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When I came on staff with Campus Outreach in 2014, the plan was never to become a local-church pastor. I didn’t grow up in the church. And when I came to faith as a college freshman through Campus Outreach, I simply wanted to see God raise up new believers on the campus. Little did I know that the trajectory the Lord had for me would lead to pastoral ministry. Today, I serve as the lead pastor of a midsize church in the south suburbs of Chicago. And while there are obvious differences, I’ve been surprised by how much overlap I’ve experienced between ministry on the campus and ministry in the local church. That overlap has convinced me that campus ministry is one of the most formative training grounds for future church leaders. And for those in pastoral ministry who haven’t served on a college campus, there’s much we can glean from those who’re actively evangelizing and discipling the next generation. Here are four lessons I learned during nearly a decade of campus ministry that have already borne fruit in my life as a lead pastor. 1. People long to be known. We all carry an innate desire to be known and loved. But love cannot exist without knowledge, and the most basic expression of knowing someone is remembering his or her name and story. There’s something powerful about being greeted by name. Conversely, many of us can remember moments when, after multiple interactions, we heard the question “Have we met before?” Love cannot exist without knowledge, and the most basic expression of knowing someone is remembering his or her name and story. College ministry requires wearing many hats—fundraiser, evangelist, Bible study leader, and several others. But at the end of the day, we’re in the business of people. That means becoming experts in the names of those we serve. I often hear the phrase “I’m terrible with names.” Yet we tend to grow in the skills we care most deeply about. To take this a step further, remember the person’s story: What’s her major? Where’s she from? What organizations is she a part of? Make these questions a regular part of your conversations. In the months before I moved to take up a pastoral role, I flipped through the church directory and memorized names and families. I prepared versions of the questions I had asked my students: What do you do for a living? Where do you serve in our community or church? Let your knowledge of names and stories be the starting place for deepening relationships. Those you seek to reach and disciple with the gospel will be far more inclined to listen when they know they’re known and loved. 2. Care is critical. During my second year on staff, I was discipling a student athlete on our campus. He was juggling multiple commitments, and one evening he told me he wouldn’t make it to our weekly Bible study. I followed up by challenging his use of time, emphasizing the importance of following through on commitments. I even echoed a familiar sentiment: “You’ll never have as much time as you do in college.” My lack of compassion strained our friendship for a season—until he finally shared that what he most needed from me wasn’t another critique but a friend who loved him well and pointed him to Jesus. There’s no shortage of issues students will bring to you. Suicidal thoughts, parental divorce, addiction, relationship troubles, time-management challenges, financial difficulties—you name it. Although some concerns a student brings are small in the grand scheme of things, other problems are monumental. In meeting with students, I learned that ministry requires listening, caring, loving, and praying based not on your own assessment of the problem’s severity but on how deeply the person is experiencing it. Learning this lesson early reshaped the way I care for people. It also prepared me for the moments when individuals come with life-altering concerns after college: a marriage on the rocks, a job loss, or a loved one’s death. A pastor-mentor once gave me some of the best advice I’ve received on pastoral care: The greater the loss, the fewer the words. 3. Embrace the reps. The campus ministry I worked for hosted a nine-week summer leadership project each year, with every staff member assigned a specific responsibility. While I’d hoped to be given a teaching opportunity, I was tasked with running AV for the entire summer—transporting equipment from Indiana to Orlando, setting up rooms, and uploading speakers’ presentations. I had no idea what I was doing, and that summer deeply humbled me. In any given week as a college minister, you might be picking up pizza, leading a Bible study, or sitting down for lunch with strangers. Each of these tasks—whether it feels significant or not—is critical to the ministry and is quietly shaping skills that will serve you for a lifetime. Rather than viewing any responsibility as beneath you, embrace it and seek to glorify the Lord in it. The church is sustained by unseen roles that are essential to its life and health, often carried by willing and faithful volunteers. Valuing both the seen and unseen efforts within your church is essential to your leadership. Seek to move both your campus ministry and the local church forward by fixing your eyes on Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve (Matt. 20:28). 4. Take faith-filled risks. One subtle trap in ministry is fearing rejection. Will those we’re trying to reach question our presence or our relevance? When those insecurities take root, we play it safe. We avoid stepping out in faith, shy away from new ideas, and hesitate to act for fear that failure will expose our weaknesses. Rather than viewing any responsibility as beneath you, embrace it and seek to glorify the Lord in it. These fears can stifle our faith that the Lord can work through us despite our shortcomings. The opposite is actually true: The Lord delights to work through those who trust him. What does it look like to trust the Lord with our specific fears? First, continue to show up. Keep walking into the cafeteria, working out in the campus rec center, and praying that the Lord will open opportunities for you to walk into (Eph. 2:10). To be used by the Lord, you have to show up. Second, take a risk. Grab lunch with a new student. Invite a student from your pickup basketball game to your ministry’s weekly meeting or Bible study. Launch the ministry idea you’ve been prayerfully considering. During my second year on staff with Campus Outreach, I began taking classes at Covenant Seminary. Another staff member encouraged me to use what I was learning to serve our students. That fall, we launched Theology Thursday—a weekly 6:00 a.m. study in my living room. To my surprise, we averaged more than 50 students each week. The church needs men and women who believe in the power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16) and who trust that their labor in sharing it will not be in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). The church you currently attend—or the church you may one day serve—will be strengthened by leaders who take faith-filled risks, depending fully on the Lord’s provision.