Every School Plan
Outreach: Identifying People
Supply Checklist
- Your Unitarian Universalist Campus Ministry (UUCM) Group Contact List is essential—collect full names, phone number, email, address and graduation year. With permission, add to your ConnectUU.com Group Profile.
- Notebook to record ideas and tasks for follow up, notes for next year/next time, contact names and numbers.
- Order free UUCM materials from the Office of Young Adult & Campus Ministry or view our full catalogue (PDF, 12 pages).
Outreach takes many forms, and is an important task, which needs to be done regularly in order to sustain a campus ministry program. As Unitarian Universalists (UU) we are not an active evangelical faith, however providing information about the simple existence of the campus ministry and allowing individuals to choose to be involved without the threat of God's wrath or another penalty does not fall into the category of evangelizing as we know it. Without good outreach, your campus ministry will deteriorate into a small clique isolated on campus and unwelcoming for not only newcomers seeking the liberal religious community of Unitarian Universalism but also for active Unitarian Universalists new to campus and unaware of the existence of your group. One of the most common critiques we hear about campus ministry is that people just didn't know it existed. Here are several good outreach activities for you to do.
Tabling—the #1 Way to Bring in People
Hosting an information table at a student activities fair, campus club fair, or some other event where student groups are publicizing themselves is the best way to grow your campus ministry. Most schools host an opportunity each term, and you can find out the details about how to get a table from the student government or student activities office. Sometimes there are restrictions on the groups, which are allowed to table, including fees or prohibition for unrecognized student groups. Don't let this be a barrier for your campus ministry. Find out if you can have a table with another group, or if there is a fee check to see if it is reasonable enough for a local UU congregation to pay. UU campus ministries often share tables with other campus ministries such as Student Ecumenical Project or STEP (United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ), United Ministries in Higher Education (Methodist and other mainline Protestant) and campus based interfaith councils. You might also ask to share with groups such as the Bisexual-Gay-Lesbian-Transgender Alliance, Amnesty International and Environmental Clubs.
When students approach your table, engage them in a conversation.
Work Your Local UU Congregation(s)
Checklist:
- Announcement in church newsletter—place a regular article or at minimum contact information and meeting times and locations for your campus ministry activities.
- Announcement in Sunday bulletin/Order of Service—place announcements and at minimum contact information for your campus ministry program.
- Announcement from pulpit
- Asking the youth advisor about youth who have bridged
Sample Congregational Announcement:
The [UU Church of My Place] is starting a new Campus Ministry program for students primarily at the [University of My Place]. We are seeking interested people of all ages to help with this new campus group, to assist in the outreach, communications and program development. Please contact [Mary Joe] at email address and phone number here or visit with her after a Sunday Service. Our next meeting will be [place, date, time].
Tabling Outreach at Social Hour after service at your congregation (if you can't do it weekly, try it monthly!)
- Print out events calendar, which you may be keeping on your website
- Print out business cards and sign-up sheets
- Print out pictures from recent events
- Keep a Campus Group box in a storage area at church where you can store these and other items in for your info table
- Staff (be present) at the table on Sunday morning to hand out events, business cards, show pictures, and to answer questions and welcome people
- Seek out young adults roaming around that you haven't seen before to let them know about your group, introduce yourself, find out who they are, if they are new (and welcome them if so!).
- Put extra cards, pictures and events listings in the Campus Group box and put it back into storage
- If you can't make it on Sunday, ask other people to staff the table
- Send an e-mail to people who sign up on Sunday and invite them to join the YourGroup@uuyan.org e-mail list for future updates
Print Media
Advertising in the school newspaper—Often student papers have a section for students where you can advertise your UUCM meeting times for free. Display advertising at the beginning of the term is also a good way to announce your presence as many students are reading the paper checking for jobs, housing and special interests. You may also qualify for student rates. Cut and paste the following, edit so it fits your work and save a copy for the next group leader.
Sample Classified Announcement:
[your name] is working with [your church] to start a campus ministry at [the university]. Campus Ministry is a program of [your church] designed to provide a spiritual group for students on campus and connect them with the ministry of [your church]. We are seeking names and contact information of interested students as well as adults who would be willing to volunteer with the campus ministry. Please contact [your name and phone and email]. Our next meeting will be [information here].
