5 Radical Ways to Capture Your Campus for Christ!

Not everyone is called to the mission fields of Darfur. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, however, can receive the equipping necessary to perform the equally important yet overlooked work of discipleship of new followers of Jesus. These five discipleship tips will help you get closer to hurting people who need Jesus, without tripping over their defenses.

With prayer, patience, and timing you can use the tips in this post to thoughtfully and gently show them who Jesus Christ is before you invite them to a church service.

From Five to One

5) While at your favorite coffeehouse on or near campus, write simple messages of encouragement and hope on small strips of note paper that point to specific Bible verses. Fold them and leave them on table tops, near condiments. Direct your writing to readers personally by using personal pronouns, "you" and "your." Write just enough to lift their spirits according to the scripture you selected to help them overcome daily struggles. Stress that you are thinking of them and their day and you want them to experience Joy no matter what happens. 

4) Setup a calling post. You can use a provider such as CallingPost.com to schedule automated phone calls, group text messages, and mass emails. Send a weekly recorded message to all the friends you meet on campus each week. Try engaging them by sharing a scripture and a well-planned, scripted message designed to trigger them to think about the decisions they may face and the Christ-centered mindset they can trust to get through the week. Be selective in topics. Get to know the interests and challenges of friends you add to your calling post account and be sure to ask for their permission to add them before doing so.  

3) Create a campus Christian safe space and staff it with friends and concerned Christian student associates who are personally moved to commit, in-writing, to volunteer. Keep your planning simple and straightforward. Most colleges and campuses provide campus meeting space for student organizations, partially covered by student activities fees. Check with the rules of your college to organize and setup a Christian safe space club. Ask your friends and invite those you meet to come to your safe space to decompress from a world marred by cultural perversion and hopelessness. Use your allotted meeting room space to offer carefully researched Christian movies, magazines, books and Bible study materials instead of "talking-head" meetings. Provide music, a selection of board games and digital resources that entertain and educate. Create an environment where the sharing of faith and life happen naturally.

2) If you have the tenacity to do it setup a live 24-hr prayer hotline or Mobile Texting Service and promote it through campus Christian-based student unions and groups. Staff it much the same way you would a Christian safe space but find a Bible-based prayer guide or training resource to ensure you and all your volunteers share the same foundation for prayer and the same doctrinal statement of faith. Be prepared to meet students at their point of need, as you are led by the word of God and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. 

1) Connect with churches around your campus to offer a discipleship buddy system to their young adult members who also attend your college. Create flyers and brochures that conscientiously outline the importance of behavioral support and accountability on campus that aligns with the life skills and spiritual equipping students receive at church. A discipleship buddy system pairs you and your Christian friends and associates with outside students in one-on-one partnerships. Gone are the lame group outings that bore young adults if planned in unoriginal fashion. Gone is the lack of transparency and vulnerability that will spark and grow organically between two young believers on equal footing. 


Meditate earnestly on these ideas and return to this site on a bi-weekly basis for new tips and insights that will empower you to turn your life into fertile ground for the Lord God.