"Who me???? Me...start a high school or college Student Christian Organization????" Yes, YOU!  If the Lord has put a desire in your heart to reach out to your fellow Christians, and a burning passion to see the unsaved students come to know Jesus...then YOU are the right student for the job!  It can be done! Thousands of other students around the WORLD started out just like you - a lot of drive but not a lot of INFORMATION.  Thank the Lord, that's where WE can help YOU!

There is no "perfect" plan to develop a campus ministry, like a Bible Study Club or Prayer Group.  You can find hundreds of websites with hundreds of plans for making it happen.  We have searched the Internet to find the best resources to help you make a huge impact for GOD!  Remember: God is greater than any difficulty and He is big enough to help you reach your campus!

We have combined some of the best advice for forming a Christian Student Organization, and put it together in the form of a "Checklist" with links for further help and information. Please visit these other linked sites.  You will be able to network with other "on-fire-for-God!" students around the world!

STARTING A CHRISTIAN STUDENT ORGANIZATION CHECKLIST:
 
 1. PRAY.  And after you have prayed, pray some more.  We cannot stress enough just how important it is to have a dependent, seeking attitude in your walk with God.  He knows what you need to do or not do, seek His wisdom in prayer. Ask the Lord to make the way plain, to open doors, to touch hearts, to change lives.  
 
 2. ASK OTHERS TO PRAY.  Ask your Christian friends and others like Youth Pastors, Church Pastors and Elders to also be praying for the Lord to work in a mighty way.  You are not in this alone.
 
 3.  REALIZE that this is God's Work, NOT YOURS! He loves those students infinitely more than you ever could.  Be sure to keep that perspective, this is not "Joe Smith's" Christian Club or "Suzie Believer's" Prayer Group.  Keep the focus OFF of you and ON the Lord Jesus.
 
 4.  EXAMINE YOUR LIFE.  Are you walking with God??? We are not asking you if you are sinless, that will not happen until that awesome day that we are standing in the Lord's presence! But, are you allowing sin in your life, are there things that the Holy Spirit has been gently (or sometimes, not so gently) dealing with you about?  In II Timothy, the apostle Paul says that if you want to serve the Lord, you must be a clean vessel, prepared for God's service. Are you in a sinful relationship with a member of the opposite sex, are chemical addictions controlling you, or maybe anger or hatred towards certain people in your life...WE ALL HAVE ISSUES, let's just deal with them as the Lord reveals them to us!
 
 5.  CHECK TO SEE IF YOUR SCHOOL ALLOWS NON-CURRICULUM CLUBS.  This is very crucial.  Not all schools allow student organizations that are not DIRECTLY related to curriculum (a curriculum club would be like: Math Club, Spanish Club, FBLA, etc.)  Non-curriculum clubs are student groups that gather about topics that are not directly related to classes offered at the school.  If you have a Chess Club, or a Stamp Collectors Club, then your school probably allows non-curriculum clubs.  ASK YOUR PRINCIPAL.  

IF YOUR SCHOOL DOES ALLOW NON-CURRICULUM CLUBS, then the Equal Access Act guarantees your right to have a Christian club at your school.  Your religious liberties to do this have been affirmed in court cases for many years.  

IMPORTANT:  We have some excellent Legal Fact Sheets that you can print out to take to your principal if there is opposition to your right to have a Christian Student Organization. Please print out a few copies of these and give one to your school administration, and file one away for yourself.  DO NOT DEMAND YOUR RIGHTS, but humbly make them known.  It is not a good testimony for the Lord to have Christians demanding things or threatening lawsuits.  A humble attitude will open a lot more doors.  

Letter for Principal Outlining Your Rights
LEGAL FACT SHEET (html)
LEGAL FACT SHEET (doc)
Sample School Board Policy Regarding Religion (html)
The Rutherford Institute's legal sheet to school superintendents (html)
 
 6. FILE A REQUEST WITH YOUR PRINCIPAL FOR YOUR CLUB.  We have a sample form that you can modify listed below.  Some schools may ask you to also submit a formal "Mission Statement" or "Organizational Charter." Don't stress, we have samples of those listed below as well.

