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You might be a student, teacher, youth pastor, college student, or a concerned adult with a vision to reach your local school. But you might be thinking, “Where do I start?”

This article is about the big picture of how God grows a spiritual movement on a local high school or middle school campus. From the big picture, you can see the smaller steps and better understand where you can start on your campus.

Cru is Here to Help!

Our role is to pray for you, hear your vision, and coach you. Here are some ways we can help and some strategies we provide to help you make an impact on your campus.

Call the Coaching Center

Give us a call and we will assign you to a ministry coach. We want to assist you as you seek to reach your school for Christ. Having a ministry coach will help you win students to Christ, build them up in their faith, and then send them back to their campus equipped with the knowledge and training to reach others for Christ.

Learn More about the Coaching Center

Build a Team

Do not go alone. One of the primary things you need is to establish a team around you. Jesus sent His disciples out two by two. Remember, do not go alone.

Have a volunteer information meeting

Observe the Campus

After you establish your team, go to the campus and observe. Look for natural groups that are on the campus. Do you see football players, the drama club, a specific group of guys or girls?

Learn to See your Campus
Get to Know Your Campus

Meet with Students

Now that you have observed the campus, start interacting with students. You can do this casually on the campus or see if they are willing to meet with you so you can begin having spiritual conversations and ultimately explain the gospel to them.

You want to spend quality time with students. Hang out with them and get to know them. After a while, it will feel natural to explain the gospel.

It’s great to reach students one-on-one, but your coach will help you reach students in their natural group settings too.

Best Practices for Relating to Minors

Having a ministry coach will help you win students to Christ, build them up in their faith, and then send them back to their campus equipped with the knowledge and training to reach others for Christ.

Try Some Team Talks

To reach some natural groups of students, you need to approach teachers and coaches. They can help you find opportunities for you to present motivational talks to different student groups on campus.

After you get the okay to give a motivational talk, invite students who are interested in learning more about their spiritual journey to come back again.

At the next gathering, maybe the next day over pizza, you can share with students how they can have a personal relationship with Jesus. Then encourage them to come together as a small group.

Sample Team Talks

Lead a Small Group

As interest is generated among students, you will want to gather them together in small groups to study the Bible.

How to Lead a Small Group

Start Cru Meetings

After you have several small groups going or about 25 students involved in your ministry, you can launch a larger Cru meeting. At this meeting, students will have some fun together, hear from each other about what God is doing in their lives, and listen to a short message from God’s Word.

Refreshments always make for a great meeting!

Attend Cru Conferences

The High School Ministry of Cru hosts two conferences a year- one in January or February and another in June.

At these conferences, students hear from speakers and other youth who share their faith on campus. Students learn how to share their faith. As students mature, you can use conferences to encourage them to see how God can use them to reach their friends in their natural groups at school.

Learn more about our Conferences

Go Global

Lastly, you will send students to reach the world. Cru offers short term international missions for students to go and share the love of Jesus all around the globe.

Learn More about International Missions

Hopefully, this big picture has given you a bigger vision of how God could use you.

Has God laid it on your heart to reach out to your local school?

For what are you waiting? Go and reach the lost on your local campus for Christ!

Next Step

Is this your desire for your campus? Click on the Coaching Center link and get started. We have a coach ready to help!

Coaching Center
Next Step
Who are some students you work with that might make good leaders? Make a list of 5 students and begin praying that God would show you opportunities to help them step into leadership.

RECENT POSTS

Sydney’s Story

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.

1
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:

2
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:

3
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:

Holy Spirit Study in Thrive Studies

4
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:

5
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

6
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.

Next Step

Learn more and access free resources at iampriceless.me.

iampriceless.me

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