CRU Weekly Ministry Tip #7, Fall 2011
This week I had a chance to talk with a student leader about their weekly meetings. They were just starting up their meetings and hoping to get as many as 30 students to attend. We talked about having a great meeting so that people will come back. I wanted to re-visit this topic so that you might keep evaluating this very important meeting for your ministry.
Why are your weekly meetings important and worth re-evaluation?
1. In many ways, they are the face of your ministry. Students who visit will want to know why they are worth attending and coming back to.
2. Your weekly meetings can create vision for people to walk with God, live a life of faith, and be committed to the cause of reaching your campus.
3. Your weekly meetings are the springboard for establishing some momentum for helping students attend retreats, conferences and summer projects which can be a turning point in their relationship with God.
4. It is where students come to meet with their friends and have fun.
Give it your best shot each week. Here are some important points to keep in mind:
1. Be sure to meet with your leadership team to pray regularly for your weekly meetings. If God is not in it, it will not go very well. Ask God for wisdom, guidance and strength as you decide the meeting’s content and plan. Pray also for the hearts of those who come, that God would meet them in a special way.
2. Consider having creative but appropriate ice breakers to help people get to know each other. You may not have them every week but on a regular basis, they are a great thing to do. Here are some creative ice breakers you can use.
3. If you’re looking for meaningful, engaging videos to help set the stage for some spiritual conversations, consider using an “I Am Second” testimony video clip I Am Second followed by a couple of interactive questions. Some of the video testimonies you’ll see send a powerful message of how God can change lives. Go to I Am Second Site
4. After you’ve shown a video clip, done a skit, or a creative opening/welcome for your meeting, you’re ready to begin your teaching section. If your meetings are just stating out or your ministry is still in it’s early stages, for a meaningful and fun way to help students interact, you can adapt some of the Connection Bible study series into your meetings. You can do them as a big group, break up into smaller groups of 5-10, or do separate men and women’s studies before bringing everyone back together to finish the weekly meeting. Here’s the link: Connection Bible Study Connection Bible Study This series is easy to teach, apply and will help generate some good interaction, which is what you want.
5. Finally, as mentioned in an earlier weekly tip, look at all the articles on doing a successful Bible study. Read articles 2-7 on “How To Lead A Bible Study” How To Lead A Bible Study
Next week we’ll talk about some more good content for your personal Bible studies, which can also work for your weekly meetings.
Talk to you next week,
Ben Rivera/GodSquad and CruPressGreen Team