The 10-Week Reach Your School Playbook Plan

The 10 Week Reach Your School Playbook Plan

Starting a ministry at your school can feel exciting, overwhelming, inspiring, and scary all at once. That’s why the Reach Your School Playbook exists, to help you take simple, practical steps toward reaching your friends with the gospel. You were never meant to do this alone.

This 10 week plan is designed to help you walk through the Playbook with a small group of friends, pray together, dream together, and take action together. Each week includes something to read, questions to discuss, and practical next steps to help you move forward.

Don’t worry about having everything figured out before you begin. God often grows movements one small step of faith at a time.

Week 1 — Dream About Your School

Read

Read the DREAM section through “You can Build a Movement”
Go through the Reach Your Friends Challenge together.

Discuss

What do you think God could do at your school?
Why do you think reaching your school matters?
What are some challenges that students at your school face?
What part of the Reach Your Friends Challenge stood out to you most?
What excites you most about this journey? What makes you nervous?

Action Steps

Complete the Reach Your Friends Challenge if you haven’t
Write down names of friends you want to reach.
Read the rest of the DREAM section before next week.
Begin praying daily for your school.

Pray

Pray together for your school before you dismiss

Week 2 — Gather People Around the Vision

Read

Read the rest of the DREAM section together.

Discuss

What concerns or fears do you have about starting something at school?
Did anything in the legality section surprise you?
Why is it important not to do ministry alone?
What kind of people could help this movement grow?
Who are some students you could invite into leadership?

Action Steps

Make a list of students and adults who could help.
Invite at least 2–3 students into the conversation.
Consider finding a coach or mentor.
Share the vision with another friend this week.

Week 3 — Prepare to Prayer Walk

Read

Read “Start with Prayer”
Read the Prayer Walking Section

Discuss

Why do you think prayer should come before action?
What would it look like for God to move at your school?
What areas of your school need prayer most?
How could prayer change the atmosphere of your campus?

Action Steps

Schedule a prayer walk for next week.
Decide on a time and place to meet. Decide who will lead it.
Invite friends to join.
Brainstorm additional students and adults who may want to Prayer Walk.
Spend time praying specifically for your school each day.

Week 4 — Prayer Walk Your Campus

Focus

Meet together at your school and prayer walk using the “Prayer Walk” pages.

Discuss Afterwards

What stood out to you during the prayer walk?
Did anything surprise or encourage you?
What burdens do you feel for your school now?
What do you think God may be leading your group toward?

Action Steps

Celebrate taking a step of faith. Setting up a prayer walk is a big step of faith.
Write down ideas, observations, and next steps.
Continue inviting others into the vision.

Pray together again before next week.

“You were never meant to reach your school alone.”

Week 5 — Build a Prayer Plan

Read

Read the Remaining PRAY section content.

Discuss

What kind of prayer rhythms could work at your school?
Could students gather weekly to pray?
What obstacles might keep students from praying together?
How could prayer become part of your ministry culture?

Action Steps

Create a simple prayer plan for your school.
Decide how often you want to pray together.
Invite more students to join you.

Write your plan into the Playbook on the last page of the PRAY section.

Week 6 — Gather a Team

Read

Read the first part of the GO section, including “Decide How To Start”

Discuss

What kind of ministry would fit your school best?
What strengths do different students bring?
What would leadership look like on your campus?
What kind of culture do you want your ministry to have?

Action Steps

If you want to start a group on campus, you will need a teacher sponsor. Your next priority is to find one.
Gather students who want to help lead.
Go through the Reach Your Friends Challenge with any new students.
Get Playbooks into the hands of your team.
Begin discussing what ministry might look like at your school.

Week 7 — Decide How to Start

Read

Read the rest of the GO section

Discuss

Should your ministry begin on campus, off campus, or both?
What type of gathering would students actually come to?
How could Thrive Studies help your group?
What practical steps need to happen before launch?

Action Steps

Work through the Cru Planning Sheet together.
Decide on a basic ministry approach.
Set tentative goals and plans.
Decide who is doing what and when.

