• Where is God already working on the campus?
• What price is there to be paid to reach collegiate students?
• Does God have a plan to reach this campus?
• What local churches are going to be supportive and involved?
• What if it works? Will your ministry be ready to disciple and assimilate new Christians?
• Are you desiring to saturate the campus or just target smaller segments?
• How many of your students are doing evangelism as a lifestyle?
• Are your students building witnessing relationships currently?
• Is your discipleship training producing evangelism?
• Does your evangelism make disciples?
• How do you know that your are effective in evangelism?
• How do you evaluate your evangelism?
• What kind of results or impact do you intend to make on this campus?

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• It must begin with at least one person having a burden to see collegiate students come to know Christ as Savior.
• There must be a core of collegiate students who are being discipled and trained to do the work of an evangelist.
• Pastors and local churches need to see the college campus as a mission field.
• The cost of intercessory prayer must be the foundation of an E strategy.
• Networks, relationships, and/or partnerships may need to be considered for E saturation to take place. You can’t do it alone.
• A collegiate church plant may be an option for an area that doesn’t have a strong SBC church.
• Goals and objectives must be put in place as well as clarifying roles of each entity and individual.
• A collegiate evangelism strategy team will coordinate and lead out throughout the process.

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The old adage “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail” is trite but it’s still true. For every hour you spend in planning, you’re likely to save five times that in execution.
One of the great leader/planners in ancient times was a guy named Nehemiah. You can read his fascinating biography in a book with his name (“Nehemiah” of course!) in the Bible. Space doesn’t permit to tell you his whole story but to summarize: Nehemiah took a group of discouraged, defeated people and managed to pull off an impossible building project in just 52 days. In the second chapter of his book, he illustrates...

1. THINK IT THROUGH. (vs 1) The difference between leaders and followers begins with this: Leaders take the time to think about the future before it arrives. Followers just let the future happen to them. “A wise person thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t and even brags about it.” Pr. 13:16
2. PREPARE FOR OPPORTUNITIES. (vs 1b-3) When opportunity knocks, will your ministry be ready to open the door? We miss so many great opportunities by not being prepared.
3. ESTABLISH A GOAL. (vs 5) Most people tend to make two major mistakes in goal-setting: (1) They set their goals too low, and (2) They attempt to achieve them too quickly. Make your goals large and long-term. Then break them down into short-term components.
4. SET A DEADLINE. (vs 6) Without a deadline you don’t have a goal - it’s just wishful thinking. Deadlines turn dreams into goals. This is the scheduling and calendaring phase of planning.
5. ANTICIPATE THE PROBLEMS. (vs 7) Leaders anticipate problems before they happen and seek solutions before they occur. Leaders focus on solving tomorrow’s problems. Managers focus on today’s problems. Of course, both are necessary in a healthy organization.
6. CALCULATE THE COSTS. (vs 8a) Every goal has a pricetag attached to it. This is the budgeting part of planning. Ask two questions: (1) What will it cost? (2) Is it worth it?

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• Church(es) are involved.

 Pastors and leaders see the collegiate fields as white unto harvest
 Intercessory Prayer support from concerned adults in the church.
 Passion and love for students.
 The campus is considered a mission field.
 Mentoring and discipling of students is a priority.
 Evangelism is modeled by leaders and workers.
 Assimilation of students is a must.
 Willing to take risks to get involved with students on and off campus
 Baptism is celebrated.
 Follow up is crucial.

• Baptist campus ministries are proactive.

 Relationships with faculty, administration and students is exemplary
 Partnership with local SBC churches is strong and healthy
 Campus ministers and leadership are models for sharing Christ
 Campus ministry is connected to the campus life.

• Students reaching students.

 Prayer, care, share is used in touching lost students.
 Equipped to do the work of an evangelist.
 Campus missionary mindset

• Large group worship experiences.

 Worship emphasis is evangelism.
 Vision and strategy is effectively communicated.
 Stories and testimonies about students engaging lost campus culture.
 New Christians invited to share salvation stories.
 Worship experience is an invitation for seekers to come and hear.

• Vision, goals, objectives and action is continuously being communicated and evaluated.

• A comprehensive, yet simple follow up strategy is in place for each person who comes to faith in Christ.

Next Steps...

