Meeting and Relating to Students

In order to meet students, you need to go where students hang out and take the initiative to get to know them.

BIBLICAL BASIS

“We loved you so much we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well because you had become so dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Consider the woman at the well. Jesus meets and befriends a Samaritan woman, addresses her need, and explains salvation to her. She is so changed by Jesus that she brings the whole town out to meet Him. As you think back over your life, who has had the most influence on you for the good? Think through how you met this person and write down how this person influenced you. Reflecting on this relationship can help you think through how you can have a positive influence on the teens you meet.

THE PROCESS

1. Know your purpose.

Your purpose is to share Christ and disciple those who respond. At the same time, your audience is made up of very relational people who live in a relational world. You will gain credibility and opportunities to share Jesus as you relate well in the student world. It requires that you meet as many students as you can. You will have the opportunity to share the gospel with most of those acquaintances as time goes on.

2. Be yourself.

Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. Students will relate to a variety of people. The most important thing is that they know that you care about them and that you are comfortable with who God has made you to be. Reflect on Biblical truths of who Christ says you are so that you have greater confidence in relating to students. (See Ephesians 1-3 for some of these truths).

3. Be an insider – someone who gets to know the student culture and world.

An insider is someone who adjusts their conversations to the student’s interests rather than just their own; fitting in with them, not asking them to fit in with you.

4. Be casual but definite.

To be casual means that it is important to be relaxed and be yourself as you work among students. Enjoy yourself and enjoy them. To be definite means that you remember your objective: to help the student learn more about a relationship with Jesus so they have the opportunity to receive Him as their Savior and Lord. As you relate to them be prayerful, asking God to help you know when and how to turn your conversations to his spiritual need. You are not there just to be a buddy, but a spiritual leader and mentor.

5. Prepare to Meet Students

Prepare to meet students by looking in the high school yearbook, getting activities calendars, sports schedules, school newspapers, etc. Become a student of the school.
Identify the various relational groups, clubs, or cliques of students.
Rely on students you know to help meet others.
Pray daily for students, even though you don’t know them because this can lead to opportunities to share the gospel with them or God working through a student to reach them.
Learn the cultural norms of the school -i.e. what’s in, what’s not, how students think, etc.
Ask God to provide you with opportunities to meet students, and expect Him to lead you to students He has prepared.

A key to effectively reaching high school students is to be aware of their group orientation. When you meet a student, it’s important not only to get to know him but to find out what social, athletic, academic, or another type of group he’s in. Movement develops more naturally when we reach and mobilize natural groups of students.

PLAN AND BEGIN YOUR STRATEGY

1. Meet students with breadth in mind.

The more students you meet, the greater opportunity you have for outreach. Look at your Mapping the Campus Worksheet to help you determine where you want to start meeting students. Ask your ministry coach for help in developing your plan.

2. Go where students are.

Here are some typical places to meet students:

School activities
Athletic and school events
Church
On the street where they are hanging out in the community
Other students’ homes
Assisting at school: coaching, school clubs
Shopping malls
Eating establishments

3. While talking with students it is important to:

Be a good listener.
Show an attitude of acceptance.
Don’t be the one doing most of the talking.
Ask perceptive questions about them.
Look for areas of common interest.

As you prepare to meet students think through some questions you could ask students. Have these questions in your mind to help communicate that you care about the students and to help you feel more relaxed as you meet them. Here are some ideas:

So where are you from? Where did you grow up?
What do you enjoy doing?
Who are your closest friends? What do you do for fun?
What are your favorite movies, songs, video games, etc… (Barna research says this is what teenagers spend their time doing vastly beyond anything else in life).
What’s your family like? Who do you live with? Do you have
brothers and sisters? Do you like them?

The success of these questions will depend on how you ask them, and the follow-up questions you use based on their responses. Brainstorm some of your own questions you’d like to ask. For questions to help you transition to the gospel see “Turning the Conversation to Christ.”

As you find opportunities to talk to teens, remember to:

Try to talk with them concerning what is important to them whether it be music, basketball, philosophy on life. Ask them questions about life.
As you talk to them figure out what they are interested in and explore those topics more deeply. Be genuinely interested.
Let them know they can trust you. Then you will get to know them. As they open up to you, you will find openings into their lives where you can share Jesus with them, like Jesus did with the woman at the well in John 4.

4. Rely on students you know to help you meet others.

Ask students you know to help you meet some of their friends. As you attend school or social events, ask students to introduce you to their friends, or just casually take the initiative to meet them. Challenge students in your small groups to reach out to a group of friends with you. Ask them to host or invite students to a pizza party, ice cream, etc.

5. Make prayer a priority.

Ask God to help you meet the students He wants you to meet.

6. Meet students who attend ministry events.

Talk with every new student you can at Cru High School Meetings and school meetings and events.

7. Be creative.

Team meetings, classroom speaking, creative outreaches, pick up ball games, hanging out at kid’s homes, coaching, helping with music and drama productions, etc. – all are ways you can meet students. Much of your ministry depends upon your willingness to be available, friendly, and the take the initiative. This way you will always be meeting new students.

8. Aim to take someone with you.

Whether it is a student you know, a friend or community member who is a partner with your ministry.