Week 8 — Learn to Share Your Story

As you begin preparing to reach your school, you’ll learn a lot of new skills along the way. Two of the most important are learning how to share your story and how to clearly share the gospel. As you continue making plans for your launch, take time over the next couple of weeks to practice these skills together and grow in confidence. Learning these skills may take a few weeks, so feel free to stretch each skill over multiple weeks so you can learn and practice well.

Read

Read the article “How to Share Your Testimony” at Gotothecampus.com
Watch a few video stories at cru.org/gotothecampus/stories as inspiration.

Discuss

Why are personal stories powerful?
What has Jesus done in your life?
What makes sharing your testimony difficult?
How can authenticity help people trust you?

Action Steps

Write out your testimony.
Practice sharing it with the group.
Pray for opportunities to share it naturally.
Continue refining ministry plans.

Week 9 — Learn to Share the Gospel

If learning to share the gospel feels intimidating, don’t be discouraged, most Christians feel that way at first. We encourage you to ask a youth pastor, or other trusted spiritual leader to help train and encourage your group as you grow in confidence sharing your faith.

Read

Read “How to Share the Gospel” at gotothecampus.com.
Download the God tools app at godtoolsapp.com and open one of the gospel presentations.

Discuss

What makes gospel conversations intimidating?
How can you make conversations natural instead of forced?
Why is listening important in evangelism?

Action Steps

Practice sharing the gospel together

Pray for one person you want to talk with this week.

Week 10 — Prepare for Launch

Read

Read through the GROW content, or at least skim it together.
Explore GoToTheCampus.com

Discuss

What has God taught you since we started the Reach Your School Playbook?
What still needs to happen before launch?
How will you help your movement continue after it begins?
What other ministry skills would you like to learn?

Action Steps

Finalize your first ministry steps.
Set dates for your next gathering or outreach.
Keep meeting regularly as a team.
Explore additional tools and resources on GoToTheCampus.com.

Celebrate what God has already started.

Leader Tips

Keep your meetings conversational, not lecture-heavy.
Celebrate every small step of faith.
Don’t rush the process of building relationships and prayer.
Focus on helping students take ownership.
Expect that plans may change as students learn what works on their campus and what doesn’t
Keep pointing students back to Jesus, prayer, and loving people well.

More Great Lessons for Leaders

These additional lessons are designed to help your leadership team continue growing in ministry skills, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, and teamwork. Some groups may choose to use these lessons during the 10 week journey if they need more time before moving forward. Others may use them afterward as ongoing training for their core leadership team. Most of these lessons work well as 30 to 45 minute discussions or practice sessions.

Learn to Use Solarium

Soularium is a simple and engaging deck of picture cards that helps people start spiritual conversations naturally. Visit MySolarium.com and go through the short training videos together as a group. Spend time practicing conversations with one another so students grow more comfortable using the cards and asking spiritual questions.

Learn to Disciple Others

The Thrive Studies app includes several excellent studies to help students grow as leaders. Check these two out and explore others!

DISCIPLING OTHERS (4 weeks) – how to make disciples and follow up new believers
SOUND BARRIERS (4 weeks) – how to navigate difficult Gospel conversations.

Learn How to Follow Up a New Christian

One of the most important ministry skills is learning how to help someone grow after they begin following Jesus. Read and discuss the “How to Follow Up a New Christian” article at GoToTheCampus.com and talk through what caring for a new believer could look like on your campus.

Practice Leading a Small Group

One of the best ways to learn leadership is simply by practicing. Use the training content from Thrive Studies to help students learn how to lead discussions, ask good questions, listen well, and encourage participation. Consider rotating leadership so different students can practice facilitating the group.

Watch Campus Ministry Training Videos

GoToTheCampus.com contains 8 videos designed to help you reach the campus. While some are designed for adults, most are great for all ages and will help you prepare to reach your school. Watch them and discuss with your friends at cru.org/gotothecampus/campus-training

Use the “Who’s In Your World?” Exercise

In the back of the Reach Your School Playbook, you’ll find the “Who’s In Your World?” exercise. This is a great activity to help students think intentionally about the people God has placed around them. Spend time brainstorming friends, classmates, teammates, clubs, and social circles that students could pray for, invite, and begin building relationships with.

