Top Ten Outreach Ideas

These are outreach ideas I would like to try. I have no idea if they will work, so if you try and fail, I will not take any responsibility.

1) A dunk contest with the goal set at 8 or 9 ft. (so regular guys could dunk). I would like to do this on a Friday afternoon in front of our student center. We have a large open area in front of our student center, and it’s a high traffic area, so I think we would catch a lot of students just stopping to watch. We would just have to be really intentional about getting students that are watching to fill out contact cards.

2) On a hot day, so I guess this couldn’t happen until the Spring, but set up a Slip-n-slide in front of a specific dorm. Advertise at that dorm all week. Make sure we have a few students that will be the first to try out the Slip-n-slide, then have at it. We could serve hot dogs, burgers, or ice cream and ask students to fill out contact cards.

3) Set up a table with Soularium and a table next to it with Perspective Cards in a high traffic location. See if students will stop and talk through the surveys pertaining to both those tools. (credit for this idea goes to our staff and students)

4) Another one for the Spring. A cookout at one of our baseball games. I’ve been saying we are going to do this for a long time, but we’ve never pulled the trigger. Our baseball stadium is set up for students to back up trucks (we’re in East Texas), and watch the game from their tailgates. This usually draws a pretty big crowd, especially if the weather is good. Would be great way to meet students we probably wouldn’t normally come into contact with.

5) Triathlon! We did this several years ago and had pretty good success, about 40 students participated. Interest in these have gone up over the years, might be worth bringing it back out.

6) Movie Discussion. The student center theatre shows two movies on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. If the movie has some meaning, so no Will Ferrell flicks, we could set up a table outside the theatre and ask students what they thought of the movie with a survey designed around the theme of the movie. We’ve also thought of just setting up a Soularium table between showings of the two movies.

7) Camcorder Outreach. On Friday afternoons, we gather as staff and students and initiate spiritual conversations on campus with students that are just hanging out. I’d like to use the same tools we always incorporate but let people know we’ll be videoing the conversations. Seeing us walk up with a camcorder can either be intimidating or it can cause students to light up and engage you more because they think it’s going to launch their acting career.

8) Habitat for Humanity. Spend a Saturday working with the local Habitat for Humanity, helping build a house. Advertise this opportunity on facebook and in our university’s newspaper, and invite students to join us.

9) Coffee and Donuts during Finals. This would require very low expectations because you wouldn’t be able to follow up with any of these students, but could make us more visible on campus and just be a good way to serve the student body.

10) You fill in this one. I’d love to hear your ideas on what you think would work on our campus at SFA, or any campus for that matter.