week had just come to a close, and it was impressive to see these leaders still pushing forward with ministry despite the fatigue that typically accompanies final exams.

As they dialogued about the past semester, and the one yet to come, I found myself very excited about the questions that they were asking one another:

Kristin led the way by asking, "Why don't we just move the three different groups together?" A great question indeed- the past semester CCC had four different focuses: service team, small group, events, and weekly meeting. After some conversation the conclusion was reached that all three (except small groups) will be combined into one bi-monthly gathering for next semester.

This should allow CCC to still have the most effective activities while eliminating the less effective. Also, fewer meetings means higher quality. The expectation to plan and prepare a weekly meeting will be replaced by the responsibility to figure out the best two gatherings for that month...brilliant.

Wes followed this conversation by casting the long-term vision for multiple small groups around campus when Charissa asked one of the best questions of the day: "where are these people (for small groups) going to come from?". That, my friends, is a great question and one which I will address in my next blog entry. From there Ashlee helped shape the things to come at Doane by discussing the need to be intentional in relationships.

My "nutshell" of the meeting was this: reorganize to spend about 60% of resources creating a safe, seeker friendly environment where students can encounter Christ and spend about 40% of resources intentionally praying for, caring for, and bringing Christ to the seekers.

Way to go guys!

Miscelaneous: Doane is taking a great group of students to Christmas conference, which should help to propel these new ideas. The leaders are already making plans to revisit New Orleans to aid in the disaster relief effort.

-Ethan Wiekamp