Plan a Team Outreach

Spend a meeting brainstorming ways your group could reach students together. You may want to look through the large group outreach ideas at GoToTheCampus.com and discuss what kinds of events, discussion groups, service projects, or outreaches might fit your school culture best.

Explore More Tools and Resources

There are many additional resources available to help your ministry grow. Visit the article “Tools and Resources to Help You Build and Grow Your Ministry” at GoToTheCampus.com to discover more studies, training tools, outreach ideas, and leadership resources for your team.

Next Step

Download the Reach Your School Playbook and invite a few friends to begin the 10 week journey together.

1. Do Your Own Thing

If you’d like to gather some friends, share your faith, and build something without any formal ties, just start with the playbook. The Reach Your School Playbook gives you everything you need to get started today.

2. Call Yourself Cru

If you’d like to use the Cru name and logos, and be part of a wider movement beyond just your campus, here’s what that looks like:

	Doing Your Own Thing	Being Called Cru
Use the Cru name and logos	No	Yes
Need a coach to get started	No	Yes
Part of the wider Cru movement	No	Yes
Get ongoing support from Cru staff	No	Yes
Can start today, no waiting	Yes	Still fast — just a call first

"Whichever path you choose, you don’t have to figure it out alone."

How to Get Started

If you want to call yourself Cru, the way to get started is to connect with a coach, that’s how you register your movement. This is separate from anything your own school requires; if your campus has its own club registration process, you’ll still want to check with your school on that too.

A coach is a Cru staff member whose job is to walk alongside you as you get started. Here’s what working with a coach actually looks like from there:

It’s free. No cost involved, no catch.
No pressure. You reach out, someone gets back to you with information and answers your questions, and there’s no commitment required just to ask.
Go at your own pace. You and your coach agree on a rhythm together, whether that’s weekly, every other week, or monthly, usually in calls of about 20 to 30 minutes.
The calls are practical. Your coach checks in on how things are going, helps you work through whatever challenges you’re facing, brainstorms ideas with you, and prays for you.
Real experience backs it up. Coaches have spent years working directly with students, teachers, and other volunteers on campuses like yours.
You get resources. Training and tools to help you lead with confidence, even if this is your first time.
It fits around your life. Coaches build their availability around your schedule.

Through it all, you’re helping students hear about Jesus, grow in their faith, and go on to reach others too. And whether you’re the student or the adult in this story, you stay the one leading it. Your coach walks alongside you; the coach doesn’t take it over.

Check Out the Playbook

Whichever path you choose, the Reach Your School Playbook is worth having in hand. It walks you through four simple steps — DREAM, PRAY, GO, GROW — for building something that reaches your school.

Download the Reach Your School Playbook

Whichever path you choose, don’t wait until everything feels figured out. Gather a few friends, open the Playbook, or send that first email to a coach. The important thing is that you start. Somewhere out there, a student at your school is waiting for someone to notice them, and that someone could be you.

Next Step

Ready to call yourself Cru? Reach out to the Coaching Center today: Email coachingcenter@cru.org and say, “I’d like to have a coach please!” Or call 1-877-GO-CAMPUS

Campus Ministry Toolkit: Skills and Tools to Reach your School

As you learn to reach your school, there are some key ministry skills that will make a big difference. These are things every Christian student can grow in and you don’t have to be perfect to get started. We also have some great tools to help you take your next step. With a little courage and the right resources, you’ll be amazed how God can use you in your school.

Starting Spiritual Conversations

Bringing up spiritual topics can be hard, but it’s one of the most important steps in reaching your friends. If no one starts the conversation, most students will never talk about their faith.

Preparing Yourself for Spiritual Conversations (article): A short guide to help you get ready to talk about your faith with friends.
Solarium: A deck of picture cards to help you start conversations about life and God.

Sharing Your Testimony

Your story matters. Sharing what God has done in your life can open hearts and help others realize that faith is personal and real.

