By Diana Davis & Rose Bear
Our future Christian leaders need your church’s encouragement and care! Need fresh ideas for uplifting college students? Here are some ways to strengthen relationships with our future leaders at the beginning of summer and as the new school year begins:
Adopt a Student. Is your church in a college town? Encourage church families to “adopt” a student at the beginning of each school year to help them learn the town. Families can invite them for meals or holidays, encourage their Christian walk or even let them do laundry at their home.
Welcome day. Plan a fabulous fellowship event in early fall for college students. Serve comfort food and register students for your church’s Adopt-a-Student program. Provide a quality college Sunday School class.
They’re adults. Include them in church golf tournaments, ladies’ retreats or mission projects. Let students use their unique gifts by involving them on church committees, music or drama groups, special projects and technical teams. Get them involved in activities that will excite and grow them spiritually.
Learn their names. There are few things more endearing than hearing someone say your name respectfully when addressing you. If you know and use the names of your college students, you’re showing them an immense amount of respect and they in turn will respect your ability to appreciate and honor them. Names are powerful ministry tools.
International students. God has brought the world to us! Plug into the Baptist Campus Ministries conversational English group, the university’s international friendship family program or another activity to impact international students’ lives for Christ. My friend invites international students to her home for fun holiday celebrations, sharing Jesus with them as they bake Christmas cookies or hunt Easter eggs.
Head start. Before your freshmen leave for college, give their contact info to the Baptist Collegiate Minister (www.student.org) at the school they’ll be attending. Many BCM’s will write, pray, contact personally or post welcome signs on their dorm doors. Connecting with the BCM will help your students find Christian friends and encourage their involvement in a local church.
Mail matters. Mail from a student’s Christian friends or home church is a great reminder of God’s love. Send a church bulletin, local news clipping, sermon CD or prayer note. Email a weekly Scripture or devotion. During finals week, mail a care package of popcorn, tea bags, coffee and colored pens. One church group sent $5 gift cards from fast food restaurants. Mail a series of countdown postcards about church events during holidays. You can even place an address label directly on a Crackerjacks™ box! Mail homemade cookies in a Pringles™ can with a slice of bread to keep them fresh. And remember to pray for them while you pack.
Meet for coffee. If business takes you near campus, meet a student for a soft drink or coffee. They’ll welcome a visit from their pastor, youth leader or friend…especially if you buy them lunch!
Student Night at Christmas. It’s an age-old tradition worth repeating. One Sunday evening after Christmas, have college students from your church share testimonies of what God’s doing in their lives. Most important, keep college students on your church’s prayer list. Encourage our next generation of Christian leaders. Begin this week!
Diana Davis is wife of Indiana Baptists’ Executive Director, Stephen Davis, and author of Fresh Ideas (B&H Publishing, June 2007). Rose Bear has served more than 20 years with her husband, Roger, in the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Indiana State University.
The falling leaves may be drifting by the window, but don’t let the season drift by without taking advantage of the many opportunities to involve your kids in ministry and outreach. Here are a few ideas:
Pumpkin carving party. Coordinate with other parents in your church to provide supplies, then invite families in your neighborhood to a pumpkin carving party at your house. Have a cookout, a carving contest and maybe a marshmallow roast after. Pass out party favors for kids and parents and include some church information, a nice handwritten note of thanks and a candle for their jack-o-lantern.
Leaf rake party. Adopt a family—for example, a single mother, elderly couple, couple with a new born— in your neighborhood who needs some yard work done and arrange a work day. Involve the kids. Break out the rakes and blowers and give the kids their own responsibilities explaining why you’re doing this work. “We want to share the love of Christ with this family.” Show them by example how to share the gospel.
Leaves of Thanksgiving. This fall instead of bagging all the leaves covering the yard, save the pretty ones and start a family project. Have each family member take three leaves and write something they’re thankful for on each. Collect them in a basket. In the days leading up to and during Thanksgiving and Christmas, have a family member read a leaf and lead in prayer. You might keep this basket year-round as a reminder of God’s goodness and a conversation piece for guests.
By Mark Littleton
Here are a few simple reminders and a couple of new ideas that’ll give you more chances to share your faith.
Plant a seed, let it grow. A seed is a simple thought, a short statement, a dropped hint. It might be a line that can lead to more discussion.
Look for obvious openings in a conversation or situation. Sometimes people open a door that a semi truck could barrel through, but we Christians don’t catch it.
Keep a tract handy. A preacher once told me, if you don’t have a tract with you, you’re not fully dressed. While I haven’t always been prepared since then, I find that tracts can be handy. There are many ways to use them, but often the direct way is best. Would you be willing to take a look at a little pamphlet about something that changed my life? Or, here’s something that has really helped me. Would you like one?
Find their interests. People like to talk about what’s meaningful and interesting to them. Learning about other’s interests shows you’re interested in him or her as a person.
Be a joiner. Many people get involved in groups from the garden club to the local artists group to book discussions at the library. If you have an interest, join a secular group. Meet the people in it, make some friends and use these discussion opportunities to strike up conversations about the gospel.
Give gifts that edify. If you’re aware that a fellow worker, friend in the neighborhood or other acquaintance has gone through some trouble, why not buy a book that’ll lift them up and show them you care.
Use special occasions. When someone retires, gets a promotion, has a baby, suffers a loss or has another important life experience, it’s a good time to give that person a special word or a gift.
Mark Littleton is a writer, speaker and author living in Gladstone, Missouri.