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Planning and Conducting an Outreach

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You and some friends of yours have this great idea. You think it would be cool if the whole school had the opportunity to receive Christ. Wow! As you start to work through your idea, you begin to wonder, “Is it really possible to reach all the students on the campus? This seems like such a huge task. Maybe I was dreaming?” You’re right, this is major. But, be encouraged. With God and a little creativity, an entire campus can have the opportunity to hear the life-changing truth of Christ. You’re thinking, “Where do I start?” Good question. One of the best ways to begin reaching the entire campus is by doing a creative evangelistic outreach. These are fun and can be small (for a specific group of students, e.g. an athletic team or club) or very large. Creative evangelistic outreaches are simple. You just need to design the outreach around the interests and needs of the particular group of students you want to reach.

SOME OUTREACH IDEAS

Here are some great ideas for creative outreaches. Look them over and see which ones would best meet the needs of the group you will first reach out to.

  • “Beauty Bash” (for girls)
  • Motivational talks for any group team (basketball, cheer, drama or whatever groups are represented at the school)
  • Coffee House for the student government
  • Leadership Breakfast for students in the Honor society or student government
  • Mystery Dinner for a group of students and their friends
  • International student outreach (for ethnic or foreign students, or language clubs)
  • School-wide talent show (perhaps do a 70s gong show)
  • 100-foot banana split during your school’s Spirit Week
  • Bring in a band (The Coaching Center can hook you up.)
  • “Singled Out” or “Dating Game” night during homecoming or prom

Note: Keep things simple and uncomplicated. Just having Christian students invite friends to their home to hear the gospel can be quite effective. Be open to the Holy Spirit’s leading! As you do these fun activities, remember that your purpose is to share the truth of Christ with the students. It is simple for any talk to show the students their need for a personal relationship with Christ. You’ll love doing these creative outreaches because they help you meet new people. Also, excitement builds when students reach out to new students. One of the greatest things the outreaches do is build up and motivate students already involved in your Christian group. It gives them the opportunity to help plan and lead activities.

WHAT TO DO

You want to get this going as soon as possible! Let’s think through what you’ll need to do:

  1. Identify a target group and their needs.

    You’ve got the target group picked out. What are their specific felt needs? For example, girls and guys are always wondering about love, sex and dating. Or, cheerleaders may feel the need to maintain unity on their squad. Athletes need to know how to keep a winning attitude. List their needs on a piece of paper and pray this will help you know which outreach idea to use.

  2. Pray for the outreach.

    Pray specifically for the students and for God’s plan for your outreach.

  3. Plan the outreach.

    Involve other students and adults in the planning. This gives ownership among the students. After choosing the activity, plan it. Ask questions like, “What is going to happen at this outreach? What will get people there? How will the gospel be presented? How will the students be invited (fliers, invitations, word-of-mouth)? Do we need food? What kind?” After brainstorming for a while, make a list and answer these questions.

    1. What do I need to do?
    2. When do I need to do it?
    3. Who can help me?

    Find a good date that doesn’t conflict with school events. Find a good place, like a large home or classroom. Will you need to get pizza and drinks there? Will you need to prepare a talk, or bring in an “expert” to come and speak for you? Example team talks are on the Web sites. Think through how you will follow up the students who came. How will you get a record of who was there? Comment Cards (see samples) let you know who came. You can use these after the talk. Ask students to tell you what they thought about the event, and even if they made a decision for Christ. Make sure to get their names and phone numbers. You’ll want to call them back. Use the cards determine how you will you do follow-up: one-on-one or in groups? Who can help you do follow-up?”

  4. Arrange the outreach.

    There is a lot to do. Get other students or adults to help you. It is fun working with a team of people. Have a plan for involving others. Here is a checklist to help you plan.

    • Prayer

      Who will make sure people are praying?

    • Refreshments

      Who is preparing the food and getting it there? Can you get it donated? Do you need paper products? Can students serve themselves or do you need people to help set out food? Who will help clean up?

    • Publicity

      If no one knows about the event, then no one will come. Plan this part well! Make fliers or invitations ahead of time. Make a big poster to put in the hallways. Give yourself at least two weeks for publicity.

    • Games and Crowdbreaker (if needed)

      Make sure you know what you will need. Try out the game first before doing it at the outreach. Make sure your activity is fun and involves everyone. Be sure that your instructions make sense to everyone.

