THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU

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Adult Informational Meeting

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You’ve read the article on “Involving Adults in Ministry” and know the importance of gathering a team to help you reach your campus. How do you start this gathering process? It begins with an Adult (Family Night) Informational Meeting.

Here’s what you do:

  1. Have this meeting in a place where people will feel comfortable. Once you start, welcome everyone and introduce yourself. Let them know briefly how you came to faith in Christ and why you want to reach out to students at your school.
  2. Talk about what it is like at the school, and communicate why this ministry is needed. Explain that it is more than a Bible club; your goal is to give everyone on campus a chance to receive Jesus. Share your vision with the people. An example of a vision statement is: “Our vision is to help fulfill the Great Commission among young people, giving every student the opportunity to respond to the salvation message of Jesus Christ, to be discipled in their Christian faith, and to be trained to reach others with the Gospel.”
  3. Then go into more details of how you will do this – your strategy:
    • Evangelism – To win young people to Christ
    • Discipleship – To build them up in their faith through studying the Bible
    • Challenge – To train and equip them to effectively communicate their faith in Christ with their peers
  4. Have a Christian student take a few minutes to share how God has used him/her to influence others at school.
  5. Then talk about a process that will get other students involved:
    1. Start meeting regularly to pray for the ministry.
    2. Meet with and challenge as many Christian students as possible to commit to being involved in a discipleship group.
    3. Begin to disciple the students who respond to that challenge and train them how to share their faith in Christ with others.
    4. Organize creative evangelistic outreaches and follow up students who come to Christ.
    5. When enough students are involved, begin having regular weekly meetings.
    6. Bring students to conferences and retreats that can help them grow in their relationship with Christ.

    This may seem overwhelming to people who have busy lives (including yourself ), so you need to give them some choices. Let them know some of these specific ways to get involved. Remind them that every act of service, no matter how small, is significant.

Involvement Options

  • They can help lead discipleship groups. They can provide transportation for students who can’t drive. They can open up their home for Bible studies or outreaches.
  • They can make flyers, bring refreshments, buy pizza, form a prayer chain.
  • They can form an Advisory Committee (like a board but with important legal differences), providing support and oversight for the local ministry.
  • They can give money to support your ministry.
  • They can give you names of students and other adults at your target school who may want to be involved.
  • And other ways you haven’t even thought of yet!

GET A COMMITMENT!!!

You don’t want your time and effort to have been wasted. Pass out a response card and have them fi ll it out. Let them know that you will get back with those who respond. Then don’t neglect to get back with them! It’s very de-motivating when someone signs up to help and never gets called back.

Close in prayer and break out the refreshments!

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What they’re saying about Cru

WHAT IS A PERSONAL TESTIMONY?

A personal testimony is a prepared version of your coming to faith in Christ. It is designed to communicate – in a specific period of time (usually about 3 minutes) – what attracted a person to Christ, how that individual received Him, and the difference He has made in his/her life. A well-done personal testimony can be a powerful and effective tool in communicating the life changing reality of Jesus Christ. The dictionary defines testimony as “the statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court.” Another definition says “evidence in support of a fact or statement of proof.” When you give your testi- mony, you are giving witness of the difference Christ has made in your life.

Tips for Preparing Your Testimony

DON’T start with something like, “So…this is my testimony…” or end with something like, “And, that’s my testimony…”
DO have a clear, well prepared beginning and end.
DO have a theme that ties your story together. For example, “My life is a lot like the movie Braveheart…” or “I’ve always thought that a football game is a great illustration of some of the things that have happened in my life…”
DON’T use words that aren’t clear to non-Christians (Christianese). DO clarify terms like “saved,” “sin,” “Christian home,” etc.
DON’T name specific denominations or religions (especially in a negative way). This could offend someone who is of that denomination and prevent them from listening to your story.
DON’T ramble on forever.
DO keep it to around 3 minutes!
DON’T use vague terms like “peaceful,” “joyful,” or “happy.”
DO give details and include specific stories to clarify those adjectives.
DON’T give the false impression that Jesus makes all of life’s problems go away.
DO include a verse or short portion of Scripture that relates to your theme. DON’T use more than two Scripture passages. Keep it focused on how Christ changed your life.
DO be realistic – life is still hard, but a relationship with God is the key to living it.
DO communicate as clearly and truthfully as possible how you became a Christian. By the conclusion of your testimony, listeners should understand how they could also receive Christ. Make it very clear how a person receives Christ; share the words you used when you accepted Him.

Preparing Your Personal Testimony

  1. Memorize and practice your testimony orally. After editing and rewriting your testimony, you should memorize it. Memorization frees you to be natural and communicate clearly, rather than focusing on your next word. Practice giving your testimony to a small group or friend.
  2. Present your testimony to an audience.
  3. Evaluate your testimony with your Cru High School leader.

The testimony worksheet can be uses as a guide to help you think through and write down your Testimony story. Keep the following things in mind: Don’t be concerned if your testimony is not filled with bank robberies, murders, or drug selling. You are seeking to relate to your audience. Hopefully not many of their lives are filled with those things either. Choose a theme you think people will relate to, but it does not need to be sensational and dramatic.

If you became a Christian at an early age, share how Christ has led you over a period of years, or how you came to the point of surrendering your life totally to Christ.

Student Testimony Worksheet