Create a Ministry Plan

You want to start a ministry on a local campus. You’ve done your homework and gotten to know your campus, and now want to put that information to good use and see what God will do through a campus ministry.

Whether you’re a teacher sponsor for a campus club, a student leader with a heart for your school, or a youth pastor desiring to impact a local campus, you’ll need to define your vision, consider your ministry resources, and put a plan in place.

What is your Vision?

When you think about your future ministry, what do you see? What do you imagine that excites you? Do you see students coming to faith in Christ? growing in their faith? sharing their faith with other students? impacting the campus for their good and God’s glory? forming strong relationships with one another and supporting one another in the faith?

If you are just starting, you may want to consider one thing you want to see this first semester. For example, you’d love to see a group of student leaders coming together to pray for their campus weekly or encourage one another as a small group Bible study. Vision is helpful because it gives us the place we want to end up, but it also informs our first steps. And sometimes God gives a broader vision as we move forward.

What Resources do you have?

As you’ve investigated the campus, God has shown you that He has been at work even before you were, calling others to join you and providing resources to make the vision a reality.

What student leaders and adult volunteers are ready to come alongside you to impact the campus? Is the campus open to a club or is a local church ready to host your campus ministry? Lay out God’s provisions and move on to the next step – formulate a plan.

Let's make a Plan

A starting plan needs to have two elements.

Who will you plan with and when will you meet to have regular planning times?
For example, will you meet once a semester with a few student leaders to plan out the semester? Or once a month with a leadership team comprised of students and adults to plan a month at a time? It’s up to you how you do it, but planning and giving students leadership is the first step in leading a ministry.
What will be the centerpiece or main element of your ministry?
Will a student Bible Study be your main emphasis to start or a campus club meeting, will it be a weekly meeting to gather new students? In your plan, you’ll want to put in the basics such as when you’ll meet and where. And you’ll also want to decide what you’ll do when you meet, and who will lead the time together. Remember the vision! What main element will help you reach your vision?

"When you think about your future ministry, what do you see? What do you imagine that excites you?"

After you get these primary elements in motion, you might consider these options as your ministry grows:

Prayer can involve adults such as Moms In Prayer as well as student prayer. Ideally, your ministry will be undergirded in personal and corporate prayer from the beginning, but you can add opportunities for students to grow in prayer. Several options are:
- Concerts of Prayer
- Prayer Triplets
- Prayer experiences
Outreach once a semester or once a month, provide an opportunity for students to hear the gospel and make a decision for Christ. It also shows our students the importance of sharing their faith and gives them the opportunity to lead others to Christ. Check out our articles on putting on a Large Group Outreach for more on this.
Bible Study offered regularly gives students the spiritual food they need to grow in their faith. Cru has developed the Thrive Studies that provide students and volunteers with all they need to teach God’s Word.
Community-builders are important to help students connect relationally and form solid friendships that will help them live out their faith in everyday life. Service projects and socials are great ways to build community.
Conferences/Retreats offer time away from everyday pressures to invest in getting to know God. God often works mightily in students’ lives in camp environments. Even a day-long retreat can be useful if you don’t have the resources for an overnight retreat. Cru has conferences twice a year that might work for your students.

Planning Tools

The difficult thing about planning is taking your big vision, and making it practical with decisions about when to meet, what you’ll do, and who is responsible for what. We’ve created some tools to help you turn your vision into reality.

Ministry Planning Sheet [PDF] [Google Doc]
This is your starting point. It will help you lay out your vision and resources and plan by semester with an evaluation between semesters.

Semester Schedules [PDF] [Google Doc]
We’ve created a form you can use to plan your own semester schedule. This is a great place to write down your plans for the semester and share it with your team. We’ve even filled a few in to help you get started and to give you an idea of what’s possible (one for a weekly meeting schedule, another for a small group schedule with monthly outreach meetings). These forms are just starting points for you. You will need to adjust the dates, change the column names and make whatever changes will best serve you and your ministry. Each tab has a different schedule.

Mapping Your Campus Worksheet [PDF]
This form will help you brainstorm the different groups on campus and consider how to reach out to them. Doing this at the beginning of the year with your leaders will help you know what your next best outreach steps are.

Planning your ministry well won’t solve all of your problems but it will help you get everyone on the same page, help you feel less stressed about the year, and give you great next steps to move your movement forward.

Helpful Principles

As you plan your ministry, consider these ministry principles:

Sow broadly

It can be easy to focus on a few students that you gather at the beginning, but continue to consider other groups you can reach into. The biblical principle of sowing broadly will result in greater visibility, more students involved, and greater campus impact.

Share your faith

As with sowing broadly, sharing your faith will infuse energy and faith into your movement. Students will be challenged to step out in faith and encouraged as they see God use them to have significant conversations with others. Not only will your students grow in faith, but you will see students respond to the gospel and get involved in your movement!

Empower students to lead

We repeatedly hear students say they are thankful to hear from their peers rather than adults. As well, a diversity of student leadership provides for a well-rounded ministry and prevents one or two students from carrying the load. Student ownership results in a more dynamic ministry as students diligently promote and invest in projects they own.

Partner with the community

Involving the community gives visibility to your ministry, provides resources such as prayer, manpower and finances, and helps you network with other believers. Some ideas for community involvement include speakers, meeting refreshments, volunteers, and event partnerships.

Go to the campus

You may start small, but as you grow and have the resources, a diversified ministry offers students a multitude of benefits. Small groups provide for community, accountability and growth. Large group events provide visibility and momentum. Prayer undergirds your whole ministry and teaches students that God is the builder and we are his helpers.

Next Step

Gather student leaders, define your vision, and make a plan to get there using the tools provided in this article.

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.