Eight Ways to Engage Your Campus

The school year is in full swing. New Student Outreach is over. Small groups and chapter activities are underway. New people, busy schedules, and (oh, yeah) studying. What about reaching the campus for Christ? If the green light of campus outreach has turned to amber at this point in the semester, here are some stories of what other InterVarsity chapters have done to keep their focus on building God’s kingdom on campus.

SURVEYED
at Boston University (MA)
by Liz and Paul Joyal

As a follow-up to Urbana last year, our fellowship had a lively discussion about ways to share Jesus with people on our campus. One result of this brainstorming was an outreach in the dorms in which nearly 400 students completed a “Spiritual Interest Survey.” Some of those students ended up in GIGs (Groups Investigating God). After studying the Scriptures, they definitely learned to see Jesus in some new ways. The surveys also helped us gather some good information about the spiritual climate on our campus which is helpful in planning dorm talks or other outreach events.

A PRAYER WALL
at Bemidji State University (MN)
by Sandi Shelton

Our chapter prayed for a lot of different things last year: international students, conversions, and chapter unity. We even prayed for prayer to become more a part of our community. When we went to chapter camp last May, the camp schedule included chapter prayer time each day. One morning, the BSU chapter leaders chose to fast and pray during breakfast. And one night, the entire camp posted the names of their seeker friends on a wall and spent time praying for them. It was powerful to see the hearts of students breaking for their friends. Through fervent prayer, God gave us his vision for our friends on campus to know him.

NAMED
at Florida Tech
by Ron Lorusso

There’s a worship song with the line, “He knows my name…” And from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on a Saturday night last January, I-V students prayed over the names of every student on campus.

To prepare for this event, we went on the Florida Tech school’s Web site and printed out every student’s name. We then advertised it on campus and within our chapter. We even invited some local churches. More than 20 people showed up to pray on the seventh floor of the Science Tower that overlooks the entire campus. As we worshiped, we were overwhelmed by all the names to pray for, but we were comforted by the fact that our Father knew each name and each person’s needs. Then everyone took a stack of names and went out on campus in groups of two or three where they prayed for each student and each building on campus. We then came back together to celebrate in worship what God was going to do that semester in our friends, the campus and the community.

DUMB AND DORMER
at Eastern Michigan University
by Lisa Liou

Last March our chapter sponsored Jesus Awareness Week on campus. The most successful night was the dorm talk in Goddard Hall. Our Regional Director, Fred Bailey, dialogued with students on the topic, “Dumb Things Done in Jesus’ Name.” About 20 visitors came and asked questions about the crusades, colonization, slavery and other atrocities that people have done while claiming to be Christian. It was a stimulating discussion that led to spiritual truth. A couple of RAs in the dorm co-sponsored the event with us, allowing access to a great lounge, some free food and a larger participation from the students in their hall. The partnership and response from the dorm was a great lesson for the handful of students who have been faithfully meeting for Bible study there. Their diligence in building relationships and leaving their doors open to others proved to be fruitful.

FINE DINING
at UNC-Chapel Hill
by Sarah Shallcross

Once a month, our chapter has a Community Night. Last spring, the men decided to serve the women with a fancy four-course dinner. They prepared all the tasty food, decorated the room with candles and flowers, and then served the delicious meal dressed in suits! It was a special evening. The best part about this event was that people were intentional in inviting women who don’t know Jesus to be a part of the fun with us. Our chapter strives to be missional, extending the love of our community to people who are around us. It was a great time to welcome others into the life of our community, get to know them and enjoy some fun together.

PASS THE POPCORN
at the University of Nevada (Reno)
by Mac and Amy Smith

In February our area hosted a seeker conference with the theme, “Spend the Night with Bruce Almighty.” We planned the same 24-hour conference back-to-back for both Friday and Saturday. The only way that Christian students could go was if they brought one of their non-believing friends. The conference was set up in a coffeehouse setting. The first night everyone watched the movie together and listened to a few talks, then discussed it freely in small groups. At the end of the conference, students were given a chance to respond to what they heard. It was a great opportunity for the Christian students to have spiritual discussions with their friends from school and help them move closer to Jesus.

RAIN DATE
at Illinois State University (Normal)
by Melissa Juvinall

Last spring our chapter worked hard to plan a Quad Outreach in the middle of campus that would include music, preaching, sketch-boarding, testimonies and personal conversations. Then it rained, and the students were able to do this for only one of the four hours planned. After all the work they had done, they were very discouraged by the timing of the downpour. But God was not finished! The next week, the students and other Christians on campus interacted with a preacher on the Quad and were able to do some of the things they had planned for the week before. This happened two days in a row! It was an opportunity for our students to stand up to some of the false beliefs the preacher was promoting and also affirm the correct ones, all in front of their peers. The students got into a lot of one-on-one conversations about Jesus that continued after the event. They are planning on doing the original outreach for the fall.

COFFEE AND CONVERSATION
at Portland State University (OR)
by Ron Riesinger

The ministry to international students on our campus is centered on a Coffee House where we average more than 160 people each week throughout the year. Each year at the coffee house, we take a survey of students’ interests to help us assess what we can do for them. One consistent pattern is that internationals, above anything else, come to our events to make friends. It’s not the delicious soup and bagels, the polished program, or the quality “talk time” for ESL students that are primary; the friendships are always number one. So, it remains a top priority for us to build good relationships that will last over the years with students, regardless of their responsiveness to the gospel. This approach continues to pay big dividends as students see our love for them. We’re just passing along the love that Jesus gives us.