 Preparation

+ pray individually on campus and other times
+ prayer walk the campus w/ students, pastors, church and campus leadership
+ students implement lighthouses of prayer or the eXit strategy.
+ students lead seeker Bible studies on and off campus
+ intimate & powerful worship is happening individually and corporately
+ set up a meetings w/ church pastors and leadership w/ campus leadership to discuss, pray and plan
+ put together a collegiate evangelism strategy team that includes students, pastors, faculty, campus ministers, Christian business people and/or other church leadership
+ survey the campus for critical needs.
+ train and equip students for personal evangelism
+ develop a purpose statement that communicates an evangelism emphasis
+ affirm and communicate the vision with collegiate students and leaders on and off campus.
+ collect data…

=church study-what churches are “collegiate-friendly?”
=history of campus ministry
=conduct interviews with key leadership
=demographics of the campus

 Plan

+ Develop effective strategy principles (use the suggestions below or develop your own)

• God-given vision.
• Organize or agonize.
• Assess strengths and weaknesses.
• Learn to lean on God.
• See obstacles as opportunities
• Keep it clear and simple.
• Start small and grow.
• Build a team with a fire of passion.
• Follow up and follow through.
• Be a willing learner.
• Communicate and celebrate the stories.

+ Determine healthy church growth principles.

• Study the Bible 'missiologically' rather than just theologically. That is... learn a little and then seek to apply it immediately. Then we learn a bit more and apply that. It's never about how much we know, but what we do with what we know.
• Have a church full of missionaries. A healthy church is dependent on people serving and ministering to others...even as a brand new Christian. Discipleship does not happen within the four walls of this building.
• Mobilization equals assimilation. If people are serving others, they stick with the church. It's not small groups or anything else but giving yourself in service to others that causes people to stick.
• Every person is uniquely gifted to minister to others and make a contribution to the Kingdom. Expect every member including mechanics, doctors, artists, sculptors, musicians and actors to make a huge impact for the Kingdom.

+ Determine tools and resources that are needed.
+ Develop the priorities for evangelism of modeling, equipping and doing.
+ Determine what the follow up strategy is going to look like.
+ Write goals and objectives including implications.
+ Present the strategy to key leaders in and off campus. Prayerfully consider a covenant that will create partnership, ownership and accountability.
+ Make action plans.
+ Develop a time line to include a launch date.
+ Build consensus by empowering students, campus ministries and churches to become campus missionaries.
+ Evaluate the strategy with creative and spiritual discerners.
+ Develop a strategy matrix and identify roles that will cast, carry out, and keep the vision.
+ Churches, campus ministries and students re-think, re-tool, renew and resource their lifestyles to facilitate an effective collegiate evangelism strategy by asking “what if it works?”
+ Design a website where all can go to get information, celebration, equipping, and resourcing to carry out this strategy.
Warning! Don’t create a bureaucracy that will kill evangelism on campus.

 Implementation

+ Conduct a launch rally that will bring all involved to anticipate & celebrate what the team believes that God is going to do.
+ Evaluation and implication meetings of the strategy team are on-going as needed.
+ Collect and share the stories for celebration in worship, on the website, with each other, and email blurbs.
+ Recognize what God is doing and who He is using to get the job done.
+ Come together for celebration.
+ Celebrate baptism together. Use baptism as a tool to share Christ with seekers.
+ Continue to use the website as “hanging out” place for all to see what God is doing and where He is moving
+ Pray about multiplying these experiences on other campuses across North America.

Warning! Did you create a bureaucracy?

 Nurture

+ vision and communication is a constant.
+ on-going training in evangelism is available to individuals and groups.
+ monthly worship experiences with an emphasis on evangelism and sharing salvation stories.
+ small group accountability
+ periodic email blurb on what God is doing on campus to bring seekers to Himself.
+ video tape what God is doing on campus and show it in worship.
+ leadership team is challenging others to do the work on an evangelist.
+ Pastors are inviting students to share what God is doing on campus in their services.
+ Pastors are inviting students to assist in communicating the campus as a mission field passion to their church.
+ Church and campus ministry leaders are consistent in prayerwalking and sharing Christ on campus.

Warning! Is bureaucracy creeping in?

 Follow up and follow through

+ Church and campus ministry leaders are communicating with each other in following through with decisions. A follow up strategy is being assimilated.
+ New Christians are discipled and assimilated into collegiate ministries and churches.
+ New churches are being considered, planned and developed.
+ The experience of the evangelism strategy is being shared and taught on many college towns in North America.

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Gary B. Jennings
Collegiate Evangelism, Manager
North American Mission Board, SBC

(770) 410-6301
gjennings@namb.net
www.studentz.com/collegiate

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