30 Creative Ideas For Campus Access
This week is a followup to our discussion last week about the importance of having a presence on the middle school and high school campus.
With See You At The pole just a few days away, this topic is a critical discussion when it comes to Next GEN ministry. There will be about 4 million students in America praying at their school flagpole this week. But what do we do with the rest of the school year?
This event is truly one of the most important events to me over the years in my ministry. I have never missed a SYATP in the history of the movement. Thirty-three years now.
SYATP was started with the vision of a middle school girl in Dallas, TX. And it spread to youth groups throughout the DFW area. Within a year there was the first SYATP rally with 18,000 at Reunion Arena.
Context In YTH Ministry
Remember, ministry is best done in the context of our students. Right where they are at.
Think about it - we expect missionaries all over the world to be or sent to the fields of their passion and calling. We would never raise funds for a missionary and expect them to stay here in the States. We prepare them to go. To be in the presence of the people they are wanting to reach.
Too often I have heard youth leaders say that their local school is closed to the gospel and the youth ministry is not allowed on campus. Too many excuses if you ask me. I have yet to see a closed campus in my 39 years of youth ministry. And I’ll give you multiple ways to prove this.
But, what I have heard are youth leaders begging students to come to their church, while at the same time the students in the youth ministry are asking their leaders to meet them at the public school.
30 Creative Ideas
So, I offer 30+ ways to reach the campus as a youth ministry and walk into public school life.
•The best way a youth ministry gets on campus is with campus missionaries (students). And training our students to share their faith in the context of their world.
•Make yourself available to the school for crisis counseling
•Run for school board or other educational positions in government and local elections
•Look to get involved in the myriad of extra-curricular activities at school
•Find the Christian para-church organizations that are recognized clubs on campus and have a presence or leadership in those ventures
•Send birthday cards to your students friends and faculty with youth ministry name on it
•Use seasonal and holiday themes to attend concerts and plays
•Have students wear youth ministry themed clothing and merch to familiarize the school with your youth ministry at events or daily at school
•Attending the funerals of youth, school staff, or faculty can build relationships in the school at important you to many students and staff
•Use your skill-sets in many different areas:
Coaching athletics
Choir
Band
Theatre
Officiating
Teaching
•Use school facilities for a Christian concert or seminar
•Have your students promote youth group activities or events by using their locker as a billboard
•Encourage youth ministry students to invite the youth pastor to classroom as a guest speaker for a religious or non-religious subject
•Organize a Super Bowl party and use the school facilities to host it
•Promote your youth group website on clothing, gear, locker, or book stickers/covers
Attend the Young Life, Youth Alive, or other campus student led organizations
•Organize a 7 Project or Youth Speaker assembly at your school
•Organize a clean up crew for after football games to sweep the grounds
•Ask to sing the National Anthem (or youth choir) sing the National Anthem at a game
•Attend or promote the weekly bible study at your school
•Offer a place for a class at school to build the Home-Coming float
•Purchase school t-shirts for a pep rally before an important game (place the youth ministry logo on the shirt)
•Chaplaincy and Prayer before or after a game
•Attend See You At The Pole every September and even monthly
Finally
It is simple practices like these that place us in the context of a teenagers life. Remember, the last great tribal stop of a teenager is their middle and high school. We could miss the opportunity to affect their spiritual formation if we are not present in the last tribal moment of their life.