Meeting Students

Meeting students is taking the initiative to become acquainted with students, getting to know them and the world in which they live.

Why Is This Important?

Our goal is to develop movements where year after year the students on campus will have a chance to say "yes" to Christ. Our effectiveness in meeting students directly determines our effectiveness in building ministries of evangelism and multiplication. It stands to reason then that no matter how well-developed our ministry seems to become, we always want to be meeting new students. This is basic to maintaining multiplication movements.

Scriptural Basis

A distinctive of Campus Crusade is to take the initiative to reach out to people, not waiting for them to come to us. As we study the Scriptures, we see that God continuously initiated with man. That is the spirit of God's relationship with man. It is the only spirit that will allow us to be successful as well. One clear example is found in Matthew 4:18-22, which gives the account of Jesus calling His disciples.

Tools That Will Help

• A recent high school yearbook
• School newspaper
• Student directory
• City map
• Student Venture's Student Questionnaires
• The Leader's Help on "Relating to Students"

THE PROCESS

Here are the steps we will discuss:

1. Know your purpose

2. Be yourself

3. Prepare to meet students

4. Plan and begin your strategy

5. Rely on students you know to help you meet others

6. Make prayer a priority

7. Meet students who attend Student Venture events

8. Be creative!

1. KNOW YOUR PURPOSE.

First, let's remind ourselves of our purpose. God has called you to introduce young men and women to Him, to help develop a movement that will give every student on your campuses an opportunity to say "yes" to Christ, and to become a spiritual reproducer. It will be very critical for you to maintain that purpose clearly in your mind.

Your goal is to be proactive in bringing students to Christ and discipling them. At the same time, the cultural laws of the student world dictate that you must meet the students and understand something about them and the social and cultural dynamics of their world. The process of meeting students and bringing them to Christ includes aggressively building acquaintances in order to eliminate suspicions that are prevalent among most young people, and to help establish common ground as you share the gospel.

2. BE YOURSELF.

Keep two terms in mind as you set out to meet students. The first term is "insider." It simply means: getting inside their culture and their world; adjusting your conversations to their interests, not your own; fitting in with them, not asking them to fit in with you.

The second term is "being casual but definite." To be casual means that it is important to be relaxed and to be yourself as you work among students. Enjoy yourself and enjoy them. To be definite means that your objective, as you relate, is to help that student spiritually. You do not just relate, but turn your conversations to his spiritual need. When you are definite, you will find yourself taking the initiative to lead students to Christ, walking through the doors that the Holy Spirit puts in front of you.

3. PREPARE TO MEET STUDENTS.

The early phase of gathering emphasizes the importance of leading many new students to Christ and identifying and involving key Christian students.

The initial students you will be gathering are:

1. Those with a responsiveness to the claims of Christ. You can discern who they are through conversation and interaction, group presentations, and sharing the gospel.

2. Identify and contact students who have influence with other students.

3. Contact Christian students who have the desire and ability to help reach others on campus.

To identify these key students and begin to gather them, we must familiarize ourselves with who is who in the school and what opportunities are available for meeting them. It is best to sow broadly and begin with a large pool of acquaintances. From these students will later come select groups of disciples.

The following are simple steps in identifying and acquainting yourself with students.

• Acquire a city or community map and highlight the schools and area of your "mission field" as it relates to the entire city. Acquaint yourself with streets, where students live, etc.

• Obtain a recent copy of the school yearbook and if possible, the school newspaper.

• Acquaint yourself with the names of student's, teacher's and administrators.

• Ask Christian students, teachers, youth pastors or parents to identify for you key students, and give you insights concerning them.

• Identify the various "group affiliations" of the students.

• Pray daily for them, even if you may not know them.

• Learn the cultural norms for the school.

• Obtain an activities calendar, sports schedule, or school newspaper to learn what school functions are scheduled.

• Ask God to provide you with opportunities to meet students, and expect Him to lead you to students He has prepared.

The key to effectively reaching students is to be aware of the group orientation of high school students. When you meet a student, it's important not only to get to know him but to find out what social, athletic, academic, or other type of groups he's involved in. Movement develops more naturally when we reach and mobilize natural groups of students.

4. PLAN AND BEGIN YOUR STRATEGY.

Once you determine what the student activities are, plan to attend as many as possible. If you are exposed to a variety of activities you will meet a variety of students. Ask those who helped you identify students (in step three) to introduce you to students.

Using what you found from your research above, develop a list of natural groups which you want to reach and the specific students in those groups whom you would like to meet. Then think through how you could meet them. Ask your VITAL LINC® coach to give you some good ideas. For example, if you wanted to meet the president of a specific club, obtain that student's phone number from the student directory and call to see if he would take the Student Leadership Questionnaire with you.

If you wanted to meet someone on a specific athletic team, plan to attend as many of those games as possible. Have a student you know introduce you to the coach and players. If that's not possible, introduce yourself to the coach and players. Encourage them in their performances. This will open a door to talk further with them later, take an athletic questionnaire, or schedule a team meeting with the entire team. God will show you the best approach as you ask for His direction.

