What's a CU to do?

Are you planning for a socially-distanced freshers’ week and looking for inspiration? Or perhaps you’re wondering how best to reach your university online? If that sounds like you, read on!

We’ve had a look back at all the ‘virtual’ CU activities since March and we’ve chosen some of their best light-bulb moments to highlight here. We hope they’ll help you be creative and bold as you plan for the coming year.

Twists on a classic

The Text-a-Toastie is, pardon the pun, the bread and butter of CU evangelism. It’s good at starting conversations about faith, it helps you meet new people and it’s tasty. But does it still work online?

Text-a-Postie: Last term, several CICCU college groups ran successful ‘Text-a-Postie’ events. On social media, they invited students to text in a question about Christianity along with their address, and then sent them a postcard with the answer written on it.
Mail-a-Moam: Chichester CU did the same thing, but with a little added flavour; popping a sweet in the post with each answer.

Pro tip: if you can’t get to the post office, why not replicate this but keep it all online? You can answer the questions through your Instagram account.

Making the most of social media

Facebook, Instagram, IGTV, Instagram Stories, Youtube, Twitter… in a way, these are all the online equivalents of your lecture halls. Except that in these lecture halls, every seat is full and no one is looking at the floor trying to avoid eye-contact – the students there are ready to contribute and engage!

The humble google doc form: Last term, many CUs found that simply posting on Facebook offering students the chance to sign up to read the Bible or ask questions was an effective way of reaching out – Birmingham CU had five students join an Uncover Mark group! For a good example of how to do this, check out OICCU’s post.

Pro tip: try pinning this post to the top of your page so it’s always first thing someone sees.

Livestream: Several CUs experimented with running classic events, such as apologetic lunchtime talks and ‘Grill-a-Christian’ evenings, live on social media – inviting unbelieving students to send in questions and respond to what they heard using Slido.

Pro tip: sharing the recordings of these events online afterwards is a great way to increase their reach, many videos went from having 50 views to over 1,000.

Keep the conversation going: After their online ‘Question a Christian’ event, Liverpool John Moores CU then posted the questions and the answers they gave on Facebook and Instagram in a series of punchy graphics: find out more here.

Nomination challenges: Looking to increase your online reach? This will bring you onto the radar of many who don’t yet follow your main channel. Leicester CU ran a ‘Pass on a Positive’ challenge last term. One committee member says, ‘As far as I know, we were the first CU to do this – members had to come up with a positive thing (whether it be a fun thing that happened during lockdown, something we were thankful for or a Bible verse), and then nominate someone else…’. Watch their highlight on Instagram to see more: @leicsterunicu

Something fresh

As well as CUs using social media, we saw some other inventive ideas:

An online magazine: During lockdown, CICCU started up an online magazine called Zeteo (the Greek word for ‘seeking’) to help spark curiosity about Jesus. They were encouraged to see articles that speak openly about the Bible shared on social media by their unbelieving friends, and even other university societies! Have a sneak peek for some inspiration:www.zeteomagazine.com/

Pro tip: If you’re not sure you have the manpower for something like this, why not try creating an online blog as a first step?

Podcasts: Cardiff CU started up a weekly podcast called ‘Faith over Fear’ last term. For 30 minutes, members would chat about tips on evangelism, give notices, and even play a ‘funky jingle’! But simplicity can also be effective; one member of Surrey CU called Barney began a podcast called ‘Pandemic Exposure’ aimed at unbelieving students, where he simply chatted about a relevant topic for 10 minutes.
Online events weeks: The words ‘events week’ conjure images of sandwiches in crates, tea and coffee stands, marquees, and handing out flyers – and so it’s hard to imagine running one online. But the CUs in Scotland gave it a go, joining together to run a series of online events around the theme of Hope – and were amazed at the interest it generated. Read more, here.

So what's next?

We hope these stories have sparked some ideas – but there’s no need to try them all! The most effective outreach can often be the most simple and relevant. Why not consider: