THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU

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Multi-ethnic group of young students sharing and having fun at a university campus.

Gathering Students

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Have you ever been in a club that was trying to recruit new members? You may have had a party and invited other students to come check your club out, or you may have had a sign-up table at a student event. Gathering students to your ministry is like this. You want to meet students, let them know about your ministry and get them involved. This can be really fun. You can be as creative as you want to be. Gathering lets you find a group of students who want to grow in Christ, and reach others with His love and forgiveness. As long as you keep gathering new students into your ministry, it will continue to grow and reach more and more students for Christ.

THE FOUNDATION FOR GATHERING IS BASED ON THE FIVE PRINCIPLES LISTED BELOW:

  1. Pray

    Your best preparation for gathering Students is seeking God. Get some friends together and pray for direction for your gathering plans. Ask God to show you the best way to do it. Pray for students to come to Christ. Specifically, pray for students you know. Ask God to introduce you to students you wouldn’t normally have contact with and ones who He has already made hungry for truth (remember, you would like to see every student on your campus come to Christ, not just the ones you know personally).

  2. Meet Students

    Ask these questions:

    • Who do I know that might attend an event because I ask them?
    • Who do I already know that is involved in a different circle of friends?
    • Who are some of the leaders on campus, and how can we get them involved?
    • What would make these people feel comfortable (welcome) in our ministry?

    Again, the key to gathering students is relationships. Go out of your way to meet people and get to know them. People are starved for others who care about them. The more people you meet, the more will be involved in your campus ministry.

  3. Share Christ

    God has chosen you to help reach your campus. A personal relationship with Christ is the only thing that truly changes a person’s life. Anyone you meet is someone who you can share Christ with. God will empower you and wants to use you. Take the first opportunity you get to share Christ’s love with them. Find a tool that you feel comfortable using to share the gospel and become very familiar with it. You will also need to train those who work with you to use the tool.

  4. Challenge to Growth

    God’s Word tells us that He wants every Christian to grow in their faith. Since this is true, we need to put together a plan for helping students grow. Two things to remember are that growth happens quicker in groups, and growth is an ongoing process. Take advantage of the natural groups that students are part of (teams, clubs, etc.). The rate of growth is quicker in a group setting since they learn from each other. It is also more fun for them to get together when their friends are involved. Create opportunities for them to grow, and they will respond. Regularly give them chances to trust God. Let them open the group in prayer or share their testimony. Take the group out to share their faith, involve them in an outreach, involve them in leadership. Continue to challenge them to grow in their faith.

  5. Evaluate

    It is wise to evaluate your progress. If involving new students in your ministry is foundational for success, then you should measure whether you are accomplishing that goal. Ask yourself these questions:

    • Are new students becoming involved in our activities? Discipleship groups? And in leadership?
    • Am I building relationships with new students regularly? If not, why not?
    • Is the entire campus being represented in our ministry? If not, why not?
    • What changes are needed?
    • What is needed to increase the level of growth of the students involved?

Gathering and involving new students in the ministry is one of the most important parts of your campus ministry. It takes planning to make sure it is taking place. Pray, develop your plan and go for it!

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What they’re saying about Cru

Students run in packs like fish run in schools. Ethnic, interests, sports, classes, and friendships naturally group the student world together. Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you a fisher of men.” Your school is a perfect place to present the love of Christ, because students will listen more readily and be most comfortable when they are within these natural groups. That’s why a good dose of creativity can open up opportunities for many students to hear.

The Right Environment

Remember the parties and sleepovers you used to have in junior high? Great videos! “TP-ing” the heck out of the neighborhood! Food! All night discussions on juicy topics! Kissing pillows and swapping most embarrassing stories. The right friends. A good place. Good video. It might be awhile since you gathered together like that. Did you know the same kinds of great fun and ideas can be turned into opportunities to share Christ? What made those times so memorable? Chances are it was the environment. You were totally relaxed in a setting that jazzed you. Your friends were safe people, well sort of at least until you went to sleep. First one to go to sleep always got the shaving cream and the hand in the warm water trick…remember? Ha! You’re gross! An evangelistic outreach needs to be on a turf that students know, enjoy and can make an escape from if it gets too hot. Remember, you’re sharing about Jesus Christ. Your church wouldn’t be the best place. Too many students have negative feelings about places of worship. Your youth worker’s grandmother’s place wouldn’t work either. I don’t care if she does have a nice living area, to replace the antiques you break would take seven years of allowances.

