How Can Pastors and Church Planters Engage the Campus?

Recently I shared about why pastors and church planters should invest time into college ministry. But how and where do you start? I’d like to offer a few ideas that I’ve seen work well in the past.

1) Partner with a Good College Ministry

There is a decent chance that there are already fantastic ministries working with students at the college near you. Check the school’s student activities website to find a list of registered student organizations.

Be thoughtful about how you reach out to the ministry’s staff or student leaders. When I was on staff with Cru, I often received emails from people who had a very specific agenda. These agendas were usually quite good. Maybe they were recruiting for a missions opportunity or promoting an event their church was putting on. I did my best to accommodate them as I could. But every once in a while, I would get an email that said, “I’d love to buy you a cup of coffee, learn about your ministry, and hear if there are ways I can be helpful to you.” I was sure to respond to those emails right away.

2) Just Show Up

I am convinced that, when engaging with college students, there is no substitute to just showing up. Most campuses, even private colleges, are generally open to the public.

Try this: Once a week, take a morning or an afternoon and spend it at your local college. Bring your laptop, find the student center, and work on your sermon for Sunday. Believe it or not you won’t look creepy. Campuses are full of people of all ages.

Be intentional. When you buy a cup of coffee ask the barista to tell you about her experience as a student. If someone sits near you, introduce yourself. You may be surprised what doors God opens.

Stick to it. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results after a couple of visits. Keep showing up at the same time and place for a couple of months and see what God does.

3) Approach the Administration

People sometimes assume that secular college administrations are irreconcilably hostile to Christianity. Admittedly, there have been some highly publicized instances that have reinforced this belief.

My personal experience has been that most people in most college administrations are quite reasonable and recognize the need to provide spiritual opportunities for their students.

Try this: Figure out where the office of student affairs is and show up to the front desk and say something like, “I am a local pastor. Sometimes I have students in my church who attend this college and I’d like to be able to visit them to encourage them. Could you help me know the most appropriate way to do that?” I have personally seen secular colleges respond to this request with a free long-term parking pass, a faculty/staff ID card, a university ID card, and the Wi-Fi password.

Why would they do that? Every college administration is dealing with the same problem right now. Their counseling centers are absolutely overwhelmed by anxious and depressed students. Anyone willing to help care for the emotional well-being of their students is welcome!

I have even had a dean of students at a state university ask me if I would help him design a faith-based process for helping students dealing with crisis and if I would help recruit mentors to walk through such a program with students.

4) Don’t Forget the Faculty

On a college campus, the undergrads come and go, but faculty often stay for entire careers. If you want to have a lasting impact on a campus, it is important to engage with them. When I say faculty, think professors.

Christian faculty at state and private universities often feel isolated and alone. A number of years ago I asked a professor friend of mine if he wanted to help me start a discussion group for Christian faculty. We decided to use a book put out by Faculty Commons, a ministry of Cru, called A Grander Story as the basis for the discussion. The book is basically a collection of essays by Christian faculty  about how they have lived out their faith as professors. The stories are truly inspirational.

The results were incredible. The first time we met, more than a few tears were shed. Some of the professors could not believe there were so many other believers on faculty. Over time we began to hear some incredible stories. One professor was inspired to hold a weekly bible study in her home for ROTC students she taught. Another told us that he had started asking students who came by his office hours if he could pray for them.

5) Bring Church to Them

Are you part of a church plant looking for a place to meet weekly? Have you considered renting a lecture hall at a local university?

Now, let me be clear, I am NOT recommending starting a “college church”. Churches should not be made up of a single age group. What I am proposing is a church that happens to meet, rather than in a middle school or in a community center, on a campus.

There are a lot of potential benefits. There are usually lots of spaces that would make great places for worship. There may even be a chapel! There is often plenty of parking on Sundays. Everyone in a community is usually familiar with where the local college is. And, as a bonus, students who live on, or near campus, may be more likely to attend.

Even if the campus is not an ideal place for you to worship every week, I have seen some churches host special services, such as an Easter Sunday, at a nearby college. This allows churches with smaller sanctuaries to be able to expand during high attendance weeks and engage an additional audience.

These are just a few ideas of how to engage with students locally. Do you have any more? Let us know on social media.