    • Emcee and Speaker

      Get ideas for topics and possible speakers/emcees from others. Students, adults in your community, or The Coaching Center can provide suggestions. It’s always good to make sure the speaker understands the topic. Let people who are involved in the outreach know the time and place to meet

    • Follow-up

      Make sure there are comment cards and pencils for everyone. Let others know how and when to pass out and re-collect cards and pencils.

  5. Do the outreach!

    The big day is here. You are pumped! Here is an idea of a good flow for your meeting.

    • As people arrive, play some music in the background.
    • When everyone has arrived, begin with a crowdbreaker.
    • Offer the food if it is the main attraction. Otherwise, save the food for after the speaker.
    • Introduce the speaker.
    • After the speaker shares the gospel, have someone come and explain the comment cards. It usually takes about 10 minutes to distribute the cards, get them filled out and then collected. Drawing a door prize winner from among the comment cards is a great motivator for students to turn in their cards.

  6. Follow-up the students.

    You’ve got people’s names and numbers and you know who has made decisions for Christ. Contact these people within 24-to-48 hours. Get others to help you and begin meeting with these new students one on one, or in small groups to help them begin growing in their new relationship with Christ. This may be a good time to begin a new small group Bible study.

  7. Evaluate the outreach.

    You did it! It went great, but there are some things you want to think over before you do your next creative outreach. Within 24-to-48 hours, get everyone together who helped plan and talk about the event.

      Ask:
    • How did it go?
    • What did you learn for next time?
    • Would you do anything differently?

    Pray and thank God for all He did, then start thinking of the next group you can reach out to with the gospel.

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WHAT IS A PERSONAL TESTIMONY?

A personal testimony is a prepared version of your coming to faith in Christ. It is designed to communicate – in a specific period of time (usually about 3 minutes) – what attracted a person to Christ, how that individual received Him, and the difference He has made in his/her life. A well-done personal testimony can be a powerful and effective tool in communicating the life changing reality of Jesus Christ. The dictionary defines testimony as “the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court.” Another definition says “evidence in support of a fact or statement of proof.” When you give your testi- mony, you are giving witness of the difference Christ has made in your life.

Tips for Preparing Your Testimony

DON’T start with something like, “So…this is my testimony…” or end with something like, “And, that’s my testimony…”
DO have a clear, well prepared beginning and end.
DO have a theme that ties your story together. For example, “My life is a lot like the movie Braveheart…” or “I’ve always thought that a football game is a great illustration of some of the things that have happened in my life…”
DON’T use words that aren’t clear to non-Christians (Christianese). DO clarify terms like “saved,” “sin,” “Christian home,” etc.
DON’T name specific denominations or religions (especially in a negative way). This could offend someone who is of that denomination and prevent them from listening to your story.
DON’T ramble on forever.
DO keep it to around 3 minutes!
DON’T use vague terms like “peaceful,” “joyful,” or “happy.”
DO give details and include specific stories to clarify those adjectives.
DON’T give the false impression that Jesus makes all of life’s problems go away.
DO include a verse or short portion of Scripture that relates to your theme. DON’T use more than two Scripture passages. Keep it focused on how Christ changed your life.
DO be realistic – life is still hard, but a relationship with God is the key to living it.
DO communicate as clearly and truthfully as possible how you became a Christian. By the conclusion of your testimony, listeners should understand how they could also receive Christ. Make it very clear how a person receives Christ; share the words you used when you accepted Him.

Preparing Your Personal Testimony

  1. Memorize and practice your testimony orally. After editing and rewriting your testimony, you should memorize it. Memorization frees you to be natural and communicate clearly, rather than focusing on your next word. Practice giving your testimony to a small group or friend.
  2. Present your testimony to an audience.
  3. Evaluate your testimony with your Cru High School leader.

The testimony worksheet can be uses as a guide to help you think through and write down your Testimony story. Keep the following things in mind: Don’t be concerned if your testimony is not filled with bank robberies, murders, or drug selling. You are seeking to relate to your audience. Hopefully not many of their lives are filled with those things either. Choose a theme you think people will relate to, but it does not need to be sensational and dramatic.

If you became a Christian at an early age, share how Christ has led you over a period of years, or how you came to the point of surrendering your life totally to Christ.

Student Testimony Worksheet