THE FOUR F’S: LAUNCHING A SIMPLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE MINISTRY

Are you a campus ministry leader looking to branch out to a nearby community college? Or maybe a local church leader with a nearby community college? Here’s a model for launching and maintaining a simple Bible study at a nearby two-year community college. We’ve used it in Texas BSM for years, and it only takes about THREE HOURS PER WEEK!

Welcome to the Four F’s model: Fliers, Food, Fone Numbers, and Follow-up!

1. Fliers – Print simple fliers! “Free Pizza & Bible Study, Wednesdays 12pm in the Student Center Lobby.” They don’t need to be fancy. Have your contact info and a social media handle. Hand out LOTS of them, especially in the hour or two before your meeting. Cast a wide net! The number of new students who come is proportional to the number we invite.

2. Food – Students aren’t picky. Cheap pizza draws a crowd! Order pizza and have it delivered, or get a friend to pick it up. Don’t worry about drinks; most students carry a water bottle. Spend your best time and energy inviting students just before your meeting. Do a discussion-based “Discovery Bible Study” using the GULSA questions:  “What does the passage teach us about GOD? What does it teach us about US as people? What do you LIKE about it? How would you SUMMARIZE it? How can we APPLY it to our lives?” Start with the miracle stories of Jesus, the Gospel of Mark, Philippians, 1 Peter, or James. Pick your study at the beginning of the semester, and then you don’t have to think about it again!

3. Fone Numbers – Okay, maybe we took some liberties with the spelling! As you meet people ask, “Do you think you might be interested in Free food and Bible study? Let me grab your number and I’ll text you a reminder next week!” You can use your phone, a clipboard, or a simple survey form. Get as many phone numbers as possible. Create a spreadsheet. Send a group text to everyone every week on the morning of your Bible study to remind them, “Free pizza and Bible study today!”

4. Follow-up – Now that you have lots of phone numbers and some students who’ve attended your Bible study, start doing systematic follow-up. Do Gospel Appointments (gospelappointments.com) with as many as possible. Invite believers to participate in Bible study, ministry, and discipleship at your church or main campus ministry. Invite not-yet-Christians to attend Bible study and follow Christ.

This simple plan is easy, and it works!

You may ask, “What else should I keep in mind?” Here are a few things:

• Community colleges are differentfrom universities or even junior colleges because they do not have campus housing, athletics, or much in the way of student life. Sometimes, they don’t even have a cafeteria or food court. But they do have students! And they’re among the students least engaged by churches or ministries. Finding students here can be easy because your Bible study may be the only exciting thing on campus.

• Set different expectations. Maybe you’ve seen college ministry done BIG. This isn’t that. Don’t overdo things. Your goal isn’t to have all the bells and whistles. Your goal is to have a simple, streamlined effort with the maximum return on your time investment.  Follow the 80/20 rule where you ask, “What are the few things that will help reach the most students?” And only do those things!  

• Aim for a weekly noontime Bible study. This strategic timing ensures maximum student participation. This is when the most students will be available. By providing inexpensive food, you make it convenient for students, eliminating the need for them to leave campus for lunch before work or their next class.

• Be consistent. Go to campus on the same day and time each week. Community colleges are a revolving door of students. If you invite people to your Bible study on Monday and then host the Bible study on Tuesday, you’ll have a completely different group of students on campus!

• Aim for an all-in-one trip to campus each week. Getting to campus takes gas and, more importantly, time. Making multiple trips makes you more likely to get burned out or over-committed. Go to campus once per week and have a tightly packed, well-planned schedule. Altogether, you’ll spend three hours or less, make quality connections with a few students, and help them dig into God’s word. Over time, you can invite them to your church or ministry at your “main” campus. Here’s the schedule I suggest:

  • 11 am – Arrive at campus, walk around, and hand out LOTS of Bible study fliers.

  • 11:45 am – Have pizza delivered to campus or a friend pick it up.

  • 12 pm – Facilitate a simple discussion-based Bible study.

  
  

  • 1 pm – Stick around and have follow-up conversations with people.

  
  

• Where should you meet? Pick an area that’s open and visible but not so loud that it’s distracting. Most of the time, you don’t need permission for an informal Bible study. Just gather up in a circle and do it. As long as the campus is open to the general public, you can be there. But be sure to check on the rules first.

• Should we become a student organization? Occasionally, this is the only way to host a gathering. Sometimes, having a student organization comes with perks like hanging posters or reserving rooms. However, it also requires extra time and effort, so weigh the costs and benefits.