Running a CU
Running a cu
Are you involved in a Christian Union at your college or sixth form? Do you have it on your heart to get one off the ground? We hope that the resources, videos and tips below will be a great help to you!
For specific advice, prayer and ongoing support, connect up with us here
Resources
What's a CU's purpose? How do we fulfill our mission? ...This should help!
Tons of ideas for your Christian Union!
CU prayer resource: Encouragement, tips and tons of ideas helping you to build prayer into the life of your Christian Union
Christian Unions come in all shapes and sizes but what matters is looking upwards and outwards!
Thinking about starting a Christian group? Here are 8 steps to get you off the ground!
How to hand over a CU: Here are some top tips on how to hand over a CU well (with help from two of our Student Engagement Team who have been there, done that and got the t-shirt not too long ago!)
VIDEOS
Rosie's Story | Leading a Christian Union
Should I hang out with Christians or non-Christians?
Sophie's Story | Being part of a big CU
Why should I go to CU if I already go to youth group?
Why should someone live out and share their faith at college / sixth form?
BLOGS:
Toby reflects on his time at college and how he balanced leading a small CU with studies.
RUNNING A 'WHOLE SCHOOL' CU
Do you help run a Christian Union for younger years at school?
Though our core mission is to support FE CUs, we hope that some of resources above will still be helpful to you! Here are some resources from partner organisations that we reckon may suit a group aimed at the lower years...
Shine
Shine is a fantastic 3 part film series from Scripture Union helping young people in schools explore what faith in Jesus looks like. This year - the series is called HAPPY?
It's free and comes with accompanying resources including bible studies, game ideas and session outlines.
Sign up for the content and check it out here: https://www.shineinschools.org/
FRUITFULNESS ON THE FRONTLINE
FOTF is a 6 week course that will inspire, encourage and ignite a Christian group.
It will help you all see how God is already at work in you, see His heart for where He has placed you and help you grow in other areas so can bear 'fruit' where you study/work/play.
For a group aimed at younger years, use the 'youth group' version.
Mission Academy Live
A brilliant video series produced by our friends at Hope that will help your CU explore how to share your faith with your friends
SCHOOLS LIVE
A site full of free resources helping you plan and deliver great sessions in schools.
Click the age range you need material for and see if anything comes in handy!
https://content.scriptureunion.org.uk/schools-free-resources
Youth Alpha
Many students and CUs across the UK have found Youth Alpha to be a really helpful tool in introducing friends to Jesus.
Find the Youth Alpha series videos for free on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQvT1Ippa7X6K4zSC1GE--oldtIl2vc4N
There are also a bunch of free resources to help you run sessions here: https://alpha.org.uk/youth
Vox
Vox is a new, totally free youth series for 13-19s from the team at Christianity Explored. It has a mix of video, ''pause'' points for discussion and opening up Luke's gospel making it a great place for people to explore what God says about life, faith, meaning and purpose.
We strongly recommend using the Vox App – which has everything you need to go through the series with a seeking friend. The App also makes the course more adaptable for CUs with limited time to meet (the videos are flexible so that you can do shorter snippets of a session but run the course for a few weeks longer).
Check it out here: https://www.christianityexplored.org/courses/vox/