It’s that time of year to begin thinking about New Student Outreach in the fall. We know—your list of things to do is already a mile long and, as a leader, you’re wondering how you will ever mobilize enough people in your chapter to carry out the ideas you already have.

So take a break and relax in the NSO Cafeteria. What follows are some creative menu choices. Some are major entrees and some are more like appetizers and side dishes. Maybe you’ll like one or two and will want to try out the recipe with your chapter.

The areas that seem to be common to most chapters who are successful are these:

• Helping new students move in to the dorms.
• Setting up information or book tables at the union, near the bookstore and elsewhere around campus.
• Hosting a kick-off picnic, barbeque or dinner.
• Offering free lemonade, ice cream, freeze-pops, sno-cones, pizza or even just water to hot, tired students.
• Holding recreational events (like volleyball or ultimate frisbee) or fun games that fit your campus.
• Engaging the campus with a first large-group meeting that includes praise and worship, a good speaker, creative and engaging drama, a chance to sign up for a Bible study, and helpful information for new chapter members.
• Contacting every student who fills out an information card.
• Praying like crazy!

Here are some tested ideas from all over the country:

“Hands-on” in the Dorms

Andrew Smith

The NSO events at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, are always exciting. Before the freshmen move in, we go through the dorms, pray over the rooms and put a flyer on each door. I warned the students that occasionally some students move in early and they should be prepared to respond if someone comes out of a dorm room while we are praying for that room.

We were all secretly hoping it wouldn’t happen. It can be a little awkward for a door to suddenly open and then find yourself trying to explain to the residents why your hands are all over their door.

But Ben had quite the opposite reaction. As he and his partner went door to door, Ben started hoping that someone would come out. Sure, prayer and flyers are nice and all, he thought, but meeting someone—that would be twice as good. So when they started winding their way down to the last few doors, Ben started to “get serious” with his prayers.

The guy whose door suddenly opened was there early for football. The puzzled look on his face did all the necessary asking. Ben could have opted out. “Hey, we’re putting up flyers,” Ben said. Could have stopped there. “And we’re praying for the incoming first-years,” he added. More than enough. “Is there something we could pray about for you?” Ben asked boldly.

That’s what NSO is about: taking risks to get to know new students. Ben got it right.

Staying hydrated

By Ann Beyerlein

The entrepreneurial leaders at the University of Michigan–Dearborn obtained 2000 bottles of water for only $250, partly with a donation from Sam’s Club. They marked the bottles with InterVarsity information and passed them out on campus the first day of school. It was a gesture appreciated by many, especially since the school is known for its religious milieu (mainly Muslim and Christian) and lack of activity. In addition to funding the water bottles at the start of the year, the chapter has raised funds and donated over $800 to Compassion International and the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

Brochure blitz

by Dale Young

The fellowship at The College of New Jersey did an incredible job improving their NSO publicity last fall. They printed 1,250 brochures to be included in the welcome packets that the college distributes to all freshmen during their first week on campus. They also placed ads in the first two issues of the school newspaper and had a bulletin posted at the chapel. The publicity complemented the great job students did in talking to freshmen and helping them feel welcomed to campus. It’s been a great beginning for the chapter.

Poetry night

by Haley Long

The Black Collegiate Christian Fellowship (BCCF) at the University of Florida-Gainesville planned a Poetry Night as part of their outreach activities. The leadership team pulled together to make this a top-notch event. They rented a room in the student union and had a caterer provide coffee, teas and a variety of desserts. Throughout the evening, students were able to share poetry that they’d written. The chapter saw many new faces that night and got rave reviews from everyone who attended. They are planning more Poetry Nights during the year with a poetry club on campus.

“Quick—order pizza!”

by Paul Sorrentino

Many chapters spend a lot of time and effort putting up posters and flyers for InterVarsity events. During NSO, the Amherst Christian Fellowship (MA) had a unique problem. They hosted a dinner for new students, planning ample food for 100 people. But so many hungry students arrived that they had to send some people back to the dining hall! One of the I-V student leaders went to take down publicity when it became clear they had far more people than they could feed!

