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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

How Do I Start a Cru Movement at My School?

If you’ve got a vision to reach your school for Christ, you’re asking exactly the right question. Whoever you are, a student, teacher, youth pastor, college student, or concerned adult, here’s how to get started. There are two ways to go about it.

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 logosNoYes
Need a coach to get startedNoYes
Part of the wider Cru movementNoYes
Get ongoing support from Cru staffNoYes
Can start today, no waitingYesStill 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.

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.

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.

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

Some Great Websites You Don't Want To Miss

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.

Screenshot 2026-07-27 at 4.41.07 PM
Buy the playbook

Download the Playbook PDF for free
Playbook Appendix Content (our toolkit)

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.

Screenshot 2026-07-27 at 4.43.21 PM

Get the Playbook

So don’t wait until it all makes sense. Grab a copy below — get one for yourself, and consider extra copies for your key leaders.

Buy the Playbook

Download the Playbook PDF for free
Playbook Appendix Content (our toolkit)

Next Step
Download the Playbook, then invite a few friends to walk through the first section with you this week.

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