Contacting

Hanging out with students has gone by a number of different titles over the years. Two of the best are contacting and pacing (cf. Dan Spader & Richard Dunn).

A casual reading of the gospels reveals a most simple understanding of how Jesus loved. He met people where they were at.

Most of us tend to develop burdens for students and jump too quickly to where they should be. Nothing wrong with our burden and goals, but we should learn from Christ that love meets people in their stuckness. And it stays there with them. As such, something very powerful is communicated- something that says ‘even if you don’t move on from here, I’m with you’.

That concept is the critical element in the contacting/pacing approach. It’s the key that opens the gateway for substantive influence.