In addition to being with students in structured settings (eg. meetings and appointments), develop a habit of attending school events and visiting other places where students hang out. When possible take advantage of spontaneous opportunities to meet groups of students.

High school students often gather at shopping malls, especially since many of them have jobs in the mall. It's often easy to start a conversation with a sales clerk, or students who are "hanging around." It is also simple to share Christ in most shopping locations.

Here are ideas of typical places to meet students:

• Campus activities

• Athletic events

• On the street

• Amusement parks

• Shopping malls

• Eating establishments

Make a list of specific places in your area to meet students. Go with a student and plan to meet new students when you go. As you plan, always include several activities to meet new students: Attend activities, set-up and conduct a team meeting, or a classroom talk, plan an evangelistic social, or spend time at student "hang-outs."

5. RELY ON STUDENTS YOU KNOW TO HELP YOU MEET OTHERS.

Students you know can be most effective in helping you meet new students. Like all of us, students are extremely group-oriented and love to be included. Once you have met a couple of students, you will have the chance to meet a number of their friends.

Ask students you know to host a get-together where they can bring their friends, such as a pizza party, ice cream party, Bible study, etc. If you have a student host the get-together at his home, his friends are more likely to come because of the familiarity of the home and student host.

At school events ask students you know to introduce you to their friends. Additionally, have students help you set up team meetings with the team, club or group in which they are involved.

Spend time with students you already know. They are key to meeting other students.

6. MAKE PRAYER A PRIORITY.

Any time you plan to attend a school event, make prayer part of your preparation. Ask God to direct you to students that He wants you to meet, continually pray that God will enable you to meet new students.

Begin a prayer list of students, teachers and others for whom you will pray. Enlist personal friends, supporters, and others to pray as well.

7. MEET STUDENTS WHO ATTEND STUDENT VENTURE EVENTS.

In the course of your school year, you will sponsor various Student Venture meetings and outreaches. Your conscientious follow-up of these events will put you in touch with new students, as well as give you an opportunity to share Christ or give a spiritual challenge if they are already Christians.

When following up events such as this, try to meet with small groups of students or pairs who know each other, rather than one-on-one. If you follow up in groups where friendships are established, students will tend to get involved more readily.

8. BE CREATIVE!

Ask yourself, "If Jesus were in my position, of which natural opportunities would He take advantage?"

Team meetings, classroom talks, evangelistic socials, pick-up ball games, volunteering to coach, assisting in a class, helping with a music group -- all are ideas of ways to be involved with students and meet more people related to the school. Students, teachers, and other staff can expand your list of ideas to meet more and more students.

Much of your ministry depends upon your willingness to be available and friendly, always meeting new students.

APPLICATION

On a separate sheet of paper design your "Plan for Meeting Students" by answering the following questions.

A PLAN FOR MEETING STUDENTS

1. Which students, teachers, parents or pastors do I already know who can help me meet others?

2. What can I do with students I know in order to meet their friends?

3. What are some activities, groups, athletic events, etc. that I plan to attend in order to meet students? (Prioritize these activities.)

4. In what creative ways can I meet new students during the next four weeks?

Week 1 _____________________________________________

Week 2 _____________________________________________

Week 3 _____________________________________________

Week 4 _____________________________________________

5. Which students have I met for whom I am praying for an opportunity to share Christ? (Keep a card file system or notebook with names, phone numbers and how you met them. This system will be an excellent guide for your prayer times.)

SOLUTIONS TO POSSIBLE PROBLEMS:

Q: What if all the students I know are Christians and don't seem to have many non-Christian friends?

A: First, you can help them become more concerned about the non-Christian students on their campus, and give them more of a desire to reach out to them. Meeting new students and starting friendships with non-Christians would be goals for your discipleship of them. Jesus modeled an aggressive lifestyle of initiating with people. (Mark 2:13-17).

Second, meet more students on your own and open new circles of students.

Q: What if I know students in only certain segments of the campus? I want to reach some new groups of students, but they seem so difficult to reach.

A: This is another area where prayer plays an important role. First, pray for opportunities to meet students that are influential leaders in different groups. As you are going about your daily life, whether on campus or in the community, be available to go where the students are; God will lead you and open doors.

Second, think creatively about what approach to take in penetrating new groups. Make a plan and take action. If it does not work at first, try something new.

Q: What if the school is closed and won't allow outsiders on campus?

A: Don't panic. Many campuses are closed, yet ministries flourish. Students reaching students is the key to see a movement happen. Give them vision and training for reaching their own campus. Again, prayer is the first step. Ask the Lord to open other doors for meeting students. Try the following ideas:

• Inquire from other Christian adults as to who the Christian teachers are in the school. Meet them, share your vision, ask them to introduce you to Christian students and possibly schedule team meetings, classroom talks, etc.

• Teach the Christian students you know how to set up appointments or host get-togethers at their homes with friends.

• Train Christian students to share their faith on campus.