Nuts and Bolts of Commuter-based College Ministry

Reaching commuter schools is difficult for a variety of reasons. For instance, non traditional students normally attend commuter-based schools; they have jobs, families and don’t have the time to hang out on campus, much less think about involvement in ministry. Last year I invested one year jumpstarting a commuter-based ministry. I essentially started from scratch. I didn’t know but a handful of students. here are a couple ideas and advice that I learned.

1.Make Sure Students Know You Exist!

Go to churches, contact Youth ministers to find their students attending,
Make the Student Activities and Admissions office your best friend. Go to Orientation and earn as much leverage as possible. Offer to put fliers inside incoming freshmen orientation notebooks. Lead orientation group.
Create Religious preference cards for incoming freshmen.
Write personalized notes to incoming freshmen that you have made contact with.
Set up an info table the first week of school and spread the word with appealing marketing tools around HIGH trafficked areas. (Try and spread out)
Utilize social networks ( i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Blogging etc.)
Offer big events during the first couple weeks of class. (On campus concert, Cookout,)

2. Invest in Christian Leaders to Lead Other Components of Ministry

Find the students who are willing to lead and disciple them.
Make sure you are intentional about leadership responsibility.
Create leadership according to competencies and ministerial needs.
(These will be the students who will reap most from the ministry.)
Get to know where your leaders went to high school and minister according to those social networks.


3.Limit Events to Less than an Hour

Commuter students don’t hang out after class, so create events between classes.
Don’t create Bible Studies to fill the week. Get to know students' schedules and ask them to be a part of study their time will allow.

4. Always Offer On Campus Service Projects

Breakfast bars with event labels. Frisbees with event times.
Coffee on cold days, popsicles and water on hot day.
Clean windshields and leave a letter (if school allows)
Have a free weekly lunch. Disclaimer: you may want to charge $1.00 for commitment purposes. (Cultivating your relationship with the local churches will help provide great homemade lunches. I am a #1 fan of WMU.)
Eat with students at the Cafeteria. This will allow you to meet other students. (not every commuter school has a cafeteria so find out where students lounge.)
Help with other school activities.
Serve the faculty and staff anyway possible. (bake brownies)

5. Audit or Teach a Class

This will obviously give you respect on campus and get to know faculty, staff, and students on a deeper level.

6. Connect with Faculty and Staff

You never know how advantageous the faculty and staff are until you know them.
Find the staff and faculty that are involved in churches and get them to join the vision.

7. Connect with Local Pastors and Associational Leaders

Have a pastors luncheon with student testimonies.
Offer “how to parent collegians” seminars at local churches
Invite pastors to speak at weekly luncheons.
Create music/drama team to lead Sunday night Worship services.
Involve students with church-based mission trips.
Send a monthly newsletter of prayer needs, campus events, and serving opportunities to local churches.