THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU

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Group of Teenagers Volunteer Holding Hands in Circle for Teamwork

Choosing the Right People for Your Team

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“It was really easy to get others involved. We gave an announcement at our weekly college Christian meeting and said, ‘We are looking for help to work at the local high school.’ So, we started more on a personal level with our friends and then went to a broader audience to find help from there.” — Chris McClelland, Ohio

Expansion to a new school takes a team God never intended for anyone to function alone in ministry. He sent the disciples out two by two as a model for us. As a Local Leader, you need to put together a team of folks who can partner with you to take the gospel to as many students as possible in your area.

WHO CAN BE ON THE TEAM?

Before you ask anyone to help, take a few minutes to think through what you would say to them, how you would explain your ministry and the specific role you would like for them to play.

Helpful articles include “How to Explain your Ministry to Others” and “How to Explain Cru to a Student” …

Teachers

“Coach Garland not only opened the doors for us with the football team, but also the Bowling team and the Baseball Team!” – Hung, staff

Parents

“For me learning to work with parents has been a difficult hurdle. I still look like a high school student, and not have to interact with adults. But I am realizing that connecting with parents is a big part of ministry to high school students.” – Brooke, Intern

Youth Leaders

“As a youth pastor, you realize that teenagers don’t come to you. You have to go to them. That is where The Coaching Center and Cru High School have been great. Their strategy has helped us connect with unchurched teenagers we could have never met otherwise.” – Dan, Youth Pastor

College Students

Grab some Christian friends and commit to impacting a local high school for the glory of God.

Campus Workers

Cru and other groups are a tremendous resource to you as you launch a ministry with high school students (their work with college students translates easily to yours). If you are connected to a strong campus ministry, stay connected. If not, take the initiative to make contact with them.

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What they’re saying about Cru

As you prepare to go hiking, whether in the Rocky Mountains or through an Amazon jungle, you must first know where you’re headed. Without a map and a compass, your trip is doomed to aimless wandering at best, and death at worst.

As you seek to influence your campus, you will want to make sure you know the campus and its people. Otherwise, you may just run aimlessly from one activity to another without really changing things on your campus at all.

  1. You must know the basics about your school.

    You may think you already know the school very well, but there are some valuable questions you can begin to answer that will help your ministry get started in the right direction:

    • Who are some other people who know the school very well? If I didn’t know anything about the school, what would I want to learn?
    • What do other people – adults and students – think of the school?
    • Who are the most influential students?
    • What groups are most influential on the campus?
    • These are good starter questions for helping you get oriented to the school.
  2. Now that you’ve got the basics down, become an expert.

    Like a private eye or a reporter in search of a story, dig a little deeper. To truly familiarize yourself with the campus, you need to find out more about the community and the school.

    Here are some of the many things you can do to get familiar with the school:

    Look through the most recent school yearbook. Notice students who appear often. Look for those in leadership of various groups. Try to use the yearbook to get a general impression of the school.

    Next you could look through local newspapers and publications. Ask yourself, “What kind of reputation does the school seem to have? Is it mentioned often? Are the articles positive or negative?”

    Also, find out who are the most influential students and teachers. Try to determine the key Christian students on your campus. Seek to meet them as soon as possible and share with them your desire to impact the campus. Meet supportive adults in the community. Talk with teachers, coaches, and administrators. Find out what makes the campus tick. What recurring problems are mentioned? What are the strong traditions?

    Attend sporting events, plays, or other performing arts events. These are great ways to get a feel for the school and the student body.

  3. Finally, start meeting students.

    Start with known Christian students, student leaders, and athletes. Your research of the campus will help you decide which students to go to first.

So, get to know the basics about the school; then become an expert on the school; and then you’ll be ready to meet the key students. When you’ve done these initial steps, you can confidently move ahead, trusting God to bring results through your ministry.