Advertising CU

Have you recently got a Christian Union started where you study? Or are you helping to lead one that is already established?  

CU’s are an amazing way to gather Christians from around college into one place and unite around One Person…Jesus. They are a great place for students to encourage each other to keep living as salt and light, despite the bespoke challenges in your context. CU’s can be a powerhouse of prayer as you lift up each other and friends to the LORD where you study. And they can be a tremendous tool in the Father’s hand as you step out in faith, sharing the gospel with students in your courses and campus.  

But does everyone know there is a Christian Union?  

Do you reckon there are more believers where you are?  

Are there students who don’t know Jesus yet – who may be seeking or skeptical and would love someone or somewhere to explore more?  

Then how about trying a few of these ideas to help raise the profile of your CU: 

Contact Churches:  

Get the word out at churches where students go. Ask them to share the details about CU at youth group and/or on Sunday so that students know the time, date and room to head to. NOTE: It’s worth thinking about how far students travel from to your college/sixth form. Do a little research and also contact churches that may be a bit further out than where your place of study is located!  

Use Social Media:  

It can be a great idea to set up a CU socials page. That way you can use that (and your own socials) to spread the word about CU times, what you’re up to – and how everyone is invited.   

Posters:  

If you have permission to put up posters in allocated places around college, they can be a great way to spread the word about CU. For ready-designed posters (which you can order for free with your own CU details) check out here.   

Outreach ‘giveaway’: 

A brilliant way to sow seeds and get the word out about CU is through a ‘giveaway’. The idea is – you give away something that will bless people and lift their eyes to Jesus…whilst highlighting that there’s a CU live and kicking where they study! For instance:  

• Some CUs have given away Love Heart sweets along with little ‘This is Love’ flyer tracts in the run up to Valentine’s Day. Find those here. 

• Other CUs have given away chocolate eggs with a little tag on them with a bible verse like John 3:16 along with a ‘Happy Easter from the Christian Union’.  

• A classic is to give away wrapped-up gospels and candy canes! Attach a little label – ‘Merry Christmas from everyone at the Christian Union.’ 

Outreach Event:  

A great way to gather interest in CU is by running an outreach event. This is a courageous way to help students engage with the gospel. There are all kinds of events you could do from small-scale to larger-scale and they can be hugely impactful. Get ideas for these here. Outreach events also raise the profile of CU and attract both Christians and not-yet-Christians to what you’re about!   

Personal Invitation: 

It is so easy for us to say someone’s ‘no’ for them. We can assume that such-and-such friend would not be interested. And while that might be true, it also might not be. Most explorers started exploring through the impact of a friend. So, who can you prayerfully invite? Would doing a seekers course like VOX or Alpha be a good thing to run at CU and invite people to?  

For further support, prayer and ideas in building up your CU – make sure you’re connected to our student network here.