{"id":5329,"date":"2023-03-24T10:39:07","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T17:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/?p=5329"},"modified":"2024-05-03T22:13:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T05:13:58","slug":"how-to-gather-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/high-school\/go-to-the-campus\/how-to-gather-students\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Gather Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Have you ever been in a club that was trying to recruit new members? You may have had a party and invited other students to come check out your club, or you may have had a sign-up table at a student event. Gathering students to your ministry is like this. You want to meet students, let them know about your ministry, and get them involved. This can be really fun. You can be as creative as you want to be. Gathering lets you find a group of students who want to grow in Christ and reach others with His love and forgiveness. As long as you keep gathering new students into your ministry, it will continue to grow and reach more and more students for Christ.<\/p>

There are four basic action steps that will be your guide as you seek to gather students: pray, meet students, share Christ, and then evaluate.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Pray<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Your best preparation for gathering students is seeking God. Get some friends together and pray for direction for your gathering plans. Ask God to show you the best way to do it. Pray for students to come to Christ, specifically pray for students you know. Ask God to introduce you to students you would not normally have contact with and ones whom He has already made hungry for truth.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Meet Students<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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You cannot gather students without meeting them. There is no right way to gather students, but here are some principles that you should keep in mind as you attempt to meet students:<\/p>

The Key Is Relationships<\/strong>
The key to gathering students is relationships. Go out of your way to meet people and get to know them. People are starved for others who care about them. The more people you meet, the more of a chance they will be involved in your campus ministry.<\/p>

Go to the Campus<\/strong>
When it comes to meeting students, we often use the phrase, “When in doubt, go to the campus.” This means get to campus events as often as you can. Go to sporting events and band concerts. Look for opportunities to hang out after school and meet students you do not know. If you cannot get on campus, find out where kids hang out after school and go there. Being there is half the battle in meeting new students.<\/p>

Meet People through Other Students<\/strong>
Your best connections might just be friends of your existing students. Ask your students whom they know who might be interested in getting involved with Cru or growing spiritually. Invite and connect with those students.<\/p>

Follow-up Comment Cards<\/strong>
Whether you have comment cards from an outreach you did or a club table you set up, follow up those names soon after you get them. If a student expresses an interest on a card, do not let that card sit for two weeks before you connect with them. Text them or reach out by social media within 24 hours and see how they want to be involved. If they are interested, meet up and tell them more about how they can be involved in your ministry. <\/p>

Try Different Things<\/strong>
There are several ways you can create opportunities to talk to students. Host a table at a school fair for student clubs. Make it fun with candy or a game. Have students write down their contact information on a sheet so you can contact them later [Link to “How to Set Up a Personal Appointment”]. If you have an Instagram or Twitter account for the ministry, make sure the students know how to follow you so they can check out the ministry on their own.<\/p>

Ask Good Questions<\/strong>
Being strategic about your specific campus can be helpful. Every campus is different so think through these questions about your campus:<\/p>