Building a Bridge to the Campus

“The Word became flesh and took up residence among us.” John 1:14

God reached the world by doing something unexpected. Rather than keeping His distance, He came to dwell among us by sending His own Son. This is really good news! It’s the good news.

If we want to reach our local campus, we need to follow the example that Jesus Christ set for us. We must go to students rather than keeping our distance, waiting for them to come to us.

To do this well, we have to become what we call an insider on the campus. An insider is simply someone who clearly belongs. Insiders know the school, have positive connections, and make an unmistakable difference at the school.

So how do we move from being an outsider to an insider?

Where to Begin?

Getting somewhere new requires some work. Crossing a river or a canyon can be hard and uncertain, even dangerous—unless you have a bridge.

A bridge provides a clear, trustworthy way to cross to the other side. However, bridges are not built in a day. If they are going to last, they take time, effort, expertise, and some critical maintenance.

To become a trusted insider on campus, the “bridges” you need to build are relationships. And just like a real bridge, the good relationships we will build take some time.

Make Prayer Your Foundation

Prayer is where you must start. It’s the foundation of Cru’s approach. It can be tempting to jump right into building relationships. We just want to GO, but before we begin meeting new people on campus, we want to ask the Lord for the insight to meet the spiritual needs of the students there. Prioritizing our relationship with God and asking Him to provide will always be the best first step.

Thinking back to our bridge metaphor, starting without prayer is like building without having the foundation securely in place. We want to trust that God has the best plans. We need to align ourselves with His plans, not our own.

We want to pray that God would…

Help us see the needs of the students and staff
Lead us to other Christians who want to help
Teach us to care deeply about the well-being of the entire school
Send students to make a bigger impact than we ever could

If we want to reach our local campus, we need to follow the example that Jesus Christ set for us. We must go to the students!

Understand the School

Getting to know the school’s culture and unique student groups is key to getting a grasp on the needs in the community and on campus.

One easy place to start is just looking for social media groups you can follow for school updates. Even better, go to events on campus like concerts, games, or plays. Be intentional about meeting teachers and staff to build relationships. Network with people you already know to find connections to other insiders who can help you learn about the school.

As you meet people, let them know you are interested in helping students thrive and you are looking for people who can help you get a better understanding of the needs on campus.

Some possible insiders to meet…

Teachers
Recent graduates
Leaders of student clubs
Coaches
Members of the Parent Teacher Organization
Any other school staff

Ask the people you meet about the greatest strengths and weaknesses of the school. Look for needs you could help meet that could make the campus a better place.

Serve the School

Once you understand the needs of the school, the relationships you have built are the pathways to meeting the needs of the students on campus. There will be some practical needs you and others can step into easily, including:

School clean up days
Help the PTO thank teachers for their hard work
Promoting school fundraisers
Join a mentoring program
Become a volunteer coach

Our number one goal with Cru is to share the gospel. Serving the school in these ways might not look like it fits with that goal. However, the truth is these types of actions speak volumes about the gospel, especially when we do them because we care.

You might tell people about Jesus all day long, but few will really listen. However, when you care about others enough to sacrifice for them because Christ cared about you enough to sacrifice His life for you, that is powerful. When you live like that, the things you say make sense to the people who see you live it out. The message becomes embodied and people can truly understand.

Connect With Student Groups

As you serve the school, look for ways to help student groups you come in contact with the most. You could do an inspirational team talk for the track team before the state meet. You could organize or host a cast party after the school play. There are many student groups, teams, and clubs you can find on campus. Look for the ones you might connect with the most.

An insider wants to meet the needs of the school because it helps build up the whole campus and helps make it a positive and healthy place. As you meet students from various groups or teams, ask good questions. Find out what they would like to change about their school or maybe life in general. Schools are usually great at meeting physical and educational needs, however, they are really not designed to answer the spiritual questions about life. This is where Cru can help, and surfacing those BIG questions means you may need to ask good questions too.