Other Tools and Materials
There are new materials being developed and revised each year by the UUA and invented and shared by congregations and districts. Check with the Office of Young Adult & Campus Ministry for the most current Resource List. The following is a short list of useful first resources to utilize, all of which are available at low or no cost to you. Order online or phone the Office of Young Adult& Campus Ministry at (617) 742-2100. We encourage you to keep a Resource Library with your Congregational Office or your College Campus Chaplain's Office to make sure that they are available for the next team of campus ministry leaders.
UUCM Brochures—The UUA also has generic brochures you can use, or you can develop or modify your own. These are helpful to new students who may be curious about Unitarian Universalism and would like to know a bit more about the faith as well as your campus group before checking out a meeting.
Campus Ministry Outreach Posters—Make your own or use the UUA Young Adult and Campus Ministry Office Campus Ministry Posters. Check to see if you need approval from student activities so they don't get ripped down and your group in trouble. Posters may be great for upcoming meetings, to announce your presence on campus, and special events. Don't forget to put a contact person, email and phone number on the poster. The UUA posters are 11 by 17 inch color posters and are professionally designed, union made and printed with soy-based ink. These posters already have a blank space for you to write your contact information before you hang them in coffee shops, bulletin boards on campus and at church, and other visible areas where students might see them.
UUA Campus Ministry Video—Titled “Building Intergenerational Wholeness” this 14 minute video documentary by Benjamin Ernst and Kylan Productions is a great introduction to campus ministry for your student group and congregation. The purpose of the video is primarily to empower congregations to invest time and money into campus ministry. Consider showing the film at a student meeting, after church on Sunday, or at a congregational or board meeting. After watching the film ask for reactions and comments and let the discussion flow. This is also may be a good resource for introducing new people to Unitarian Universalist campus ministry , This film is a component of the Vision Workshop outlined in First Things First.
Chalking—Check the rules on campus before you go wild, but this can be a really fun way to go out as a group and create highly visible announcements on college walkways. Be sure to wash it away after your events. Write short, witty statements with simple information on where to go or who to contact and lots of chalices. Get together with a small group at a local coffee shop or the library to brainstorm slogans and then go out together. Try to use the big ½ inch chalk
Phone Outreach
After you've put the word out about your UUCM Group through tabling, print, postering, congregational announcements, online and e-lists, now it is time to take the final and most important step—Phone Outreach! A simple phone call knocks down the impersonal barriers of online communication and begins to build a friendly and interpersonal relationship with interested people. You have the opportunity to practice and improve your rap about why you are organizing a UUCM Group (and share personally what you hope to get out of it!), as well as the ability to ask for feedback about what they would be interested in. If you have an already existing group, we still strongly encourage you to make phone calls to the students who have expressed interest in your UUCM Group at least twice a year. There is the "ministry" part of UU Campus Ministry as you "check-in" with the people in your database/contact list.
Sample Phone Rap to New People
Hello is _______ there?
Hi my name is [your name] with the [your church or university] and I'm working to organize a campus ministry at [your church or university]. Do you have a few minutes to talk?
I got your name from [who, how, email, friend, etc] and they said you would be someone to talk to or may be interested in campus ministry. I'm helping get something started because [why campus ministry is important to you here], would be interested in getting involved with a student UU campus group?
Great, our next meeting will be [date, time, location], and can I get your contact information so we can stay in touch? Would you like to be on our email list? [ get full name, address, zip code, and alternate phone numbers, email].
Thanks so much for your time and I looking forward to seeing you this year!
Bye
(other questions you might ask are, what are you studying, where are you living—on campus, off campus, did you move here from somewhere, what church have you been involved in, etc.)
Sample Phone Rap to Existing Members
Hello is _______ there?
Hi my name is [your name] with the [your church or university] and I am one of the leaders of the UU campus ministry at [your church or university]. Do you have a few minutes to talk?
Great. We're doing a general Fall/Spring check-in and we have you on our contact list.
How are you doing this semester? (this conversation is ideally the bulk of the phone call—use this question as a lead in to finding out what the student is up to or build on what you already may know)
At this point it depends on how well you know the person's involvement in the group. If you're doing a phone bank with volunteers who may not know everyone, build your phone rap around an upcoming event, inviting them to participate personally. If you're familiar, try one or more of the following questions:
- What do you like about our UUCM group?
- What activities would you like to see our UUCM group do?
- What ideas do you have to make our UUCM group better?
In closing,
Thanks for your time, our next meeting will be [date, time, location], and can I get your contact information so we can stay in touch? Would you like to be on our email list? [get full name, address, zip code, and alternate phone numbers, email].
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
