Here is a relationship building idea that has worked well for me in a Rural Church context. Don’t take for granted that many of your students have limited exposure to other areas of the country. Some may not have much exposure to culture outside your COUNTY. This gives you an opportunity to share things from other parts of the country. Foods and Drinks are a simple but huge way that this can be accomplished. My example is a soda called SKI (a citrus soda similar to Mountain Dew, but in my opinion better…).
My wife and I both grew up in Southern Illinois, were a drink called SKI was bottled locally and widely available. In our current place of ministry, it is not available. There is no local bottler or distributor within 100 miles. We would often buy it when visiting family in Illinois. Sometimes we would bring a little extra to share with some of the students in our ministry. They love it. They have shared it with their unchurched friends to the point that now I have students track me down at school lunches to “put in an order” on my next trip. These are students that I have now developed a relationship with outside the walls of the church, because of some soda.
What is not available in your area, that could be used to build relationships with students inside and outside your church? A type of food or drink? A dessert? Maybe a game? Share in the comments below…