How to Gather Students

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 out your club, 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.

There are four basic action steps that will be your guide as you seek to gather students: pray, meet students, share Christ, and then evaluate.

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 would not normally have contact with and ones whom He has already made hungry for truth.

Meet Students

You cannot gather students without meeting them. There is no right way to gather students, but here are some principles that you should keep in mind as you attempt to meet students:

The Key Is Relationships
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 of a chance they will be involved in your campus ministry.

Go to the Campus
When it comes to meeting students, we often use the phrase, “When in doubt, go to the campus.” This means get to campus events as often as you can. Go to sporting events and band concerts. Look for opportunities to hang out after school and meet students you do not know. If you cannot get on campus, find out where kids hang out after school and go there. Being there is half the battle in meeting new students.

Meet People through Other Students
Your best connections might just be friends of your existing students. Ask your students whom they know who might be interested in getting involved with Cru or growing spiritually. Invite and connect with those students.

Follow-up Comment Cards
Whether you have comment cards from an outreach you did or a club table you set up, follow up those names soon after you get them. If a student expresses an interest on a card, do not let that card sit for two weeks before you connect with them. Text them or reach out by social media within 24 hours and see how they want to be involved. If they are interested, meet up and tell them more about how they can be involved in your ministry.

Try Different Things
There are several ways you can create opportunities to talk to students. Host a table at a school fair for student clubs. Make it fun with candy or a game. Have students write down their contact information on a sheet so you can contact them later [Link to “How to Set Up a Personal Appointment”]. If you have an Instagram or Twitter account for the ministry, make sure the students know how to follow you so they can check out the ministry on their own.

Ask Good Questions
Being strategic about your specific campus can be helpful. Every campus is different so think through these questions about your campus:

Whom do I know that might attend an event because I ask them?
Whom do I already know that might want to invite a friend to get involved?
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?

The key to gathering students is relationships.

Share Christ

While we seek to help students build relationships with each other and become healthy adults, we know that a personal relationship with Jesus is what truly changes a person’s life. Look for opportunities to talk about Jesus when appropriate. Your ministry should be known for being a place where people can have loving, non-judgmental conversations about God. Take the first good opportunity to share your faith in these relationships.

As you share Jesus and people respond, help them connect to a small group of other students who are studying the Bible and growing in their faith. Many people will not respond the way you would like, but will still be interested in learning more about Cru. Help them stay connected with texts or social media so they can continue to be involved at their own pace.

There are many tools that can help you share Christ and everyone has their own favorite one. Check out some of our digital tools that can help you share your faith using the phone in your pocket. Choose one and become familiar with it. Use it often and train students how to use the tool(s).

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? In discipleship groups? 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 desire of the students to gather other students?

Gathering 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!

Next Step

Talk to a student you know and decide on a plan to creatively gather students. A fun outreach might be just the thing. For help in considering the details, 8 Questions to Ask before your Next Outreach will be helpful.

8 Questions to Ask before your Next Outreach

From Grief to Purpose: Finding God in the Storm

Growing up in a Christian home, she always knew about Jesus, but her relationship with Him didn’t feel personal until tragedy struck in eighth grade. Transitioning from homeschooling to public school had already pushed her out of her comfort zone, and anxiety loomed as she struggled to find her place. Then, during the fall of 2020, both her parents contracted COVID. While her mom recovered, her dad’s condition worsened, leading to months of uncertainty. She vividly remembers the day he left for the hospital and the long, heartbreaking journey that followed. Despite moments of hope, her dad passed away on February 20th, 2021. At just 13 years old, she faced the devastating reality of losing her father—a loss that shook her world and her faith.

In the midst of that grief, she began to see God’s hand at work. During sleepless nights and moments of overwhelming sorrow, God surrounded her with people who cared—friends, family, and a community that embodied His love. Though the pain of loss didn’t disappear, she found comfort in the truth that this life is not the end. Inspired by Paul’s words about eternity, she started to see her father’s passing as a reminder of the hope we have in Christ. That hope spurred her to action. On a family mission trip to Thailand, she met students leading Cru groups at their schools, and the seed was planted to start something similar back home. Despite initial uncertainty, God provided resources, opened doors, and brought others alongside her to launch Cru at her school—a ministry that has been thriving for nearly a year now.

"Anxiety loomed as she struggled to find her place."

Her story is one of resilience, faith, and transformation. Through unimaginable grief, she discovered the depth of God’s love and the strength found in trusting Him. The loss of her dad deepened her desire to share Jesus with others, knowing firsthand how essential His presence is in life’s hardest moments. Cru has given her a platform to do just that—to tell others about the God who redeems brokenness and uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Her journey reminds us that while pain is inevitable, God is sovereign, faithful, and able to bring beauty from ashes.