When you first meet students, you might not have deep spiritual conversations with them, but you can invite them to your local Cru club or church youth group. Maybe your conversations with students will give you an idea for an outreach at or near the school. In short, connecting with student groups will help you continue to understand and serve the school and give you the opportunity to involve students in the things Cru already has going at the school.

To become a trusted insider on campus, the “bridges” you need to build are relationships.

Build A Network of Adult Leaders

Some of the school’s needs can be very specific and you might not be able to meet them on your own. If there is a high need for male mentors or math tutors, you might not fit the criteria needed for that role. Do NOT try to do it all on your own.

Craft a diverse network of relationships to adult leaders and you can help serve the school by getting the right people for the job. If you work hard at becoming an insider, you can help others get involved at the school because you know the needs and understand the process of volunteering.

Finding people for your network will take creativity. Local churches are a great place to start. Explore churches near the campus to mobilize individuals who can volunteer to meet needs at the school. These churches are a diverse community of people who are called to love God and their neighbors, but sometimes they do not know how. Asking them to meet a need in their community may actually be a huge blessing to them and the school.

Another strategy to use to invite others to help is to have a volunteer informational meeting. This where you gather a diverse group of Christians from different parts of the community to talk about how they can work together to help the school.

Equip and Motivate Students

Adults can make a big difference on the campus—meeting deficiencies, opening the door to spiritual conversations, and inviting others to help. However, there are limits to what adults can do, no matter how much of an “insider” they are. The most effective and dynamic influencers on the campus are always the students themselves.

We want students to follow our lead in seeking what is best for the school and in sharing our reason for hope in Christ, but we do not just want to be the only one doing this. As an insider, we might be really effective at adding people to God’s kingdom, but we want to do more. We want to do what Jesus did and multiply by sending others out to share with more.

When teenagers follow Jesus and take steps of faith to win, build, and send other teenagers to do the same, powerful change will begin to happen at that school. Teenagers will always be better missionaries to their campus than any adult. They are already insiders and have way more freedom to share their faith with other students.

Students and other leaders will follow our lead when we take steps of faith to be present and go to the campus with the good news.

Next Step

Begin building a bridge to a local campus by talking with a campus insider. The Getting to Know your Campus Questionnaire will help.

Questionnaire

5 Key Features of the Claim Your Campus App

Pray Now:
This section is designed to lead any student through a daily 15-minute prayer time for their school. The format is simple: Listen, Thank, Ask. Each day students read a passage of scripture, thank God for something specific He is doing in their school, and ask Him for help at their school and schools across the country.

21-Day Challenge:
Habits take time to build. The 21-Day Challenge can help you and your students build the habit of praying together daily.

Share Your Story:
Students from all over the country are using Claim Your Campus at their schools. This video feature gives students one minute to capture what God is doing at their school and then share it.

Groups:
Use the Groups section to form your own prayer group and/or join other groups. Students praying together in community for their school(s) is the foundation of CYC. The group feature keeps students connected, motivated, and encouraged to keep pressing on!

Prayer Walk Your Campus:
This feature describes how to prayer walk a campus in three easy steps. Invite. Pray. Report. It includes a brief tutorial and a downloadable prayer walk guide.

Social Media:
Stay connected through Tik Tok, Instagram, and Youtube pages; News and Updates can also be found in the app.

Cast the Vision: Prayer Equals Change

Use these videos to get excited about how God could change your campus through prayer and how He could use you to build a prayer movement at your school.
General Promo video
Marion School video

Invite Students to Be One in the Million

Students download the app using the QR code graphic & claim their campus!

We encourage all campus movements to emphasize prayer and the Claim Your Campus app is a great way to engage students in prayer.

4 Different Ways Students Can Claim Their Campus

Start a Weekly Prayer Group. The CYC app provides prompts that change weekly.
Host a prayer walk around your campus. The CYC app features a Prayer Walk Guide.
Embed 5-10 minutes of Prayer into Your Weekly Cru Club Meeting. Build a CULTURE of prayer. CYC has done all the work for you. Click here for the Leader’s Guide and here for premade slides for up to 20 weeks. That is enough for an entire school year. CYC’s GRAB-N-GO resources make praying EASY.
Participate in Annual National Events such as SYATP.

