|
  Step 1: PRAY
Ask God to lead you to others who want to live out the grace, truth and compassion of Jesus among nursing students and faculty on your campus.
Step 2: CONNECT TO OTHER MISSIONAL STUDENTS AND FACULTY
- Talk with other Christian students or faculty about people who may want to be involved in the mission of NCF. Ask local pastors or InterVarsity staff for names of nursing students at your school.
- Ask NCF for other contacts at your school.
Step 3: DEVELOP PRAYER PARTNERSHIPS
When you have found at least one other student or faculty member with a similar vision for ministry in your school or college of nursing, begin to meet regularly to pray for:
- A vision for reaching the school of nursing
- Student leaders and faculty to join you in the mission
- An NCF ministry to form on your campus
Step 4: THINK STRATEGICALLY ABOUT YOUR CAMPUS AND DREAM BIG
Where are the nursing students and faculty? Where do they live, eat, study, and go to classes or clinicals?
Are most students full-time or part-time? Are they in a traditional 4-year or 2-year program, or an accelerated program such as RN to BSN? This will influence their time available to be involved in NCF ministry. It will also determine how many years you can expect them to be on campus and will influence your group's leadership structure.
What are the needs of nursing students on your campus? What kinds of questions are they asking about spirituality in nursing, holistic care, healthcare ethics, and God? How might an NCF ministry give students and faculty a place to discuss these questions? How can Bible studies focusing on faith and nursing address these needs?
Dream big! What might an NCF ministry on your campus look like in one, three, or five years? How could it influence the whole school of nursing (curriculum, culture, relationships in the school, etc.)?
Step 5: HOST AN INFORMAL GATHERING
Gather together all the Christian nursing students and faculty you know.
- Have a meal together to get to know each other; listen to people's needs.
- Pray together about what God can do on your campus.
- Invite them to join you for a weekly prayer meeting. If possible, meet together for a meal or coffee before or after the prayer meeting to build community.
- Develop a list of contacts and form a Facebook group or a group email list.
Step 6: HOLD A PLANNING MEETING
Invite interested people to a planning meeting. Focus specifically on those students and faculty who seem "missional" and have a heart for seeing ministry form in your school of nursing. Prepare people ahead of time for the purpose of the meeting. Be sensitive to the time of year and the academic calendar when planning this meeting.
- Invite people to share their dreams for an NCF ministry.
- Look at what is realistic for the number of people you have. (It's ok to start small!)
- Invite people to take initiative, use their gifts, and join together to start the new ministry.
- Discuss logistics. What time, day and location will work best with your schedules? Be creative and think outside the box for the circumstances on your campus.
- Plan for prayer and Bible study. The foundation of NCF on campus is prayer and Bible study focusing on the unique roles of Christian nurses. We also seek to incorporate worship, outreach, evangelism, community service and, occasionally, guest speakers. (You don't have to do this all right away; begin with regular prayer times and Bible discussions.)
Note: NCF has new Bible studies, What's Vital?, written from a healthcare perspective. You could also discuss an article from the Journal of Christian Nursing. Free online access to current and archived issues is available by becoming an NCF member.
Step 7: ADVERTISE WELL AND HOST FIRST MEETING
Be creative as you advertise your first meeting. Use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to send invites. Postcard invitations and posters are available to download, personalize and print.
Holding an initial interest meeting can be a non-threatening way to introduce NCF and our resources. Talk about the history of NCF and how we are a professional nursing organization so others catch the vision.
At the meeting:
- Share your short-term vision for the ministry.
- Give a small taste of what an NCF meeting is like, with a short devotional or Bible study, or a student testimony.
- Collect names and contact information of those who attend using an NCF follow-up card. Promote your group's NCF Facebook page if you have one, or join NCF on Facebook.
- Provide snacks after the meeting for a casual social time where people can get to know one another.
Step 8: FOLLOW-UP
Personally contact and thank the people who came to the first meeting. Ask if they have any questions. Meet one or two of them for lunch before the next meeting.
Step 9: EVALUATE YOUR FIRST MEETING AND PLAN FOR FUTURE MEETINGS
- Thank God for those he brought to your first meeting! Praise him for the ways he is already at work on your campus! Pray for those who attended.
- Discuss with your planning team what went well and what could have been better.
- Plan for the next meeting. Consider a Bible study, or invite a speaker to talk about integrating Christian faith with nursing practice as a nurse.
- As your group grows, pursue official campus recognition and NCF affiliation. Why is affiliation important? Find out at Why Affiliate? Here is a sample constitution for NCF groups to use as they pursue official recognition by their school. To become an official NCF student chapter, please review the affiliation requirements and complete the online affiliation application.
- Divide up the responsibilities of the group: communicating meeting details, getting a speaker, planning the Bible study, bringing a snack, etc.
Step 10: CONTACT NCF STAFF
We would like to know about your new NCF ministry so that we can send you resource materials, pray for you, and help connect you to other NCF ministries in your area. If you've started a new ministry on campus email Bonnie NCF Campus Liaison, or email Renee Lick, NCF Student Ministries Director.
Stay connected: Join the NCF Community on Facebook and sign up for NCF Connections, our monthly e-newsletter. |
