THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU

hand tight of a couple of good friends on the street at the twilight

Becoming an Insider

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“Local youth workers are finding other creative ways to be visible on campus. They are volunteering with a purpose… providing hallway supervision, or working at school activities such as field trips or the annual college fair.” Marshall Snider, Network City Coordinator – Dallas, Oregon

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” John 1:14 (NIV)

Rather than shouting His message of hope from a distance, Jesus modeled “incarnational” ministry. He came and “pitched His tent” among us. We can and must do the same thing among students within the school environment if we are going to impact them for Christ.

HOW TO BEGIN

  • Build the Foundation for a Bridge

    To penetrate a campus community, prayer must be the foundation of our approach. Through prayer and observation, we can gain insights about a specific school and discern ways He is already working there. Ask Him to send other workers along with you into that specific field of harvest. Pray for a good personal connection with a school staff person who is already an insider on the campus.
  • Build the Bridge: Know the School

    Knowing a school’s culture and unique student groups is invaluable for maximum impact. Start by interviewing students from your own ministry. Read the school newspaper and annual yearbook as well as the local section of your community newspaper. Go to sporting events. Start by getting to know school administration and other school gatekeepers. Meet the principal and other school leaders informally at events, games, etc. Ask parents to introduce you.
  • Cross the Bridge: Begin with Relationships.

    Campus Alliance does not have a political agenda. The goals are eternal and spiritual in nature. Long-term spiritual fruitfulness will grow out of trust built with school authorities far more than stirring conflict or public confrontation. Start by getting to know school administration and other school gatekeepers. Meet the principal and other school leaders informally at events, games, etc. Ask parents to introduce you. Write a note of encouragement. When appropriate, seek to have a formal appointment. Keep it brief. Communicate your availability to assist with their needs.
  • Keep the Bridge Open: Serve the School

    Find a point of need where your interest, effort or experience is needed. You or your local ministry may have the expertise, a facility or the equipment that your school cannot afford but needs. Each school is different, but you might consider coaching, tutoring, using your technical/video/photography skills, support help, and chaperoning of events. The list goes on. Prayerfully brainstorm with other youth leaders and concerned adults about how the body of Christ can serve the schools.
  • Widen the Bridge: Personal Contact with Student Groups

    As you serve within the school, students will begin to recognize you as an insider. Identify what sports team, music group or student subgroup you are running into most regularly. Learn from the example of Jesus in John 4. as He encountered the woman at the well. Show interest by asking good questions and listening well. Pick up on students’ needs and offer hope. By asking the “5 Ws” (who, what, where, when, and why questions), you can talk to almost any student for 10 minutes or more.
  • Mobilize Other Adult Leaders

    You cannot penetrate every student group by yourself. Recruit and link with other Christian adult youth leaders to find at least one way that they can penetrate the campus as well. Even on a very busy and limited schedule, being at the right place at the right time will open doors for ministry. Try athletic events, evening activities, and other carefully selected opportunities.
  • Equip and Motivate Your Students

    You might picture yourself and other adult leaders as the point of a spear going to the campus, and students like the shaft. As you set the pace, model compassion, meet needs, and share the gospel, students will have an example they can follow. Help them shape their own personal plan for evangelism among their friends and others on their campus.

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What they’re saying about Cru

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)

“Young people in student led prayer bands have been at the forefront in almost every awakening.” J Edwin Orr

THAT IS WHAT GOD WANTS TO DO FOR YOU!

  • He asks you to PRAY. “Call to me, He says.
  • He gives you a PROMISE. “I will answer you,” He vows.
  • He provides you with POWER. “I will tell you great and unsearchable things,” He exclaims.

Nothing of any significance will happen with your friends or at your school until you pray. When you do, God moves into action. When He acts, He doesn’t just give you peanuts; He does things beyond your wildest imagination.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HOW TO PRAY FOR YOUR SCHOOL, YOU HAVE ALL KINDS OF OPTIONS.

  • Become part of a prayer triplet
  • Do a prayer walk around your school.
  • Join others in praying during See You at the Pole and then throughout the year.
  • Conduct a concert of prayer with a large group of students praying together.
  • Try “yearbook praying” where you pray through your school’s annual.
  • Design a plan to pray locker to locker for every person in your school.
  • Go room to room asking God to work in the lives of students and teachers in every room in your school.
  • Take prayer requests asking people at school how you can pray for them.
  • Do “doorway praying” by standing at the doorway of your school and praying for every person who comes in the door.

THE LIST IS AS LONG AS YOU ARE CREATIVE:

However one approach needs to be at the heart of your prayer strategy. Jesus laid it out for us in Matthew 18:18-20: “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.” New International Version [NIV]

Here Jesus promises that all of His resources are available to you. When you pray to Him, He releases those resources and answers your prayers. That’s awesome! Then He tells us that there is incredible spiritual power when we pray in unity with other believers. When we pray in twos and threes, His presence is with us in a special way. Jesus’ presence and power are available to change peoples’ lives when we meet in twos and threes to pray! That’s incredible!

IT CAN ALL BEGIN WITH YOU!

Who else might you ask to pray?

There are lots of adults in the community who would love to join with you in prayer. Some individuals or groups may include:

  • Moms in Prayer
  • Mothers Who Care groups
  • Christian teachers who are committed to praying.
  • A person in your community who could be your Community Prayer Leader. This person could take your prayer requests and mail or e-mail them to community people to pray for you. They may also organize a prayer chain for your ministry.
  • Previously organized prayer groups or missions boards of local churches.