Great Places for an Outreach

Here are some ideas for places to hold an outreach:

  • Your place
  • Your friend’s place
  • A teacher’s classroom at school
  • A local pizza parlor
  • The gymnasium
  • Parks and recreational areas
  • The beach

It’s Gotta be Relevant

Along with the right place, you need a relevant topic to discuss. What’s that mean? Simply put, it has to hit a nerve in your friends, something they think about, or want to discuss. When they hear about it, they say to themselves, yea I want to take that further … A relevant topic will give credibility to your special gathering. Not only does the topic need to be relevant, but it has to be able to naturally lead into spiritual things. In other words, you could talk about how high the corn is getting, but how will you turn the conversation to spiritual things?

Outreach Topics

Some topics for your outreach might include:

  • Relationships
  • Getting Along with Parents
  • Goofy Stuff We Do
  • How to Have a Great Senior Year
  • Ten Things you Don’t Want to Do During Homecoming
  • What’s the X in X-mass?
  • Spring Fever – How to Cool It!
  • How to Tame Stress
  • How to Get Better Grades and Have More Fun
  • Easter Bunnies or Something Else?
  • Winning Over Worry
  • Your Personal Story

Get the drift? It’s gotta relate! Felt needs lead to real needs and an opportunity to share Jesus Christ in a way that your friends will want to listen. Once you’ve got your idea and location set you need to choose the kind of activity that you’ll invite them too. Most students want to come to an event that has some spark and sizzle. It’s gotta have food, and it should be uproariously fun! Christianity has taken a bad rap. They think we’re all constipated living on prunes and looking with wonder across the road at the world wishing we could play. Rubbish. Let’s show them that we can rock with the best of ‘em!

Activity Ideas

Here is a list of ideas that have actually been tried in real life … proceed at your own risk.

  • Burger Bash: Get a local fast food place to donate burgers, find a good band, and chow down. Your friends will love the party atmosphere.
  • Viking Dinner: This works well with both sexes. Have parents make as much food as possible, and the “guests” can only use their hands as utensils.
  • Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl: What could be more unique than rolling a frozen turkey at bowling pins in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. Students love it!
  • Super Bowl Party: A great video which is produced each year featuring prominent athletes is easy to show during half-time.
  • Valentine’s Day Outreach: This highly social party type idea could be done in a home or at school. Don’t forget the long stemmed roses.

Helpful Tips on Evangelistic Events

  • Team up with several other Christians.
  • Publicize the event as broad as possible. Use through word of mouth, fliers, Internet and phone calls. Be persistent with some who may need multiple invites to show up.
  • Pray for the event before, during and afterwards.
  • Ask your parents to help you with those things you can’t get donated.
  • Be organized. Here’s a simple method: On a piece of paper have three lines:
    • What do I need to do?
    • When do I need to do it?
    • Who can help me?
  • Use comment cards. Use pre-printed cards or 3″ x 5″ cards to get the students’ response from your message. Include: Name, school, phone, and comments, then have them check one or more of the following:
    • [ ] I received Christ at this meeting.
    • [ ] I would like to grow as a Christian. Call me with details.
    • [ ] I’d like a related article about what you talked about tonight.
    • [ ] Contact me about the next meeting.

Answers to Most Asked Questions

What if I don’t have many non-Christian friends? A: Begin with those you do have. Start with simple outreaches and begin to build a broader base of friends. When they come to Christ you will have a broader base from which to invite others to future events.

How do I prepare a talk for one of these outreaches? A: It’s a lot like doing a research paper. Write up a simple three-point outline on your topic, and then research for the content. Always use your personal testimony as a transition between the content of your felt need topic and the gospel. Use tools to share a simple gospel presentation. You can use some ready made talks; simply adapt them to your audience and use current illustrations.

Review

  • The right place.
  • The right environment.
  • The right topic.
  • The right talk.