In reply to:
College Women in UMW — My name is Courtney Jones, and I'm Women's Division's Genie Bank Intern...
posted by CSJones on
9-May-2007
2:50 PM
I
found this list of "Seventeen Ways to Welcome College Students",
written by a Willamette University alum and the Wesley Foundation
Director at University of Oregon. It is written to help congregations
welcome new college students who attend church, but I'm sharing it as a
suggestion to get your creativity flowing for how UMW can do similar
things to engage college women. I thought it might be helpful for those
of you who are especially interested in working with college women. :)
- Make
a point to meet and speak to college students when they come to church.
Feeling welcomed is the #1 concern of students who attend a new church.
- Invite students to sit with you during worship so they don't sit alone.
- Treat
a student to lunch after worship. Whether it be at home or a local
restaurant, students will appreciate an invitation to talk and eat a
meal that was not prepared at the dining hall.
- Bring
extra food for after-church potlucks and invite the students to stay
for lunch. Most students do not have kitchen facilities to prepare a
potluck dish, but they want to participate in church activities.
- Make
a personal phone call to a student who attends your church on Sunday
morning, and answer any questions they may have about your
congregation.
- Take a student for coffee during the week following their visit at church.
- Offer to drive students to worship.
- Send birthday cards, a bookmark, or words of encouragement throughout the year. Students love mail!
- Include college students on your Church Newsletter mailing list.
- Offer Sunday School classes on topics of interest to young adults.
- Organize a fellowship activity for college students.
- Present a plant to every new student who attends worship.
- Include students in worship, inviting them to read scripture, usher, or serve as a communion steward.
- Create
"care packages" for students before finals week. Cookies, pens, sticky
notes, highlighters, snack foods, and a slinky would be great gifts for
stressed out students. Enclose a note wishing them well on their exams.
- Adopt a student for a year, inviting them to meals and calling to be sure they are all right.
- Include
students in your family's holiday activities. Thanksgiving, Christmas,
and Easter are hard times to be far away from home.
- Design
a flier describing your local church and post it in the Student Union
on campus. Be sure to include worship times and a map to your church
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