Bob's Blog

A new school year is starting or has already begun for many college-age around the country. Some will stay close to home to attend school while working a part time job but for those who will travel to another state, staying connected to church can be a challenge. What can your church do to help their student continue to grow in their faith while being away from home? Here are a few things some churches are doing.

• Keep Them Informed On What Is Happening Back Home. With so many ways to keep in contact and connected, you should use all available technology to make them feel like your right down the street. Some churches have set up accounts (tweeter, etc...) that provide easy access for their student to stay connected with the news from back home.
• Does Your Church Have A Facebook Page? Most people are Facebook users and it's a fun way to communicate back and forth. One church post pictures of their events and encourage their college students to post pictures of what events that are taking place at their school.
• Care Packages. This is old school but it still works! Whether it's from the 6th grade class or from the college group back home, a care package is always a welcomed surprised. And be creative. I don't know any student who wouldn't love gift certificates to a local fast food restaurant that is a few blocks from their dorm.
• Road Trip. Go on a collegepalooza road trip. I know of youth pastors and youth workers who have done this and have had a great time of encouragement with their student. One youth worker connected with 15 from his college group over one weekend...and that was hitting 5 campuses!
• Keeping A Personal Touch. It's important to keep it genuine and personal. My church use to call me "live" during the church service when I was attending college. Share prayer requests, God's word, or just to listen to what he/she is encountering at school, and you can do this via tweeter, texting, Facebook, or over the phone. Just be consistent.

There are many other ways to help that student remain connected to the Body of Christ, so start thinking and be creative with your college ministry. Just because they've left your group physically doesn't mean that they can't be a part of the group spiritually.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 at 4:59 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.