Worship services and VIM trips are traditional ways churches involve college students. Step outside the box with these seven ideas from ResourceUMC?
Jeremy Steele, writing for ResourceUMC, suggests seven creative ways to reach out to college students. Steele says, “It is easy to get in a rut when thinking about ministry to college students. Too often, churches think that to minister to students, they need to have a worship service targeting students or the ability to take them on a mission trip. Though both of those avenues can be successful, they are not the only options.”
Young people from your congregation are headed back to campus. Young people not from your congregation can also benefit from your support. Here are Steele’s outside the box ideas on how to connect with them through the school year:
- Host a free laundry night.
- Serve midnight breakfast during finals.
- Offer career coaching by successful professionals in your congregation.
- Use your church bus to transport students to free fun in your city.
- Offer free paper proofreading.
- Recruit strong backs for move-in day.
- Offer free church bus tickets to out of town games.
~ When Jeremy Steele and his wife are not playing with their four children, he oversees youth and college ministries and leads the evening worship service at Christ UMC in Mobile, Al. Jeremy is an author of several books and resources that you can find at JeremyWords.com or follow him on Twitter.
Last Updated on January 30, 2024