Practice hospitality
Hospitality is a crucial part of adopting a campus and practicing that value should begin with your partners. Get a few pizzas, order some take-out, or at least have really good snacks.
Watch the Adopt a Campus video
Watch the following video to see what happened when a couple students decided to adopt a campus 45 minutes away. Invite your potential partners to watch the video with you and ask them to pay attention to what God is stirring in them.
After watching the video ask a few discussion questions and invite everyone to respond.
1. What stood out to you or caught your attention about the Delano story?Did you notice God stirring anything in you? 2. How is your imagination growing for what God could do at _____ campus?
Take a minute as a leader to share what God is stirring in you for ____ campus. Invite them to partner with you by committing to visit that campus with you each week. Ask them to share any questions they have about partnering with you.
Watch the Finding People of Peace video
Watch the following video, which unpacks the story of the Apostle Paul and his friends planting a church in the town of Philippi. The video highlights the types of people we look for on campus who could help plant the new ministry.
After watching the video ask a few discussion questions and invite everyone to respond.
1. What stood out to you from the story of Acts 16? 2. How does the idea of searching for People of Peace (like Lydia and Angel) shape the way we could approach starting a new ministry at _____?
Network for connections on the adopted campus
Work together to list out the names of anyone that any of you already know from the campus you’ll be adopting. This could be friends from high school, church connections, transfer students, etc. Highlight the 3 marks of a person of peace from the video (1. being open to God and to you, 2. having a network of relationships, and 3. being receptive and action oriented) Do any of the people you’ve listed seem to match this description?
Continue the search
Continue exploring your networks to find connections to people on the adopted campus.
• Invite everyone to post a graphic on social media (InterVarsity is coming to ________! Are you a student at ___, do you know anyone at ____). Follow up on any connections.
• Make plans to share the Adopt a Campus video at a chapter meeting (could be at a large group, in small groups, or at a leaders meeting) and ask people to share contacts of anyone they know on that campus.Pray for revival
Take some time to pray for the campus you’re adopting. Ask God to give you all a heart of love for that place! Pray for the connections you already have there and ask God to lead you to the people of peace he’s already prepared in advance.
Plan your next steps together
You and your partners have gained vision for adopting a campus and have begun to network for connections there. End your time together by setting a few next steps in place.
1. Invite them to your next coaching appointment with your Adopt a Campus coach. That’s where you and your partners will be trained in the tools you’ll use to engage the campus on your first campus visit. Make sure everyone has the time and the link to the video conference call. 2. Set a day and time for your first campus visit! This should be after your next coaching appointment.
Partnership Gathering Guide
Here’s a one page minute-by-minute guide for hosting your partnership gathering.Download Partnership Gathering Guide
You can adopt a campus. We can help.