How to Evangelize Through Campus Fellowships

A campus fellowship provides a way for church members who attend the same university or live in the vicinity of the university to help one another pursue spiritual edification and growth. 

            “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers…praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:41, 42, 47).

A campus fellowship can model itself after the apostolic church. The early members convened often to study the word, have fellowship, share in spiritual feasts, pray, and bear witness to the love of Jesus Christ. Likewise, a campus fellowship provides the opportunity for its members to study biblical teachings, draw closer to God and to each other, intercede for one another, and evangelize.

The Reason for Evangelical Outreach Efforts

Before His ascension, Jesus entrusted us with the Great Commission to preach the precious gospel to the ends of the earth.

            “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:19)

For members of a more seasoned campus fellowship, it is important to focus on the elements of spreading the gospel and cultivating the members within the fellowship. Although a starting campus fellowship can have the same heart, it may need to work more on internal issues before it can truly focus on the role of evangelism. 

Ways to Evangelize

Word of Mouth

-Testify about the word of God through personal testimonies and reading and quoting from the Scriptures.

-Inform your friends of the basic beliefs of the church.

Posting/Distributing Flyers

-Advertise campus fellowship meeting times and special events to the university community.

-Post flyers in public areas such as on bulletin boards and bus stops.

-Distribute the flyers to passers-by in public areas.

-In some universities, registered groups can request permission to set up a table for distribution of flyers at any time during the school year.

College Newsletter/Newspaper Advertisement

-Advertise campus fellowship meeting times and special events in your school newsletter or newspaper.

External Website

-Declare and explain the basic beliefs of the church

-Present the details of your campus fellowship such as Bible study meeting place and times

Preparation for an Evangelical Service

There needs to be an effort to establish either an informal or formal type of evangelical service to which friends can be invited to learn and reflect on the word of God.

The first step is to decide the format of your campus fellowship’s evangelical service. The format can range from casual to formal depending on the needs of the audience and the fellowship group.

The service usually is held at someone’s house or apartment.

-Determine the theme and title of the evangelical service.

-Discuss the format from the introduction to the main event to the conclusion.

-The main event can consist of thematic discussions, a brief message, skits, a short movie introducing the beliefs of our church, or a musical presentation.

-Ask for volunteers or perhaps pass around a sign-up sheet for different work teams such as food preparation, praise session team, discussion leaders, etc.

-The leader of each work team may assign action items to each team member for follow-up. 

-Figure out the budget for the event and how the finances will be covered, either through local church sponsorship or campus fellowship offerings.

-Plan to keep in contact with the friends that attend (e.g. making a contact card that the visitors can fill out, sending emails regarding any upcoming special events).

-Most importantly, pray, pray, and pray!