10 Ways to Minister to Your Church’s College Students

By David Fincher 

Students who leave home for college enter a new world of opportunities and influences. Maintaining connection with a church can be challenging. Even if you have taught students the principles of biblical apologetics, healthy relationships, Christian ethics, and basic theology, being a university student is difficult. Consider some of the following strategies to help your church go the extra mile with your college students, whether they attend a Christian or secular college.  

1. Refer them to a local church. Find a ministry leader in the region to explain the landscape for young Christian adults. Facilitate a personal meeting between the student and a local minister that can lead to an intentional hand-off for ministry purposes. That “student membership” experience offers a higher level of encouragement and support than shepherding from a distance can provide. 

2. Connect them electronically. A youth minister who builds a group text or social media page for their graduating class helps maintain a common spiritual identity after high school. It also allows them to support one another through sharing joys and needs with the group. This mutual ministry can continue for years. 

3. Pray for them weekly. Lift up the names of students either via a church prayer list, weekly prayer, ministry staff meeting (or all three). Let students know the church is praying for their spiritual development of giftedness to serve others. Invite them to share their struggles and challenges, as well. Pray that they can stand against the temptations that come from being away from home for the first time. 

4. Send them cards. Everyone loves to get mail, and college students especially value notes from home. An encouraging message with a small gift card will make a student’s day. Doing this a couple times every semester will cost the church little, but it will pay great dividends to the student who sees how much the church cares for them. The student will also learn the value of encouraging others during this season of life. 

5. Visit them occasionally. A minister or elder who goes out of their way to visit a college student at their campus will leave a lasting impression. Visiting a student even just one time lets them know they are not forgotten and that you will help them, if needed. Your caring conversation over a cup of coffee will mean more than they can say. 

6. Offer them hospitality. When a student comes home, a church leader can offer to buy them breakfast or lunch. Invite them to your home and listen to them describe their local church, spiritual activities, service projects, etc. Discussing how God is working in their lives will reinforce or clarify the decisions they are making. 

7. Sponsor their mission trip. If a student plans to go on a mission trip with their Christian college or campus ministry, become a generous sponsor. Those life-changing experiences often set the tone for their future service. It will also teach them to be generous with others in a similar situation. 

8. Invite them to report to the church. If you discover the student has experienced an interesting spiritual activity while at college, give them a chance to speak to the congregation. Interview them as part of a sermon, invite them to submit a short video, or have them lead a special session on the topic. The congregation will be interested in what one of their own is doing for the kingdom, and the student will feel especially valued by sharing their experience . 

9. Hire them for the summer. If a college student is coming home for the summer, find a way to have them work at the church. Possibilities include completing physical tasks around the building and grounds, helping lead camps and events with young people, or developing the church’s technological capabilities. The paycheck will help the student pay for college, and the experience will demonstrate how their gifts can help the church. 

10. Give them a scholarship. Many churches provide a scholarship—perhaps $1,000—for a student’s first year of Christian college. Consider expanding that for additional years. The scholarship can be contingent upon one or more factors (a student can report on churches they have visited while at college, share about how to better prepare students in the youth ministry for college, be a prayer partner with a member of the high school youth group, etc.). Continued connections with the home church can benefit the student and the home church. 

A student who leaves for college too often leaves the church for good, but students who receive special attention from their home church will realize they are valuable to the body of Christ. If your church does not have its own college students, reach out to the closest Christian college or campus ministry to adopt one or two for a season. When your church ministers to college students, the students will better understand their importance to the future of the church. 

Dr. David Fincher is president of Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo., and the Christian Church Leadership Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio.