• Love the students in your midst and invite them home for lunch after service in groups of two or more.  Share with them your spiritual journey; students gravitate to where there is love and food. This can provide an important safe space to process what they are learning or wrestling with in class. A church in Victoria has a dinner for 200 students on Tuesdays  Feed them and they will come!

• A large garage sale in September with desks, lamps, bookshelves, basic furniture and beds will really help. One church gives these away free; students respond in big numbers.

• Pray for the students from the pulpit, especially during the vulnerable exam times (Dec/April). For graduate students, it is comprehensive exams and thesis defense at various times. This wins the heart and lets them know the congregation really cares about them.

• Ask how you can pray for and support their witness on campus; the more we take them seriously, the better for the kingdom.

• Certain mentoring relationships between a member of your church and a student can be fruitful. Take special note of students giving leadership in Christian clubs.

• Teach the Bible well as a source of life and vision, and they will hear about you.

• It is magic for the pastor to spend some time with the students hearing about their theological/biblical/apologetic questions. It would really impress them if you met them on campus or held an open discussion evening at church. Students need us to help them listen to a skeptical world and speak about God wisely in this world; take seriously their inquiring minds.

• Involve students in the worship, reading Scripture, Sunday School teaching, or compassion ministry. Teach them to love the poor and marginalized. If they develop a stake in church now, they are more likely to stay longer term.

• International students often need language tutoring or even grammar help in essays—retired teachers could have impact. They crave contact with family life as well.

• UBC—attend a Graduate & Faculty Christian Forum once in a while and meet some people; advertise the forum in your church bulletin. These visiting scholars should be of interest to you and certain members of your congregation as well as students in your midst. SFU has a seminar series called Christian Leadership Initiative. There may be creative ways in which you can partner with this witness. Waterloo has the Pascal Lectures annually. Watch for Veritas Forums on various campuses.

• Film & Theology Night seems to attract students, where the group reflects theologically on a current film. Alternatively try a reflective science & faith discussion using the Faraday Institute DVD series Test of Faith, and a couple university science professors.

• If you have faculty members in your congregation, introduce them to the students. Ask the faculty member how you can pray for and support her/him. Inquire about their struggles & pressure. Many faculty can give prophetic insight through teaching.

• Work with university music majors to put together a creative concert, arts festival or coffeehouse.

• As you have the resources, a senior, scholarly discussion group at your church like Learner’s Exchange can attract and help students much. Also a book study might work (e.g. Tim Keller’s The Reason for God.)

• Some might like to experiment with a “twenty-something” alternative service on Saturday or Sunday evening. Key book on inter-generational church issues and alternative services: Deep Church by Jim Belcher (IVP, 2009). This is a very important book.

• Keep your ear to the ground on important campus lectures which represent the cutting edge of cultural movement: visit the university website or watch for Vancouver Institute Lectures. This is a good way to meet people who may not attend your church at the moment, and discover where some of the cutting edge thinking is going.

• Hold a special lecture, movie or debate at your church. Some of the GFCF speakers, UBC, TWU profs or seminary professors from Regent, ACTS, Carey may well be open to this: e.g. church and society discussions such as the future of Islam in Canada. See cultural analyst James Davison Hunter’s concept of “faithful presence” in To Change the World, pp. 238-286. High quality is important here. I am promoting the use of university faculty and graduate students as resources in leading seminars in local churches--a great resource.

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Outreach Canada’s What’s the Big Idea Series

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