by
Jason Sneed
April 22nd, 2019
YOUT 350-D01
Campus Ministry
Student Conversation/Interview Paper
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Submitted to Dr. Steven Vandergriff
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
Adolescent 1:
The first student I spoke with was Taylor Martin. She is 16 years old and in 10th grade.
Taylor is smart and outgoing and like most of her peers she spends quite a bit of time socializing.
Taylor is also unique in that she spends a lot of her time in preparation for beauty pageants of
which she has won several recently. She wants to try out a few years at a junior college and see
where that takes her, but she is leaning towards cosmetology. Taylor has been part of our youth
group since the 7th grade and goes to youth camp with us every year. Although I still see her
regularly, as she gets older, her attendance in youth becomes more sporadic.
I asked Taylor to help me out with one of my assignments and she was a little
apprehensive, but still willing. I had to explain a little background on what I meant about
ministry applications before she really got a grasp. When she did understand, she was elated at
the idea that her input was being asked and at the possibility of future action from that outcome.
Taylor was mostly interested in seeing more girls her age involved in youth and campus groups.
She expressed her frustration with not being able to attend as much as she would like due to
schedule conflicts. She was very positive about seeing myself or any other youth leaders on
campus more frequently. She said she looks forward to our FCA meetings on Friday mornings
since she is in cheer and can make that schedule work because it takes place just before school.
Taylor was also a bit apprehensive about student led groups without adult supervision because of
“how those other kids act sometimes” but also wasn’t sure she could ever step up and help lead.
Adolescent 2:
The second student I spoke with was Tyler Hope. Tyler is 18 years old and a Senior this
year. He is without a doubt the unspoken leader amongst our youth group because not only is he
incredibly smart, he is also athletically gifted. Tyler has won multiple district, regional and area
awards for his competition in UIL Science and Debate Teams. This year he is at the area level
and has advanced to State competition. Tyler is also a great leader on the football field and in
track. He isn’t a huge guy, but he has a huge heart and always excels in effort. Tyler plans to
attend Texas A&M on academic scholarship this fall but is also looking forward to going to camp
with us again this summer and transition to a more leadership role there. He said the biggest
problem he deals with in school is people who are ignorant of what his faith really means and
succumb to false stereotypes. Tyler said his ideal change to the youth group came a few years
ago when we split Junior High and High School into two different groups because it helps him
focus.
Tyler is active in FCA at school and at one time had a Bible study group of his own going
at the school, however he decided to move it to his house to make things less complicated. He
said he wishes the school didn’t have to jump through so many hoops just allow him and some
friends to meet to study and talk about the bible during non-instructional time. He said he would
like to see myself and other youth leaders there as often as possible and frequently wishes we
were there more often to go to for questions and guidance. He said he only sees me there, but to
be fair wouldn’t really know any of the other youth pastors if he saw them. He likes the FCA, but
would prefer that it be more robust. He really wants more instruction on apologetics and wishes
there was a way to have a campus groups specifically with the purpose of not only reaching the
lost but being prepared to meet any doubts with Biblically and logically correct answers. Lastly,
Tyler asked why the school couldn’t have a Chaplain, noting that his father was a police man
and they had a Chaplain.
Adolescent 3:
The last student I spoke to was Lilly Buzan. Lilly is 12 years old and is a 7th grader. Lilly
is a recent addition to our youth group and she was super excited to answer some questions
for
me to help with my paper. Lilly is a friend of one of my daughters, so I see her a lot. She has
no
idea where she is headed academically but knows thinks she wants to teach. Lilly said that
bad
influences is the biggest problem she deals with in school. Lilly also said she wishes more
girls
were involved in youth (we are roughly a 50/50 mix so she likely just has friends in mind). Lilly
wishes youth could last a little longer on Wednesdays.
Lilly was not really aware of FCA, although she is now in cheer, she hadn’t heard of it
before. She also wasn’t aware of any other campus ministries going on at the school but did
notice that some of her teachers had some of their own signs in their rooms that let her know
they were Christians. Lilly has seen me at the school, but can’t recall anyone else, but the
times
she remembers seeing me where when I was invited to speak for Veterans or Memorial Day
events. Lilly was very upbeat and passionate and said that “anything” would be great to have
at
the school as far as campus ministries, she also wants to help.
Conclusions:
I have a lot of work to do on both campuses, and more time at each location would be
beneficial.
