As schools across the country have started back and fall is in the air, youth ministers around the country are shifting their thinking to campus ministry. If you are a youth minister and you do not have a presence on your local school campus you are missing out on a large ministry opportunity. Now some schools are closed, youth ministers are not allowed to come eat lunch or be on campus during school hours. There are ways to still have a presence on campus and we are going to look at ways for open and closed campuses.
Lunch:
The old tried and true stand by for youth ministers. If you campus does allow you on to eat lunch it is a tremendous opportunity to connect with your students and it puts your face in front of the other teens.
Games, Arts, and Competitions:
Even if you have a closed school on your hands they cannot keep you from attending games, chorus recitals, band competitions, or tournaments. I just attended a middle school softball game the other day and four of our middle school girls were shouting, “That’s my youth pastor!” Imagine this in your head. Your students are telling their friends who you are, their friends see them hanging out with you having fun, and maybe you even get your students who are on the team together for a quick prayer and have one of your students lead it. What a great witness!
FCA:
I love FCA. I used to be a FCA Endurance Adult huddle leader. I have multiple schools represented in my ministry, (Two High Schools, Three Middle Schools, one private Christian School, and home school students). First thing I did at the start of the school year? Find out who the local FCA sponsors at each school are. I contacted them and asked if there was any way our student ministry could help support them. I’ve been invited to help with every single FCA group and I know the bridges I build through helping with FCA will impact students that may never grace my ministry but its about the bigger game plan not just my ministry.
Sports Teams:
We get the opportunity to feed our high school football teams prior to a game every year. Not only do we get to be the hands and feet of Christ by allowing students to see us serving them, but with both teams I get a short time to have a devotional and prayer with them before they leave. Awesome sauce!
Team Chaplain:
Some schools allow teams to have a volunteer team chaplain. How awesome would it be to have students who may not be in your student ministry asking you for spiritual advice? What an awesome way to expand your ministry influence!
Just a few campus ministry ideas we had this year? What are some of yours? We’d love to hear them in the comments!