Graduating Seniors Well

Graduating seniors well does not just impact your students now, it also sets your ministry up for the future. We not only want the students to flourish spiritually in their new environment; we also want them to come back to our community and continue to engage with Cru.

Sending Them is Not Saying Goodbye

This topic really came home to me a few weeks ago when our city had the annual golf tournament/fundraiser. As I looked around the room during the post-golf dinner, I realized the biggest part of our financial backing came from former students. These men had been involved with us in high school and came back to help us invest in the next generations. They are a big reason why we are able to continue ministry the way we have for decades. Even though many of these guys had periods of time where they strayed from their faith, God used the investments made in them through Cru to bring them back around.

We also have many men and women who volunteer with our ministry today who started out as students. Now they are teachers, coaches, and business people actively involved in our ministry as volunteers who are connecting personally with students. You also never know who God is calling to join staff with your team. The presence of a former student has a motivating effect on the lives of the youth in our ministry.

Graduating seniors well does not just impact your students now, it also sets your ministry up for the future.

Four Stages of Sending Them Well

Sending seniors well does not start in the last semester of their senior year. It is something you prepare them for throughout high school. These are some ideas to get you started on preparing students to graduate well.

Freshman/Sophomores

Share with students how to be self-feeders when it comes to their faith.
- Help them set regular times and days of reading the Bible and praying separately from the church or other Christian meetings.
  - One helpful method might be teaching them the “Observe, Interpret, Apply” method for studying scripture.
Help your student find a local church and prioritize attending and getting involved.
Plant seeds that God wants to use everyone and has a purpose for their life, even if they are not an upfront leader.
- Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
- Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Juniors

Help students choose a school or vocation for their next step and encourage them to meet with their school counselor to plan for graduation.
Check for Christian student movements in different schools or different cities and reach out to Cru staff in these cities.
Discuss student’s financial needs.
- James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously without criticism, and it will be given to him.”
Take students to Winter Conference to see what the college ministry does.

Seniors

Help a student find a church near their college campus or job.
Prep the student for what life on their own will be like.
If possible, go to their future campus with them and help connect them with a Christian ministry on that campus. Visit the weekly meeting, have a meal with the staff, etc.
Help them make decisions ahead of time, and talk them through challenges and temptations they will face after high school.
Talk about the importance of having Christian friends to keep you on track.
Have a farewell dinner to honor and celebrate the seniors.
Plan to stay in contact via social media, texting, and calling every once in a while to check in.
Create a Vision Plan for your closest students. Meet one on one with students to highlight the student’s strengths and some areas that could trip them up. Use this time to encourage them and cast vision.

Your students need caring adults to stay in their lives to help give them direction and to anchor them during the turbulent years after high school.

Postgraduate

Keep a list of students with whom you want to stay connected. Stay connected with them often through texting, social media, or notes. Put together a plan or schedule if that is helpful for you.
Add them to your prayer letter list or a city mailing list to help them feel connected with what is going on in the ministry and help them begin to see things from a volunteer/staff or donor perspective.
Ask former students to volunteer with conferences, retreats, and mission trips.
Host a Thanksgiving or Christmas get-together to keep former students connected with each other and hear about what is going on in their lives.
Challenge them to come back in the summer to help with the ministry.
After they get into the workforce, challenge them to become financial partners and volunteers.

The 8-Year Plan

Your students need caring adults to stay in their lives to help give them direction and to anchor them during the turbulent years after high school. Sending students well can include an 8-year commitment to help your student on their journey from a freshman in high school all the way through their college years.

The people who have been through our program are the best people to recruit to join us on staff or as partners in our ministry. Staying connected with them is not only a blessing to them, but it also keeps the door open to join us in more significant ways in the future.

A Long-Term Investment

Sending students well, whether they are going to college, entering the military, or training for a vocation, means keeping in mind that this is a long-term relationship. Investing in a student’s journey is a calling, and it is an honor to be used by God in a student’s life!

Next Step

Start using the Alumni Tracking Spreadsheet today! Make your own copy of it and enter your current students by grad year. Enter any former students too. Then text all your former students to see how they are doing.

Alumni Tracking Spreadsheet

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.

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.

“You don’t have to be perfect to start reaching your school.”

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.

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

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.

Ask a Coach – Tips from an Expert

Starting a ministry on your campus is an exciting step, but it can also raise a lot of questions. What should you do first? How do you find students who are interested? What if your group is small or things do not go the way you expected?

This is where a coach can help. A campus ministry coach is someone who has experience helping students and leaders start and grow ministries on high school campuses. They listen to what you are facing, help you think through wise next steps, and connect you with helpful tools and resources along the way.

Throughout the Reach Your School Playbook, you will see short insights from coaches who have spent years helping students reach their campuses. This page gathers more of those tips in one place so you can learn from their experience and keep moving forward.

Below are practical coaching tips from leaders who have walked this road before. As you read, look for what applies to your situation right now and take your next step. You can get your own coach by emailing us at coachingcenter@cru.org. We’d love to help.

Starting a ministry on your campus can feel overwhelming, but you do not have to figure it out alone.

Coaching Tips

Ask a few non-Christian friends how they would respond to your ideas, then process those same questions with Christian friends to sharpen your thinking.

Evangelism is the engine of your ministry, and helping students influence others is how you build future leaders.

You don’t have to figure this out alone, there are people with experience who would love to help you gather students and get the word out.

You have rights on campus, learn them, then live them out with confidence.

Many people are looking for something bigger than themselves, so give them a vision worth joining.

You may be walking past someone God is preparing, start a conversation and see what He does.

Pray Scripture, if God says it, you can pray it, and keep prayers short so more people can participate.

Invite a coach to join your team early, it will help you move faster and avoid common mistakes.

Use the tools available to you, there are helpful resources for sponsors, leaders, and teams if you ask.

When meeting with school leaders, bring others with you so it’s clear you’re building something together.

Be curious, kind, helpful, and bold, those four traits open doors.

Work with your school, not against it, staff can often help you more than you expect.

Teams help you reach more people, save time, and build momentum.

If your school allows non-curricular clubs, they must allow a Christian club too.

Use tools and visuals that help people remember and apply what they learn.

Create environments people actually want to be part of, whether on campus or off.

Use social media, simple graphics, and personal invites, everyone plays a role in getting the word out.

Have a clear process for identifying and developing student leaders.

Work within school expectations for roles, but organize your team in a way that actually helps you function.

Start outreach where you already have relationships, teams, clubs, and shared interests.

Use response cards or forms to follow up, gather feedback, and invite people into next steps.

If God is nudging you to take a step, go for it, but bring others with you.

Parents can be powerful allies, don’t be afraid to involve them.

Always have a next step ready so you can invite people while they’re still engaged.

Next Step

Do you have any questions for our coaches? If so, ask your question here, or request a coach for your ministry by emailing us at coachingcenter@cru.org!