How to Share Your Story (article): A step-by-step guide to help you talk about how Jesus has changed your life.

Sharing Your Faith

The gospel is powerful and your friends need to hear it. Learning how to clearly explain the message of Jesus is a huge step in making your faith your own and helping others follow Him.

How to Share the Gospel (article): a step-by-step guide to help you share the gospel with a friend.
Connecting with God Booklet: A short, simple booklet you can read through with a friend to explain how they can know Christ.
The Four Wristband: A wearable tool with four simple symbols to help you talk about God’s love and how to receive Christ.
GodTools App: A free app with interactive ways to share your faith in different languages and styles.

“Your story could be the reason someone takes a step toward Jesus.”

Following Up a New Believer

When someone accepts Christ, they need help knowing what to do next. Helping a new believer grow in their faith is one of the most rewarding things you can do.

How to Follow up a New Christian (article): Simple steps to help you know what to say and do after someone decides to follow Jesus.
Thrive Studies App: Includes the START series—four Bible studies for new believers.

Leading a Small Group

Small groups are a powerful way to build community and help students grow. If you can lead a good conversation, you can lead a small group.

Thrive Studies App: Includes dozens of studies on real-life topics and built-in leader training.

Campus Ministry Training

Reaching students on your campus is one of the most strategic ways to share your faith. Learning a few simple principles can help you start conversations, gather students, and take steps toward building a movement at your school.

Campus Training Videos – Short, practical videos to help you learn how to reach students on your high school campus. These eight trainings cover key topics like meeting students, starting conversations, sharing your faith, and taking simple steps to build a movement.

Other Helpful Tools

Comment Cards
- PDF
- Editable Version
Meeting Schedule Planner
- PDF
- Editable Version
Who’s In Your World?
- PDF
- Editable Version
Outreach Resources
- Team Outreach Sample Schedule
- Other Outreach tools
Cru Logos, fonts, and Colors

Some Great Websites You Don't Want To Miss

Everystudent.com: articles to help students learn about faith
Gotothecampus.com: ministry training and tools to help you grow your ministry

Next Step

Pick one tool and take a step this week to start a conversation or gather a few friends.

The Reach Your School Playbook

You can reach your school. We can help.

You’ve probably looked around your campus and thought, someone should do something. What if that someone is you?

The Reach Your School Playbook is a simple, practical guide that helps you make the first move. It’s short, clear, and built to move you forward, not a long manual you’ll never finish. Whether you’re a student ready to lead or an adult wanting to come alongside one, this is your starting point.

You can actually do this

Most people never start, not because they don’t care, but because they feel stuck. Where do I even begin? What if no one shows up?

The Playbook clears that away. It gives you a path so you can stop overthinking and start doing. You don’t need a perfect plan or all the answers. You don’t have to be the popular kid or have it all together. You just need a first step, and a little courage.

And the friends you’re thinking about right now matter. You might be the one who helps them find Jesus.

Start where you are. Use what you have. Take the first step.

A simple path to follow

The Playbook walks you through four clear steps, each one designed to help you take action:

Dream — Start with a vision for your school and what God could do there.
Pray — Learn to pray for your campus in real, meaningful ways.
Go — Take action, gather a team, and begin reaching people.
Grow — Build a group that develops leaders and multiplies.

It might start with a single conversation at lunch, or a few friends praying before class. You don’t have to guess what comes next. It’s right there in front of you.

Made for students, helpful for adults

The Playbook is written first for students, because we believe teenagers can lead and make a real impact at their school. But if you’re a parent, teacher, youth leader, or volunteer, you’re not on the sidelines. There’s a whole section just for you, whether you’re supporting a student who’s leading or stepping out to start something yourself.

Students lead. Adults support. Everyone moves forward together.

"Students lead. Adults support. Everyone moves forward together."

You’re not on your own

Starting something can feel intimidating. But you don’t have to figure it out alone. The Playbook connects you to tools, coaching, and a bigger movement of people doing the same thing. Take one step, and you’ll find support along the way.