Next Step

Check out Christina's Story and consider how God might use an international mission in your or another student's life.

christina's story

The Six Milestones Every Student Needs to Grow in Faith

Why These Milestones Matter

If we are not careful, students can float through our ministry without ever taking real steps forward. They might show up every week, but never really grow or take ownership of their faith. Milestones give us a simple, clear map for helping them keep moving. They help us answer the question, “What’s next for this student?” and give students the courage to take that step.

When we guide students from milestone to milestone, we are not just helping them stay involved. We are helping them grow into strong, confident followers of Jesus who are ready to lead and influence others.

The Six Milestones

Share Christ with a Student Who Doesn’t Know Jesus

Before anything else, a student needs the chance to hear the good news of Jesus in a clear and personal way. This is where it all begins. Many teenagers have never heard the gospel explained in full, even if they have been around church. Take the time to share about God’s love, our need for forgiveness, and the hope we have in Christ. The first step in their journey is not about them sharing their faith — it is about them hearing it for the first time.

Helpful Resources:

Students grow best when they know what’s next.

Lead a Student Through Their First Follow-Up

When a student says yes to Jesus, it is just the start of something new and exciting. The first follow-up meeting is where you can help them understand what it means to walk with God daily. It is also a chance to build trust and start a discipleship relationship. This step anchors their new faith and helps them grow instead of drifting away.

Helpful Resources:

Help a Student Understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit

Helping students understand the Holy Spirit is a game-changer. Too often, new believers try to live the Christian life in their own strength, and it leaves them frustrated. Teaching them about the Spirit-filled life shows them how to depend on God’s power for both living and sharing their faith. This is when students start to realize that God is not just calling them to do hard things — He is empowering them to actually do them.

Helpful Resources:

GodTools App (go through the Satisfied tool with them)
Holy Spirit Booklet

Holy Spirit Study in Thrive Studies

First Evangelism Experience

Many students have never had the chance to talk about their faith with someone who doesn’t know Jesus. Taking them out to share, whether on campus, at an event, or in the community, changes that. At first, they might feel nervous, but once they see God working through them, it can be life-changing. That moment when a student realizes, “God just used me to help someone understand the gospel” — that is the spark that often leads to a lifetime of ministry.

Helpful Resources:

A student’s journey starts when they first hear the gospel.

Challenge to a Cru Training Event

There is something powerful about getting students away from their normal routine and into an environment filled with worship, biblical teaching, and friends who are chasing after Jesus. Conferences give them the space to grow, hear from God, and take big steps of faith. The bus ride there might be full of nerves, but the ride home is usually buzzing with stories of what God did. Over and over again, we have seen students return from these events ready to lead and make a difference.

Helpful Resources:

Conferences Page

Challenge to Spiritual Leadership on Campus

Teenagers are capable of more than they realize. The world constantly challenges them to step up in sports, academics, and clubs, but sometimes the church forgets to ask them to lead in ministry. Giving students real leadership opportunities — leading a Bible study, speaking at a meeting, planning an outreach — unlocks their potential and sets an example for younger students. Over time, this creates a culture where leadership is expected and contagious.

Helpful Resources:

Student Leader Section – GoToTheCampus.com

Wrapping It Up

These milestones are not a checklist to rush through. They are a pathway to help students grow, one step at a time. Every student you know is somewhere on this journey. Your role is to encourage them, challenge them, and walk alongside them as they take the next step. The goal is not just to build a ministry — it is to build students who live on mission for Jesus for the rest of their lives.

Want to dig deeper? Check out our full conversations about the Six Milestones in these YouTube videos.

Next Step

Write down the names of every student in your ministry. Identify their current milestone and decide how you can help them reach the next one.

The Priceless Project: Impacting Girls in Public Schools

The Priceless Project: Impacting Girls in Public Schools

The Priceless Project is a powerful small-group resource designed especially for girls, offering a safe, encouraging space to talk about identity, value, and purpose. It’s already making a difference in public schools, giving students a chance to connect, grow, and be reminded of their worth.

One of its greatest strengths is flexibility. The Priceless Project comes in two versions:

A Bible study version for church, youth group, or Christian school settings
A public school version with the same strong themes but without Scripture references — making it ideal for campuses that might not allow explicitly faith-based content

The public school version can be a great way to get in the door on a campus that’s difficult to access. It allows you to mentor a group of girls who need it, build relationships with them, and meet real emotional and social needs in a way that schools welcome.

Priceless Project

from Emily French

Why use The Priceless Project?

Creates a safe, respectful space for girls to share and be heard
Meets real emotional and social needs in public schools
Builds leadership and peer-to-peer mentoring skills
Easy to use, with free resources and an app for facilitators
Proven track record in schools through partnerships with teachers and administrators

All digital resources are free for Cru. Use the discount code PricelessCru at checkout. All physical books are available for purchase at iampriceless.me.

A free Priceless Project App is also available for Apple and Android — with digital curriculum, playlists, blog posts, and a safe space for facilitators to connect with the girls they lead.

You can learn more, explore the curriculum, and order resources at iampriceless.me.