APPLICATION

List the students you know.
List some places and ways you can get to know more students, particularly through students you already know
With your ministry coach, develop a plan to meet and reach out to some students you want to get to know, like the football team, cheerleaders, drama students, kids in choir, etc…

Gathering Students

Creative Evangelistic Events

Building a Spiritual Movement

Global Missions

Vision of Fruit

What they’re saying about Cru

How often have you felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to share the gospel with someone you know but you think, “I just don’t know how to bring it up.” One thing that helps is having some questions ready for the situations you encounter. Being prepared can actually help you be more relaxed and able to listen to the other person rather than worrying about what you are going to say next.

In the book of I Peter, the people were afraid for their lives because they were being persecuted for their faith. In I Peter 3:14-15, Peter challenges them to “not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence…”. So the Lord tells us in His Word to be prepared to share His message. Of course, the best preparation is to be prayerful for opportunities.

AFTER AN OUTREACH EVENT

There are some questions you could ask students immediately after the speaker shares a message at an outreach. Whether the speaker shares the gospel or not, you could ask these questions to gain some understanding of what the person is thinking about God and a relationship with Him.

FOUR QUESTIONS:

What did you think of the speaker/concert/message?
Did it make sense to you?
Have you ever heard how you could know God in a personal way?
Would you like to hear how you can begin a relationship with Him?

Obviously, there may be other questions you ask in between each of these questions to help bring more clarity. Memorize these questions so you have them “in your back pocket” to use easily. After you ask these questions, use a tool like “Connecting with God ” to share the gospel with the student (s).

DURING A CASUAL CONVERSATION

There will be many opportunities to share Jesus with students just simply from having a conversation with them. As you talk to them, prayerfully look for some common ground or a need in their lives where you could bring up the importance of having a relationship with God.

Just by going on campus, I met Sarah at a Coke machine. She and her friend were friendly as I chit chatted with them for a few minutes. As I walked away, I prayed for Sarah and Bethany. Over the next few weeks I would run into Sarah after school in the hallway or at athletic events. I would say “Hi” and catch up with her. After a few times of meeting her, I said “Hey, Sarah, you know I work with Cru High School. I would really like to share with you more of what Student Venture is all about. Would you be interested in meeting with me for coffee and maybe bringing Bethany or another friend with you and we could talk more?” She agreed and we met. (see Follow up article for some guidelines on how to set up an appointment with a student). As we sat in a coffee shop, I asked the girls these questions:

“If you have ever taken a psychology class or read a Seventeen magazine, you know that a person is made up of several dimensions. We have the physical, emotional and the spiritual. (I drew a triangle showing the three parts). Many times we neglect the spiritual side. By that I mean a relationship with God. Do you ever think about God? What do you believe about Him? (I let them respond). Can I share with you what the Bible says about a relationship with God and how we can begin a relationship with Him?”

The girls said yes. They still had a lot of questions as I read through the “Connecting with God” booklet with them because they had never heard the gospel before. So I asked them to meet for four more weeks where we could go over the questions they had.

WHEN STUDENTS SHARE NEEDS OF INTERESTS IN THEIR LIVES

You can begin to share with them about the Lord by asking questions like:

I deal with that a lot myself. Can I tell you how I have been able to handle that situation? I have learned to depend on God.
(When someone expresses insecurities) You are really valuable. No matter what anyone thinks of you, God thinks you are so valuable. Can I share with you what He says about you and how much He loves you from the Bible?
(When someone expresses hurts) Can I share with you where I have found hope (for life)?
Do you feel satisfied? It may feel like these things are satisfying, but I know of something that will meet the deepest needs and longings of your heart.

From there you could transition to sharing the gospel with questions like these:

Would you like to know God in a real and personal way?
Can I share with you something that has changed my life? (Share your 3 minute testimony)
What do you believe about God? Can I share with you what the Bible says about God and how to know Him?
Do you ever think about God or spiritual things?
What do you think it means to be a Christian?
Would you mind if I shared with you what I’ve learned about knowing God personally?

HELPING A PERSON EXAMINE THEIR PERSONAL BELIEFS ABOUT GOD

We can ask them the following questions that were created by the founder of the organization “Evangelism Explosion” to help someone determine where his/her stand.

If you were to die tonight how certain are you that you would go to heaven? (on a scale of 1 to 100%)?
If God asked you “Why should I let you into heaven? What would you say?”Or you could ask, “What makes you ___% sure?” and “On what basis do you think you will go to heaven?”

I have used these questions many times and people are very willing to answer them. From here I simply ask, “Can I share with you what the Bible says about how you can be 100% sure you will go to heaven?” If they agree, then I go through the gospel with them, often using “Connecting with God.”

Finally, just ask the Lord to show you which questions to use in which environment. Choose the questions you feel most confident using and even reword them to fit your style. As we pray for opportunities, step out in faith taking the initiative to care about students and to share the gospel, God will open doors and we will see students know the Lord. He promises to bear much fruit through us as we depend on Him. (John 15). Heaven will be so exciting as we see all those who trusted Christ as He worked through us.

THE HIGH SCHOOL MINISTRY OF CRU