No Strings Attached...

by Lisa Birle

Campus outreach can be a tricky thing.

How do you stand out among the other organizations and clubs on campus as one that's different? How do you get students to care about what you care about? How do you get them to care at all? How do you strike up a conversation with someone who will do anything to avoid being given another rave card or flier or being asked to sign yet another petition about lunch meat or parking lots?

Today, our team hung out at a local community college campus. But we didn't act like a club. We didn't have fliers or surveys or petitions. We weren't wearing matching shirts or hanging banners. We just showed up the first morning of finals week and asked students if they needed anything for their exams. No e-mail list or survey questions about where they might fall on the faith spectrum. No catch. In fact, all we had was a table full of the necessitites of these students' weeks—scantrons, freshly sharpened #2 pencils, and blue books (which are, in fact, now green—because colleges are much more environmentally conscious than when I went to school). We simply asked students walking by what they needed and they were able to grab sheets and books and pencils for their tests. And their responses were everything from joyful to suspicious. “No catch?” “What do I have to sign?” “Wait...it's free?” “Seriously?!” “Why are you guys doing this?” And all we would say is, “Who wants to buy scantrons? We just want to help you out and make your day a little easier!” They were flabbergasted and even a little suspect. (Some students purchased their scantrons rather than trust our shady-looking table.)

So many times, clubs and booths and banners and rave cards instantly deter students from their organization or club. Students will fake talking on their phones, quickly put in their earbuds, or grab a friend to chat with so they won't have to listen. Free scantrons met a practical need for them this morning, without asking for anything in return. We didn't say anything about Jesus. We didn't say we were a church. We didn't say anything about God. We just wanted to show these students that we care about them and wanted to show it in a practical way. The strategy here was to leave a positive impression...“Hey, remember those people giving out free scantrons? That was awesome.” We want to show these students that regardless of who they are and what they believe, they matter to us and we appreciate them. They'll see us next semester when we do the same thing (I'm thinking we even add some donuts to the mix...they're just as much a necessity as a pencil during final exams, after all...), and they'll ask us again why we're there.

And when we tell them, they might take out their earbuds and put down their phones with ease and be a little more willing to listen...

Comments

[Lisa Bee]

Paul--I appreciate the feedback! I totally agree with you that it's important to be intentional with providing information about our group. This event was different in strategy in that we weren't there for any other reason than to show we care and to help meet a need. This kind of event (or, I guess "non" event) is actually something that's more of a "first step" for us as we continue to build a presence on the college campus. Thanks for the reminder--we absolutely will provide more information to students in the future to foster connection/follow-up/build relationships. We're praying that showing up and supporting them will open the door for future trust, friendships, and awesome conversations.

Justin--thanks for responding! Isn't it funny how puzzled students are? I know I would have been, too :)

[Paul Worcester]

This is Awesome!!! I love the idea of serving in a way that gets students asking "Why"? I think this is a great for building a reputation on campus.

A quick thought. I believe this type of project is mostly ineffective as a primary strategy for starting a new ministry on a campus. (Which I know is not what this post is about.) I say this because my father who has trained church planters for over 25 years has talked with many church planters who read books on this type of servant evangelism and make this a primary strategy for reaching people. Often these new church plants fail. Causing a lot of damage to the kingdom in many ways. I see this also being a common mistake in college ministry starting.

If you are wanting to start a new group from scratch or grow an existing group it is essential to promote your ministry in a relevant way and get interested students contact information. Since our ministry is so new for us it is an issue of stewardship. God has called us reach non-Christians and to make disciples on this campus. We have very limited resources to work with in this effort. Whenever we do generous things like this such as pass out hundreds of free hotdogs, we always make sure to give students a chance to fill out our free raffle with an option for getting more info about our group. With this method it is still no strings attached but they have an option of learning more about us. Each leader must pray about what God is calling them \ to do based on the stage the ministry is in and the time and resources you have to your disposal.

I am curious to hear what people think about this? Thanks for the post! Good work!

[Justin Wallace]

Love it! We've done so many of these things. Giving out coffee. Free pancakes during finals week. Taking out trash before room inspections. And my favorite is the response..."Why would you do this?" and honestly, we rarely answer with a Jesus juke. We just let them sit and wrestle with their own question.