Sample Letter of Request
Sample Mission-Statement
Sample Campus Club Charter
Sample Statement of Faith
 
 7. IF YOUR REQUEST IS DENIED, AND YOUR SCHOOL ALLOWS NON-CURRICULUM CLUBS, then make sure you give the principal one of Legal Fact Sheets in #5 above. Do not DEMAND anything.

IF THEY STILL REJECT YOUR REQUEST, then you probably should contact FREE CHRISTIAN LEGAL COUNSELORS.  We have listed several awesome organizations below that exist for this exact purpose...to defend a Christian's Legal Rights.  If you are under 18, make sure that you have a parent or guardian help you to make contact.

The American Center For Law and Justice
P.O. Box 64429
 Virginia Beach, VA 23467
757-226-2489
 www.aclj.org		 Alliance Defense Fund
15333 North Pima Road
 Scottsdale, AZ 85260
800-TELL-ADF
 www.alliancedefensefund.org		 Christian Law Association
 P.O. Box 4010
 Seminole, FL 33775
727-399-8300
www.christianlaw.org		 The Rutherford Institute
 P. O. Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
 434-978-3888
 www.rutherford.org
Christian Legal Society
4208 Evergreen Lane
Suite 222
Annandale, Virginia  22003-3264
Phone (703) 642-1070
Fax: (703) 642-1075
www.clsnet.org
 
 8.  FIND OTHER STUDENTS WITH A SIMILAR SPIRITUAL DESIRE.  A group needs, well, a group.  Pray for God to lead you to a core group of Christians who have a similar desire to serve God.  You do not need very many to start out, remember, Jesus promised: "Wherever TWO or THREE are gathered together in My name, there I am..." (Matthew 18:20)

Also, at this point it might be a good idea to contact other Christian student organizations in other schools, and maybe even try to visit one of their meetings.  We have a list of organizations that would be able to put you in touch listed HERE.
 
 9.   HAVE A SMALL MEETING WITH THE CORE GROUP TO WORK OUT DETAILS. Maybe meet at one of your homes, have some pizza (no anchovies, please!) and talk about the details.  Make sure you begin the meeting portion with PRAYER, maybe have more than one person audibly pray.  You need to decide on details like:

1.  When the club will regularly meet, once it gets going.
2.  How often you will meet.
3.  How long the meetings are scheduled to last (some may end up shorter, some WAY longer!)
4.  The FORMAT of the meeting.  That means how the meeting will flow.  (Example: Open with prayer, then short "mixer" game, individual prayer requests, 10 minute devotional, open discussion, etc.) Don't stress on this, it will change over time, just try to set some guidelines, everyone likes STRUCTURE, but be open to the Lord for changes.
5.  How you will promote the club and create student awareness. There are some great ideas HERE
6.  Decide on a target date and time for the first "real" meeting
7.  Modify the Sample Charter and Mission Statement to suit the group.
 
 10.  FIND A SPONSOR.  Most schools require student organizations to have a faculty sponsor.  When it comes to religious groups, the courts have expanded that potential sponsor group to include not only teachers, but other school staff such as secretaries and custodial staff.  Pray that the Lord would lead you to a Christian staff member who would be willing to be associated with the group.  Legally, they cannot direct the activities of the group or participate in the meetings.  It is a small role, but necessary.
 
 11.  PLAN AND PROMOTE YOUR FIRST MEETING. You have all of the same resources available to your Christian group that the school gives to other non-curricular groups.  This might include:
 1.  Information about your meetings in the school's daily announcements.
2.  Bulletin boards
3.  Informational tables at School Club Fair
4.  School assemblies where clubs are allowed to give out information
5.  Flyers and posters
6.  Meeting room(s)

Also, if other non-curricular groups get access to copy machines and other equipment (like audio-video equipment), it must be made available to you as well. Please treat all school property with respect...you represent the Lord Jesus Christ, do not ruin His good name by being careless, wasteful, or disorderly in any way.
 
 12.   HAVE YOUR FIRST MEETING!!!  We have some excellent resources available to you to help you with not only your first meeting, but for all meetings.  We have links to games, mixers, ice-breakers, short devotionals, discussion topics, and other AWESOME materials.  CLICK HERE to go to the resources area.