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The 250 Evangelism Ideas for Your Campus

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The 250 Evangelism Ideas For Your Campus is a tremendous resource, consisting of ideas that college students have used to reach out to their classmates. Many of the ideas can easily be adapted to use with high school students. To order this book, check on ebay as it is no longer in print.

The following are some of the great ideas in the book, adjusted slightly so that you could use them to reach high school students.

  • MOVIES/MEDIA-The Damah Film Festival
  • GUYS ONLY-Basketball Tournaments
  • GIRLS ONLY-Topic of Real Beauty
  • REACHING FRESHMEN-Ice cream Social or Surveys
  • SENIORS-College Prep Seminar
  • HOLIDAYS-Christmas Tea/Party or Distribute “Is There a God?” Article
  • URBAN OUTREACH IDEAS-HipHopalypse and More Ideas
  • FREE GIVEAWAYS-Give Free Things Students Enjoy
  • SERVICE GROUPS-Meaningful Service Project
  • HANDLING TRAGEDY-Sharing the Gospel when Difficult Things Happen
  • DIVERSE GROUPS-Host a World’s Religions Panel and More Ideas

Several of the ideas are pre-evangelistic, but they could easily be adapted to include a presentation of the gospel. If you’d like to discuss how to adapt one of these outreaches to fit the interests of students at your school, call and talk to a coach at the Cru Coaching Center at 1-877-gocampus (1-877-462-2678). For further details on how to plan an outreach, search for the article called “Planning and Conducting an Outreach.”

To make these ideas easy to find in the book, corresponding numbers are included.

MOVIES/MEDIA-The Damah Film Festival (#218) This organization has films with themes such as grace, God’s sovereignty, misconceptions of Jesus, favor with God, the need to worship something, and many other topics that lead to further discussion about life and God. These short films provide the starting point for you to facilitate group discussions. In addition, the “Damah Touring Festival” could come to your school. The films are not perceived as Christian so you could ask your school to sponsor the “Tour.” At the end of the school day, your ministry could host a party for further discussion, where student leaders could share the gospel and share testimonies of their own spiritual journeys.

GUYS ONLY-Basketball Tournaments (#164) At The University of Florida, students hosted an all-nighter centered around basketball tournaments and competitions. A talk was given on real manhood and David from the Bible. Someone could share a testimony around this topic and the gospel.

GIRLS ONLY-Topic of Real Beauty (#166 or #168) Host a party for girls and discuss the topic of real beauty and the problem of eating disorders. To help girls understand God’s love for them and how He views them, bring in a speaker like nationally known speaker and author, Nancy Wilson. Your school might even pay to have someone like Nancy come and speak at an assembly at your school. You could host a party after school, like a spa party for example, and have the speaker share the gospel. To bring in Nancy Wilson, author of  “In Pursuit of the Ideal,” see www.nancywilson.org.

REACHING FRESHMEN-Ice cream Social (#127) Invite freshmen to an ice-cream social (hosted by your club or by a group of Christian friends). The college students that did this outreach included a plastic spoon with the invitations they handed out. To make this event evangelistic, have three or four upperclassmen talk for three to five minutes each on how to make the most of high school. One of them should share their testimony, explaining how knowing God helps us to make wise choices now and for our future. The others could cover areas such as “how to succeed in high school relationally” (ideas on wise dating, purity) and “how to succeed in high school academically” (maybe giving a few study techniques). There is a great book available called “How To Get Better Grades And Have More Fun” that could be a door prize.

REACHING FRESHMEN-Surveys (#112) Do Freshmen Surveys with all the freshmen. Give those you survey an invitation to a party you are having just for freshmen. Tell them about Cru (or your Christian club) at the party, with a student giving their testimony. Let them know how your group can be a resource to them. Use comment cards so you know who’d like to know more about your group and/or a relationship with God. Search for comment cards and surveys on this site.

SENIORS-College Prep Seminar (#128) To help students prepare for college, you could host a college prep seminar inviting Christian college graduates to come back and teach about college life. At www.collegeprep.org, there is a great program that uses multi-media and humor to help high school students understand the realities of college. At the outreach, have one of the college students share how Christ is guiding his or her life and purpose. Share the gospel and invite students to receive Christ.

HOLIDAYS-Christmas Tea Party (#180) For girls, host a Christmas tea or party to talk about the true meaning of Christmas. People can share their favorite Christmas traditions, and someone can share the gospel, explaining that Jesus is our greatest gift. Search for articles on Christmas outreaches and pre-written messages you could give at the outreach.

HOLIDAYS-Distribute “Is There a God?” Article (#117) At Christmas or Easter, distribute the article “Is There a God?” to five or ten of your closest non-Christian friends and then ask them to meet back for coffee to tell you what they thought of the article. You could ask them four simple questions to help guide your conversation. See the article “Turning the Conversation to Christ”.

Note: There are many great holiday outreach ideas in The 250 book, covering St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. (See pages 75-79.)

URBAN OUTREACH IDEAS-HipHopalypse and More Ideas

(#85) Try what the students at Morgan State in Baltimore did to reach their friends. They gave step performances and then shared the gospel.

(#86) How about hosting a talent show with an open mic time, including evangelistic poetry and rap? Students at George Mason found this to be a great outreach.

(#87) A 3-on-3 Basketball tournament was held for students at Mississippi State. Every applicant received a package with candy, soda, and the book, “More than a Carpenter” by Josh McDowell. To reach your school, you could also bring in a Christian speaker, maybe a graduate of your school who played college basketball, to give their testimony and the gospel.

(#88) HipHopalypse was an event planned by students at Syracuse University where Christian rap acts performed. One of the rappers shared his testimony and the gospel.

FREE GIVEAWAYS-Give Free Things Students Enjoy (#91) At UCLA, students advertised that they would give out a free drink, called Boba, to students who attended their weekly Christian meeting one week. Boba is a tapioca milk tea, very popular among Asians. Over 100 students attended their weekly meeting. You could adapt this and give out something you think students might enjoy, such as pizza or something more specific to a certain group. One idea is distributing the book “How to get Better Grades And Have More Fun” by Steve Douglas, to National Honor Society students. Call 1-800-729-4351 to order this book.

SERVICE GROUPS-Meaningful Service Project (#131) Students can build relationships and collect community service points all at the same time. Have students invite other clubs or groups of friends to do a meaningful service project together. Encourage students to pray for these friends, asking God for open doors to talk about Him. See “Meeting and Relating to Students” and “Turning the Conversation to Christ” for good questions to ask students about life and to help start spiritual conversations.

HANDLING TRAGEDY-Sharing the Gospel when Difficult Things Happen (#176) At Indiana University, students hosted a coffee house, and a mother came to share her experience in dealing with tragedy. They provided free desserts and Starbucks coffee. As you try this outreach, remember that the gospel can easily be shared by talking about real hope in a world where difficult things happen.

DIVERSE GROUPS-Host a World’s Religions Panel and More Ideas

(#152) Host a World’s Religion’s Panel University of Oklahoma students invited a Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish student to be on a panel with a Christian. Four specific questions were asked of all four groups to help the listeners learn about each religion. After the students shared their views, a catered dinner was provided for those in attendance. A list of questions was provided to help guide their discussion on the topic of world religions. Christian students were trained ahead of time on how to lead the conversations and help explain Christianity. The students aimed to begin building relationships with these students of other faiths in order to further share the gospel in the future.

(#135) Bob Blackford, a national speaker, gave his testimony at Central Washington University on how he contracted HIV through homosexuality. Bob shared how God set him free from the homosexual lifestyle. Why not ask your school if you can have him as a guest speaker, especially if you have a day like “Gay Day” at school (this is happening in some schools)? Or you could just have an optional after school event with Bob as your speaker. There would be cost involved, but the school sometimes will pay for an assembly speaker.

(#137) How do Christianity and science relate? Try hosting an assembly or evening program with a speaker like Fritz Schaeffer who does a program called “Christianity and Science: Friend or Foe.” Use comment cards and surveys to follow up with those who attend to discover their interest in knowing Jesus.

Remember, there are many more ideas in the book, “The 250 Evangelism Ideas For Your Campus.” As you can tell, some are easier to do than others, but all can be adapted to fit your needs. In addition, the book has a list of more great speakers and programs to bring to your school.

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What they’re saying about Cru

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.