College Ministry from Scratch: A Practical Guide to Start and Sustain a Successful College Ministry

by Chuck Bomar

Written by college ministry expert, Chuck Bomar, College Ministry From Scratch provides simple tips and practical ideas for anyone looking to start something for college-age people in their congregation. Keeping in mind that a youth worker or volunteer launching a college ministry already leads a busy life, this book is easy to digest and offers insights on everything from leading overseas mission trips or winter retreats to leading a small group or Sunday school class. This handy resource addresses the simple, but often intimidating task of initiating meetings with students, and even offers a list of questions they can ask when having coffee with a student. Organized by topic, it’s an easy book for leaders to jump in and out of, as they need it, and is sure to help any size church begin to meet the needs of the college-age people in their congregation.

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2010

Reviews

[Gage Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book saying, “let’s see what this guy knows…” Turns out, I really think it’s an awesome book and super practical.

Big things coming soon to Racine College-Age Ministry in 2025…

[Jesse Kane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. I'm once again floored by Bomar's wide array of practical tools and sagely advice for those entering college-aged ministry. One thing I will offer as constructive criticism is that Bomar's missiology could go a little more in depth in his books. I understand that missions trips can be important for the spiritual formation of young people, but something about using poor people as an illustration for how lucky/priviledged western kids are is... colonial? Hierarchical? self-contradictory? The danger being that showing western college students youth in this way runs the risk of reinforcing a sense of superiority. I don't think Bomar means to suggest this, or that we ought to take advantage of 3rd world people. Bomar's domestic missiology is great- In "Serving Local Schools" he writes " It's easier to fill a kid's backpack once a year than it is to offer ourselves to them on a weekly or daily basis... Pride can motivate us to give of our resources, but humility is necessary to give of ourselves"(71). I trust that Bomar has deeper feelings about this, and I'm looking forward to reading more so I can hear all about it.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and It will be a helpful reference! Thanks so much Chuck!

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bomar's book is...very meh. There is some great, pragmatic advice, but it's overly simplistic, lacks nuance, and is really just a way for Bomar to tell you how he did college ministry. Some aspects are helpful to think through, but most of it should be fairly obvious information for those in ministry. Bomar's ego is dripping off every page (e.g. how successful his ministry/events/etc. were, as well as his constant references to his other book and lesson resources you can purchase/download), and it seems a large part of his book is just a way to talk about himself. If you read you can glean a few good ideas, but you have to suffer from writing that's about a 5th grade level, some really cheesy jokes, and the constant tribute the book is to the author's success in college ministry.

[JR Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of simple, timeless, practical advice, maybe a overly so. Sadly the book started falling apart the first time reading through it, but that's the publisher's error.

[Ike Unger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for anyone working with College age students. I have worked in this area for a number of years and learnt a lot and was also affirmed in what I've been doing. What an incredible age group to be minister to and with.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good stuff. Practical stuff from Chuck Bomar.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty basic information if you've been doing college ministry. But a good read either way.