Peer Ministry :: Adult Facilitator Support

Student Interviews of Churches that are Using Peer Ministry

#12 Interview April, 2005

Campus Peer Minister

with Jessica King, Junior at Wittenberg College

Interviewer: Janine Borchardt

What made you decide to get involved with this program?

Our program is designed so that in order to be a Peer Helper a faculty, staff, or current Peer Helper has to nominate you. I was nominated and then asked to apply to the program. After filling out the application and having an interview, I was accepted.

I decided to do the program personally because this program stands for everything that I pride myself in; being available to friends/others to listen and talk, to provide the opportunity to minister to others in a different way than a worship service or bible study could do.

How long has the program been in place?

The program has been in place since a task force was formed to design the program in Sept. of 03 and our first group to be trained was January 2004.

How many peer helpers are there? What are the main tasks?

We have 22 active peer helpers (5 seniors, 11 juniors, 6 sophomores). We just recently accepted 13 new people into our program to replace our 5 seniors and 3-4 others who will become inactive next year due to other commitments and lack of time.

Our main tasks are to be available to others when needed. We have two forms of contacts, formal and informal. Our formal contacts are sent through our advisor who finds someone closely related to the student who needs helping and then we go to work. Just mainly checking in with that person then writing up a report for our advisor. (I was given a formal contact this year. The person I met with did not know that I was connected with her to help her. Her pastor from home called our advisor and asked for us to keep an eye on her. So, I was intentional about starting a friendship with her. Our second form of contact is informal and we keep logs on these to chart what we have been talking about. These contacts are with friends mainly or if we notice anything in people in our classes, or if someone approaches us to talk (which has been something new recently, our name is getting out there).

We have also been called into “action” when we had a crisis on campus. A student was seriously injured in a car accident and the outlook did not look good. So the peer helpers were called together, given information, and sent out with our “antennas” up (being alert). The student survived and is doing great!

So, do you think your group played an important role on campus in dealing with this situation, helped people cope with the accident?

I feel that we did what we could in that situation. I think having the Peer
helpers out and alert brought recognition to the group and showed campus
what we are about. I think we played an important role allowing people to
know that there are students willing to listen and to help in an accident.

What excites you most about the program?

I am excited most about this program with the fact that we are out there helping people. Not telling them what they should be doing but aiding them in figuring it out for themselves. I like that we are available to be there and to minister to others. And the friendships and connections you make by doing this are amazing.

How have you seen this program affect your campus, your peers, and you as an individual?

One time stands out where our campus, peers and I were affect by this program was in Dec. when one of our students was injured in a car accident. She was injured early in the morning and reports were that she would not make it. Our advisor was called to meet with the campus pastor, the dean of students, campus counselor to discuss the possibility of what could happen. The peer helpers then met to learn what had happened and to talk about how the campus could be affected by this. Immediately we began checking in with the girl’s friends one of which was one of our peer helpers. It was amazing to see how quickly we responded, sensed something was wrong and were there ready to do whatever we could. It showed our concern for others.

What do you see as the future for this program on your campus, in your life and the lives that have been involved?

I see this program growing on our campus. I have an idea that someday it could be used in the residence halls to aid the resident advisors, or mainly to provide the opportunity for others to use a peer helper. I can see having one to two peer helpers in each building, Greek house, and academic department to be there to reach out.

I feel that in my own life I can take away from this program the skills of being an effective listener and be compassionate person with those I meet.

How will you take what you have learned from your experiences out into the world after you graduate from college?

After graduation I plan on attending seminary, where I feel these experiences and skills will help aid me in my career. I would like to focus on Youth and Family Ministries, so I feel that the skills I have learned; being able to recognize signs of depression, eating disorders, adjustment issues, relationships, and much more can aid in being supportive of those I would be working with.

What do you want the rest of the world to know about your experiences with the Peer Helping/Peer Ministry program?

I can not say enough good things about the program. It has taught me so much about myself and how to help others. Personally, this program has also helped me to be able to reach out to others when I am in need. And I know others come to me when needed. I would want the world to know that a program like Peer Helpers can better our societies. If everyone learned to take time to listen to others, be compassionate and have a concern for their self, others, and the environment that we live in things would better themselves.