The fall is not as far away as you may think

Hello friends,

Spring is barely here, summer is around the corner and we are already thinking and talking about the fall. Are you? We think about the fall a great deal, because it is the most strategic time of the year.

In Ephesians 5:15-16, Paul encourages the Ephesians to: "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil." Let's make the most of every opportunity next fall!
A couple things to keep in mind:

• Be prepared - are leaders in place? do you have a room reserved for the first meeting of the year? If it all possible, it is best to have the same room each week, that way people don't have to go looking for you.
• The first six weeks of the semester are probably the most important ones your ministry will have. It is during that time that most people make decisions of how they will spend their time and who their friends will be. You will want to start your meetings right away, have lots of posters up, and this is also when you want to do outreach and community building. (fun stuff)
• The importance of reaching freshmen/first year students. If you reach the freshmen class each year, you reach the campus. Freshmen come in eager to learn and eager to meet new people. If you miss a couple of years of reaching freshmen, most likely your ministry will die out.
• The necessity of having a plan. If you want to make the most of your 1st 6 weeks and if you want to reach freshmen, you will have to have a plan.

Here are some questions to consider when forming your plan:

What will you do for outreach?
What will you do for prayer?
How will you publicize?
How will you welcome new people?
How will you keep them coming back?
What will you do for your first bible study, your first weekly meeting?
Who will do what?
What do we need to make these things happen?

As a leadership team, please discuss these questions and come up with a plan for next fall. Pray and trust God for big and mighty things on your campus next year! I also encourage you to go to http://www.godsquad.com/leading/fallplan.htm for some additional planning tools and tips.