Changing colors

by Jody Chang

The chapter at UC Santa Cruz (CA) has changed its leadership structure to reach out to students of color on campus. They formed a “Kairos Team” that focuses on making the weekly large-group meetings more accessible to students of different ethnicities through worship, skits, food, testimonies and hospitality. The NSO events last fall were planned with this new vision in mind. The InterVarsity tables spread throughout the campus welcomed students of color through the music they played and the snacks they had on the tables. The chapter also hosted an event for incoming African-American students called “A Chance to Exhale.” There were twenty-five who came, which is 35 percent of the black students in the freshman class! They enjoyed soul food and heard a presentation about opportunities for spiritual growth in college. The Kairos Team’s efforts have produced fruit as more students of color have gotten involved in the chapter.

United we stand

by Peter Horton

Recruiting incoming Christian students often becomes competitive among different Christian organizations on campus. During NSO at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, there is one information table in front of the campus bookstore that is staffed by InterVarsity, Campus Crusade and the Navigators. It is a cooperative effort to promote unity. There is one contact card for all three ministries. Students check the Christian organization they are most interested in. The joint venture came about as a result of our staff teams praying together for several years for greater unity and cooperation in reaching students for Christ.

Road rally

by Lois Miller

At Oakland University in Michigan we have fun with a Road Rally. We divide into four teams of seven to eight students and give each team a video camera. They get a list of events to get on tape. There is a section of acted events and one of just viewed events. Some of the acted events to film:

Sing a song to an employee at a fast-food drive-through window.

Perform a ballet recital in a restaurant.

Crawl into a hair salon on your hands and knees.

Blow a bubble with gum.

Choreograph a cheerleading bit.

Hold a sock-puppet conversation with a stranger.

Swim across a lake on campus.

The viewed events to film included such things as a bowler making a strike and a policeman eating a donut.

There were different point totals for each, with extra points being awarded if you could get a stranger to do something with you. There is a time limit, and when each team gets back we all watch the videos together.

What makes this a good NSO event is that you get to know people in your taping group, you have a task to do together which brings up conversation so you don’t have to try to make small talk for hours, and you get to come together at the end as a larger group and laugh together as you watch the videos. It is also non-threatening to someone who may not be a Christian, so people may feel more comfortable inviting their friends to it.

Capture the flag: military-style

by Jennifer Campbell

Norwich University is a military college in Vermont. Our fellowship is 90 percent corps of cadets, the rest being civilians and faculty.

We have begun a tradition of playing Capture the Flag. We all go up in the mountains to the house of our I-V staff person and choose teams. We wear our BDU’s (Battle Dress Uniforms) to add to the fun. All of the new people come up, and we have a massive game of Capture the Flag—all the more fun because almost everyone is in the military and we get to crawl around in the mud. The only trick is that we (the leadership) sort of set the teams off-balance so one side has an advantage.

After the game, we all gather around a huge bonfire and eat Ben & Jerry’s® ice cream. We talk about what it’s like to be at a disadvantage during the game, and we compare that to trying to get through life without God and fellowship. (You may be able to see the flag on the other side, but if you don’t have the drive or resources to get it, you’ll still lose the game. Same with God: you may know he exists and you may be able to see the good in people, but without knowing him, you’ll never get to heaven. You’ll always be at a disadvantage, and will lose “the game.”)

As an outreach this was a huge success for our very small fellowship. Nothing bonds people like mud and ice cream!

Snowball fight

by Jessica Suk

“Snowballs in August?” That’s how we advertised this NSO event at Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, IL). Hot, sticky students wondered what we were up to. They were invited to meet in the quad to find out. The “snowballs” were actually pantyhose filled with flour that make an excellent white, powdery mess when thrown at another person. We lugged 100 snowballs to the field and the battle began. After 30 minutes of flinging flour, the students were white and dirty from head to toe. We then had cans of pop to pass out to the thirsty warriors, and encouraged everyone to stick around and rest for a few minutes. A student casually introduced I-V and invited anyone interested to our next event, and other conversations popped up as students recuperated and brushed off flour.

Freeze-pop giveaway

by Jessica Suk

The InterVarsity chapter at IIT was trying to think of the best way to welcome freshmen as they moved into the dorms on move-in day. What better way to say “Welcome!” than by handing out freeze-pops in front of the main entrance of the dorms! Armed with a big InterVarsity banner, 500 freeze-pops and informational fliers about I-V, we handed out freeze-pops for six hours. This simple task lent itself well to striking up conversations with parents and students, and asking the eternal question of the day, “Who are you guys, and why are you handing out freeze-pops?”