Examples for New Student Recruitment
From the Ross Fellowship, 2016
1) Meet the Clubs Information Session and Kickoff Meeting
Ross always has a club fair after class ends the first day, which was September 5 this year. This year we had two MBA2s at the MCF table, a signup sheet, and snacks (which definitely attracted a couple people who just wanted to say "hi" and get some food). In total, about 30 people stopped by and signed up for our club. Typical conversations included a combination of explaining what types of events we have, where MBAs in the area go to church, whether the club is ecumenical (Yes!), and if there was a club fee (no!) for participation.
The next day there were a number of other Ross events planned for the same time period, so we decided to have a less formal gathering with leftover snacks and zucchini bread instead of a meal and Bible study. We sat in a circle with about 12 students and shared both our spiritual and professional background. At the end of the time, Erik posed the question, "What are you looking for from MCF this year?" A few of the answers were: a) help growing/coming back to my faith, b) a place from which to share with others and help them understand the Bible, and c) a way to put faith in action in response to the social justice challenges in our world (ie: Charlottesville and end of DACA). These are areas we had discussed as a leadership team, and we will continue to pray for God to equip our group to minister in various ways to both our fellowship members and to the broader community at Ross and in our city.
2) Sunday Cookout
On Sunday evening, Michael hosted a cookout at his apartment with about 22 students, spouses, and friends. We had the chance to talk and get to know each other in a relaxed setting about 3 minutes from Ross, which allowed a few students to drop by between group meetings at school. The event started at 5pm, and was supposed to end by 6:30, but a small group hung around until about 7pm to talk about everything from church that morning to past experiences to internships to advice for surviving/thriving as an MBA1. Several students confirmed that they planned to come to the Bible study on Wednesday.
3) First Wednesday Bible Study
This evening we had our first Bible study of the semester with 12 attendees (9 new students, 2 MBA2 leaders, and James). We are studying Colossians using the inductive study method and discussed how our goals become different when we focus on God and how we can live lives of thankfulness.
There was a cool thing that actually happened after the study ended. We had extra food and were debating what to do with it, but there was also a class walking in and getting set up as we cleaned up. One student saw the food and exclaimed, "Is that Greek garlic sauce?" That solved it - we left the food for the class and even brought in some extra plates from a locker so they could enjoy it. It turns out that the professor is a Christian, and he said to me that the angels rejoice when we give food in God's name. I'll be praying that God works through that professor and through the small gifts we give this year.
4) Additional follow up
As a 4-member leadership team, we divided up the list of 25 students so that we would each contact 6-7 new student to invite them out for coffee. Our goal is to contact all of them by the end of this week and set up coffee chats or other times to meet if they're interested.
A few weeks into the semester, MCF typically follows up with a survey to get input from MBA1s on how things within the fellowship are going, what we should change/do more of, and whether they are interested in joining the leadership team. Last year we added the option of prayer partners, so we will likely once again offer to pair students to meet 1-on-1 and pray for each other outside of our group meeting times.
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