Invite the adults in your community to support SYATP by signing up for The Prayer Walk Project. This project offers a way for caring adults to join hands in prayer on the Saturdays before and after SYATP.

Prayer is the real power in any campus movement. Make it a non-negotiable in your ministry to emphasize prayer with adults and students and see how God moves.

Next Step

Download the Claim Your Campus app and consider how you could use it on your campus today. Do you have a prayer strategy for your plans? If not, send the app to a few student leaders and invite them to start praying for their campus!

DOWNLOAD THE APP

4 Ways to Prepare for a Prayer Walk

Prepare Your Heart

Surrender the Prayer Walk to the Lord. Ask the Lord for one or two scriptures to help prepare your heart. Jot them down. If you like, use them to inspire the people you invite, or share them with your team the day you meet to prayer walk. Pray for:

Divine appointments with people.
Connections with insiders at the school who are like-minded and willing to help.
God to guide your steps.
Open eyes to see the spiritual needs of the campus.

Prepare Your Team

Pray for Names. Ask the Lord to bring to mind specific names of students, volunteers, parents, pastors, and/or faculty you can ask to join your prayer walk. Keep in mind, this is not about numbers. Even one prayer partner is enough. Matthew 18:20 says, “Where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.”

Invite the People that He brought to mind. Decide what mode of communication is best: text? social media? phone call? Give them a brief description of what a prayer walk is and what they can expect that day. Share what has motivated you to gather a team to pray. Be sure to tell them the date, the start and end times, and the location. Give them an RSVP date.

Send them any final details on the day before. Remind your team what time you will begin and end and the location to meet. Let them know what to bring and any adjustments needed due to weather or other factors.

(During a Prayer Walk) Pray for: Divine appointments with people. Connections with insiders at the school who are like-minded and willing to help. God to guide your steps. Open eyes to see the spiritual needs of the campus.

Prepare Your Campus

Check with an Insider at Your School. Once you choose your campus and gather your team, you may want to check with an insider at the school to see if there is anyone you need to notify ahead of time. Most likely, it will not be an issue if you are prayer walking after school or over the weekend on the parts of the campus that are open to the public. Avoid prayer walking on campus during school hours without permission.

Prepare Your Details

“WHO” DETAILS: By now, you know WHO is coming. But here are some other “WHO” questions to think about if you have a larger group. Who will…

begin the prayer walk (introduce/explain it)?
end the prayer walk?
lead smaller groups (if your team is large)?

“WHAT TO BRING” DETAILS: You may want to bring copies of the Prayer Guide and the Leader Guide.

“WHERE/WHEN” DETAILS: Make sure everyone knows the date and time you will meet. Include starting point (address of meeting spot) and ending point (time and meeting spot).

“HOW” DETAILS: For your convenience, this Campus Prayer Walk Leader’s Guide provides a general flow and includes sample scripts of what to say from start to finish. If you can read it, you can lead it. But you may need to think through the unique needs of your prayer walk.

Would you like the prayer walk to be more casual or more organized? Do you have people who are comfortable prayer walking or more new people who may need more instruction?

You have prepared your part. Time to grab your walking shoes. Let’s do this!

Next Step

It is time to get on the campus to pray. Text one friend today and ask them if they would be willing to go to the school to prayer walk with you this week. Get your feet on the campus and pray together. Once you have done it yourself, it will be a lot easier to gather others to do it with you.

Prayer Walking

After the Israelites wandered for 40 years in the desert, God called Joshua to bring His people into the land He had promised them. The commander of the army of the Lord appeared to Joshua with instructions essentially for a prayer walk around the city of Jericho. And let’s just say the Israelites’ obedience to his words, made history. (If you are unfamiliar with this incredible story, you can read the whole story here.)

What is Prayer Walking?

Prayer walking is just what it sounds like—praying as you walk. And you can do it anywhere: around your neighborhood, through your city, or even on your daily commute. Invite others to join you! As you walk together, let the Spirit of God use what you see to guide your prayers. Then, trust God to respond in His perfect way and timing.

