Reaching New Students

The planning for freshers events is complete, your favourite coffee shop loyalty card is ready to be stamped, the city population is about to increase exponentially.

As each new academic year approaches, it’s an exciting time for churches to welcome new and returning students! The freshers have bought everything they need for their new adventure and said goodbye to their families as they begin their journey and transition to university. Some are ready to fly the nest whilst others are feeling slightly more anxious at what lies ahead of them.

Starting university is that moment for students where they often turn one of two ways - they find a church in the first few weeks and get stuck into church community or they immerse themselves in the craziness of freshers and freedom which replaces the priority to find a church in the first term, if at all.

When I made the transition to university, I was hugely excited but also nervous at being so far from home for the first time. What reassured me however, was churches contacting and welcoming me even before I set foot on campus through the Student Linkup app.

Within two days of signing up, I had coffee meetings booked in with three different student workers who wanted to welcome me to the city and help me settle. Student Linkup gave me an opportunity to find out more and connect with churches before I arrived in the city and it gave churches the opportunity to pray for me in the lead up to moving and prepare to welcome me.

If you're a student, you can check out the churches in your university city here.

If you‘re a church and aren’t signed up to student linkup, you can sign up here.

This means that you have access to a list of freshers going to their local universities who have signed up through the student linkup app. This list is a golden opportunity; each contact is a chance for a student to stay connected and continue in their journey with God and an opportunity for you to pray for each of them more personally.

It’s not about the hard sell of your church but about encouraging them to connect with a church, whichever church. We all win if each student finds a church that they can really make their home in and feel connected.

As the church, prayer isn’t our fallback strategy for welcoming students.- It’s us putting our best foot forward. Ephesians 6:18 says:

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”.

Students need constant prayer for the whirlwind that university is; that they will remember their identity in Jesus and that they are loved. Leaving home can be pretty scary and a step into the unknown but being able to pray for them before they arrive is so often reassuring and helps them to feel valued.

What can the church do practically to help make the unknown feel less daunting? Are there nights out where students need help walking back to their halls of residence in the early hours? Or going to collect and drop home students who attend your small group? Can you offer to help students move into their halls of residence? Or perhaps collect international students from the airport.

It may feel like the smallest offer from you but it can make a huge difference to the students feeling welcome, settled and connected!

Welcome is the simplest thing that churches can do as students arrive on campus, but it can have a potentially life changing effect on students searching for connectivity. It might feel at points like you're giving a 'hard sell' for your church but if you are authentic about what you feel your community is about, students will eventually find where they belong and become routed.

Myagh was on the fringe of christianity before coming to university. She downloaded the student linkup app and had churches welcome her a few weeks before she was moving.

She decided to give the first church that messaged her a try when she arrived at university and after experiencing the friendliness and welcome from the people and the emotion she felt in the service through the Holy Spirit, she became a Christian and has settled at that church because of the welcome she received and the impact the church had on her journey to faith.

Could you in your student work role have a ‘Myagh’ student salvation story this year with students looking to connect with people and God but perhaps simply need that friendly welcome as they arrive on campus?

Students are yearning for connectivity. It’s not about the flashy events but rather getting to know them on an individual level they value. What questions do you ask new students who arrive at your church? Is it the classic trio that students can recite like a robot after the first week of freshers- ‘What’s your name?’, 'What are you studying?’ and 'Where is home for you?'. Or are you going deeper and asking them about their life story, how they are really feeling about starting university, their hopes and dreams etc.

Fusion wants every student to have the opportunity to find home in a church at university. Preparation is key and the student linkup box is the perfect tool for student workers to help start meaningful conversations with students that go deeper than the classic surface level questions about university.

Its aim is to help young people lay the very best foundation for their time at university and think about who they want to be, how they want to live, what they want to achieve and how to find a church.

Additionally, food can also help to open up doors of deeper conversation. Jesus ate with a variety of people - both righteous and sinner. In those dinner moments, special conversation happened that revealed more about Jesus’ character and/or changed the lives of those present (Zacchaeus, Luke 19v1-10; Matthew the tax collector, Matthew 9v9-13; the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, Luke 7v36-50, the disciples last supper; Mark 14v12-25).

Do you have a student team or people in the church who love to host and would enjoy welcoming some new students with a welcome meal and ‘table talk?’. Remember that university is a new experience for the students and it’s a great challenge for the church to join them on their own new experiences.

University is an adventure not just for students but for the churches welcoming them, expectant to see how God will move. Push into prayer for the students in your city and dream big about how you can welcome and connect with students this year to help them find hope in Jesus and home in a church at university.

Head to the Fusion website to find out more about who they are and how they can help you effectively reach students on your campuses.

Written by Mollie Chappell, a Student Mission Developer at Fusion Movement. Mollie started student ministry in her final year of university and is passionate about seeing students discover and grow in their God given callings.