LOCAL RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY RESOURCE GUIDE

Ways to Connect and Serve College Students

As part of it’s mission supporting students in their faith & spiritual journeys, the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life is excited to help make the connection between religious communities and students.  While we have over 20 recognized on-campus student organizations & additional campus ministers, associate staff, and support staff working on campus, we also recognize the importance of making connections to faith communities in Fort Worth & beyond.

Below are just a few ways your religious community can get involved. If you have additional questions, concerns, or would like to be involved in one of these ways, please contact our office at churchrelations@tcu.edu.

Host College Sunday: Plan and advertise via your social media a Sunday early on in the fall semester for students to intentionally be invited not just to come to church, but to connect with your religious community in an intentional way.  Some ideas include hosting lunch after worship, a special event or speaker, or a social outing around Fort Worth. 

Provide Care Packages: Religious communities can make care packages during midterms or finals for TCU students that are a part of their identified denomination or tradition. The RSL office can get your community an estimated number of students that identify with your tradition and inform students internally a care package is in our office for them to pick up.  You can include information on how they can get involved in your ministry. For safety reasons, all food items must be store bought and individually packaged. 

Host a college-age bible study, small group, or book club:  While local congregations cannot host official events on campus, many meet at local establishments such as Einstein’s Bagels, Dutch’s, McAllister’s, Potbelly, etc. Since reservations cannot be made by off-campus organizations and university policy prohibits outside programs in residence halls, this is often a good way to have gatherings near campus convenient for student involvement. We also encourage our local communities to host opportunities within their buildings so students can participate widely within the larger congregation after plugging into a small group. Many communities offer transportation for students to and from campus.

Plan a service or mission experience:  While students schedules are often full, many of them have spent years being involved volunteering in their local congregations and beyond. Planning a service or mission experience can be a great way to get students introduced to your community while making a positive impact on others.

Cosponsor an event with an existing on-campus student religious organization or campus ministry:  Over the years, student organizations and local congregations have planned and sponsored everything from worship services, to guest speakers, to social nights. Please keep in mind that the sponsoring student organization MUST BE PRESENT for entirety of event and serve as your host. The RSL office must be made aware of any religious community being on campus by the student org or campus ministry along with date and time of event. Also, a religious community cannot be on campus as a guest more than three times in each academic year. For a listing of those organizations and their contact information, please click here.

Ways to Get the Word Out
Getting a word out to college students is difficult and challenging anywhere, and TCU is no different.

Let our office know – The Religious and Spiritual Life office is here to help spread the word about what our local religious communities are doing and how students and get involved. You can be added to our list of local religious communities on our website found here – . You can also send QR codes, flyers, or swag to our office to have available for students at our Student Organization fair each August.  

Social Media – Advertising on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media outlets can be beneficial in reaching students. If you have students already involved in your religious community, also encourage those students to share upcoming events on their personal handles.

Advertise with Community Partners – Many of our vendors in the community, such as restaurants, coffee shops, etc., provide public boards with news about local events including what’s happening with local congregations. A great way to reach out to students is to post at these places around campus, around the Hulen/Bellaire area, and near West 7th Street.

Before you do any of the above, please click read the following:  DOsandDon’ts.ChurchRelations.’23-24 for a list of “Do’s and Dont’s” for off-campus religious communities. It is important that you adhere to TCU guidelines and policies when reaching out to students.

Still have questions? Please contact us at churchrelations@tcu.edu or by phone 817–257–7830.

Have a great year and Go Frogs!