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Church Search

This article is all about helping new students get stuck in at a local church, and the different ways we can be doing that. There are a lot of things to talk about, and some helpful, practical tips and reminders. Feel free to scroll down to the sections that apply to you!

CUs play an important role in helping new students find and settle into a local church. The Church Search gathers different church leaders in one place and gives students the chance to find out about each church. Each church will usually be given a table and can hand out flyers and other information about their church or how to join on a Sunday. This may happen during a main meeting or as a separate Welcome Week event. The important thing is that students can talk to local church representatives and find a church that suits them.

What if you’re in a small CU?

If you’re a small CU and don’t have the capacity to run a full Church Search, there are still things you can do to help new students find a church.

Lots of smaller CUs still host Church Searches. It doesn’t take many members to run it effectively. However, if you are unable to host a full Church Search, why not consider doing some of the following options:

  1. Organise a rota for returning students to meet at a set place on a Sunday and accompany new students to different churches for the first 3 weeks.
  2. Why not ask some church reps to come to your university each Sunday morning for the first few weeks? They can give a short description of their church, and take people to the service that day.
  3. Ask local church representatives to make a 1 minute video about their church and play it during your main meeting.

As we read the Bible’s big story, we find that God’s purpose is not merely to save individuals, but through the cross win a diverse people for himself – united to him and united to each other. Local church is the primary and lifelong way we express this unity now. In a gospel-centred local church we can be taught and grown, encouraged and discipled, pastored and provided with opportunities to serve. There may also be non-believers who are willing to give church a try. A CU Church Search can provide students with the encouragement they need to settle in a church community.

Over the past year we’ve experienced different and unusual elements of church life, whether that’s watching from our sofa, signing up online, or wearing masks. Whatever church looks like this term, new students shouldn’t miss out on joining a local church community.

  1. Have churches signed the Doctrinal Basis recently? Local churches need to agree with and affirm the truths outlined in the Doctrinal Basis in order to be promoted in the Church Search. We want to encourage students to attend churches that uphold the glorious and beautiful truths of the gospel that unite us all. There will be other churches that, for one reason or another, won’t endorse the Doctrinal Basis. Don’t feel guilty about not including them in your Church Search. Other organisations, like the chaplaincy, may feature these churches for those who are seeking them.
  2. Do your impact group leaders know what’s expected of them? Finding a church by yourself is difficult. It can be hard to know where to start, or daunting going by yourself. Impact Groups are the perfect place to have older CU members go with new students to churches. As a CU, decide the role that impact groups will play in the weeks around the Church Search in encouraging and helping new students find a church.
  3. Do the church leaders know what’s happening? Have you told the church leaders what to expect? What the guidelines or restrictions will be? Do they know the vision behind the Church Search? Honour your local churches by giving them clear and thorough information early in advance.
  4. Have you updated your church information? You may have a list of all the churches on your website, but is it clear on your other social media too? Do you have service times? Details about how new students can book on to in-person services? The location of minibus pick-up points? Make it as easy as possible for new students to join a church service.
  5. Have you made the most of social media? If you were a fresher who follows the CU Insta would you have any idea that the Church Search was happening? Make it as easy as possible for them to attend and make it look like an event that freshers should want to go to. Possibly post short testimonial video clips of current students from a variety of churches describing how going to church made a difference to their university experience.
  6. Have you checked the rules? It’s important to know what we can and can’t do. We want to make the most of the opportunities that we have, whilst still obeying the law and respecting the SU. Ask the SU what you can and can’t do (for example: can churches hand out flyers?) and keep an eye on the national or local restrictions. Bear in mind that even if the SU say you can’t use a building on campus, you may be able to use a local church as a venue. If you’re unsure, chat to your staff worker about it.
  7. Have you completed a risk assessment? Make sure you have completed a clear risk assessment for your SU, if you add in social distancing and other Covid measures you should be fine.

How to plan

Here's how to plan your Church Search according to any national, local, or SU restrictions that might be in place.

Let’s face it: nobody wants Church Search to be on zoom. It’s right that you do everything you can to try and make sure that this doesn’t happen. However, an online Church Search is still miles better than no Church Search. New students need to be encouraged to join a church whatever the limitations. So, if your Church Search does have to be online, it’s worth putting energy into thinking about how it can be as effective and engaging as possible.

Perhaps you want to create a sli.do word cloud for students to fill in about what they want in a church as an engaging opener as students join. Maybe you want to include a short talk about why it’s important to join a church as well as CU. You might ask churches to produce a 30 second video about their church for you to show. Then you could open a zoom breakout room for each church, and encourage students to hop between the breakout rooms of churches they’re interested in.

Whatever you decide to do, think about what students at your uni would find helpful and engaging.

The first thing to do is to sort a venue. Where would be the best place on campus to hold your Church Search? Remember, ideally you want a large open space, so people can easily maintain social distancing, and you want to use a location that is easy to find. Remember to give really clear instructions on how to get to the venue in your publicity.

Due to the event needing to be socially-distanced, you might want to ask each church to send only one representative rather than a few. It might be worth contacting church representatives a long time before the event informing them of the restrictions. This gives clear expectations to all the church representatives involved.

One way of getting around restrictions is to have timed slots for students to book in to. This means you can co-ordinate how many people will be in the space at one time. Why not set up a Google form or an Eventbrite event where people can book in to a slot, and then keep a few reserves for some students that just turn up on the door. This may mean the Church Search takes a little longer, but it is definitely worth it to be safe and make sure no one feels uncomfortable in the space.

Beware that some students may still have to isolate during this time. It might be worth offering a smaller scale online option as well. Look at the ideas above for inspiration.

What a joy to meet together with few to no restrictions! Space makes a huge difference, like mentioned earlier make sure you find a big open space ideally on campus. You want it to be easy for students to walk around and chat to different church leaders. It might be nice to even have another small room where new students can chat to current students about their church, or a place for a breather or to pray with someone. For some students Church Searches can be overwhelming.

Even if national covid restrictions are fully removed it doesn’t mean that the SU won’t still impose restrictions on societies. It is still worth checking with your Students Union on what you and the churches can and can’t do.

Beware that some students may still have to isolate during this time. It might be worth offering a smaller scale online option as well. Look at the ideas above for inspiration.

4 things to do post Church Search

  1. Keep encouraging: Lots of students who don’t connect to a local church in the first few weeks often end up drifting away. Make sure all your Impact Group leaders are regularly asking their groups how they’re finding looking around different churches. If you go to the church a student wants to try, invite them to come with you and spend the day together, or alternatively link them up with someone else you know who attends that church.
  2. Church meet-ups each Sunday: Why not ask some church reps to come to your university each Sunday morning for the first few weeks? They can give a short description of their church, and take people to the service that day. If you can’t do this I person, why not do it online? Invite church reps onto a zoom call with freshers, and encourage freshers to join a church rep in a breakout room to watch church together.
  3. Preparing for online church: If students have to isolate or we enter into further restrictions why not take to online to invite people to church. It may be possible for small groups in the CU to gather to watch church together either in the same place or using screen share. Church is so much better when it’s with others.
  4. Champion ‘Sunday Lunch Sunday’: Research shows that most new students feel a slump around five to six weeks into the autumn term. ‘Delayed homesickness’ kicks in around the same time that the clocks change and work begins to mount up. Encourage local churches to be especially hospitable at this time and to push the boat out with more special student lunches on these middle term Sundays.