One of the most impactful places for a prayer walk is around a school campus that means something to you. It puts you right where the students are—like God’s boots on the ground—allowing you to connect your heart to that specific location as you pray. And who knows? It might even lead to a chance meeting with a key person on campus. Many ministries have started with a simple “Hey there!” to a student or administrator during a prayer walk. A casual stroll can open unexpected doors!

If you have never done this before, no worries! Joshua—the young leader from the Bible—had not done it before either. It was his willingness and availability to God that mattered most. And the same goes for you—no experience required!

Prayer walking is just what it sounds like—praying as you walk.

Prayer Walk in Three Easy Steps

Meet Up (5 minutes)

Grab a friend or two and meet on campus- ideally after school or on the weekend. Select and read a meaningful passage from the Bible together. Take a minute to pray a blessing over this time, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide your prayers.

Walk & Pray (10-20 minutes)

Start walking the perimeter of the campus and let the Holy Spirit use who/what you see guide your prayers. Here are 5 ways you could begin praying:

Ask God to move by His Spirit on this campus and be glorified.
Pray people here would hunger and thirst for God.
Pray for the believers here to live wholeheartedly for Jesus and make others feel seen, known, and loved by God.
Pray for leaders in this school’s community (students, parents, administration, faculty, coaches, etc.)

Wrap It Up (5 minutes)

Select a spot to close your time together. Talk about how it went. Was there anything that stood out as significant or meaningful? Take a few minutes to thank God for this time. Express your love for Him and your confidence that He will respond to the prayers He heard today.

Other Prayer Walking Guides

If you would rather have a more specific guide to help you in your prayer walk, try one below:

CYC Prayer Walk Guide
Locations on Campus Prayer Walking Guide
The Launchbox Prayer Walking Guide
Make a list of prayer requests to pray about your specific campus
Just invite people to pray for things that come to mind as they walk

One of the most impactful places for a prayer walk is around a school campus that means something to you.

Why Do It?

Prayer Walking Knocks Down Walls

What effect did Joshua’s and the Israelites’ obedience have on the fortified and powerful ancient city of Jericho? Well, the God of the Universe infused their faith-filled feet with power, causing the otherwise insurmountable walls of the city to collapse. That’s how they fought and won the battle of Jericho—without ever throwing a punch!

Now, maybe you are not planning to tear down any physical walls around your school—in fact, let’s definitely avoid that! But in the spiritual realm, every school is a battlefield for souls. On every campus, there are barriers to the gospel that need to be broken down. Inside every person, there are walls that separate us from God or keep us from fully experiencing the abundant life He wants for us.

Looking for a more current example of a battle fought and won with prayer? Check out this powerful story of what happened when a group of students in Marion, Indiana consistently and prayerfully put feet to their faith and watched God win the battle for their campus. If you want to read about more victories won with praying feet, check out Exodus 14 and 2 Chronicles 20:1-30.

Some Other Great Reasons to Prayer Walk Your Campus

It is a place to gather other believers who have a heart for the campus.
It is a way to be on campus with a purpose.
Sometimes God uses these times to introduce us to key gatekeepers on campus.
It might surface some needs on the campus with which you could help.
It helps your team become more familiar with the campus and less fearful of going there.
It is better than doing nothing. Sometimes God moves when we take action.

Within the campus ministry of Cru, prayer walking has actually been shown to be the single most effective strategy in seeing new gospel movements started.
– Dan Allen, Director of Mission Expansion

The powerful presence of God always has and STILL does mix with our prayers and supernaturally connects us more deeply to God, ourselves, and others. Prayer breaks down barriers that lie between us and wins the battle for souls.

Prayer walking can be your lead foot on any campus. Ready to grab a friend and step into the unknown with Him? Prayer walking is something anyone can do.

Next Step

Plan 15 minutes this week to stop at your local high school, walk around, and pray for the school. Bring a friend or do it alone; just get your feet on the campus and pray. Ask God to show you what next steps He would like you to take.