When you buy an SCM Gift Membership for a student the excitement and anticipation of the welcome pack and the years to come with SCM will (hopefully!) be a joy and delight to them, but in case you want to bless them even further here are a few ideas!
Make a Prayer Hamper
Starting at university can be so daunting. Not only is there often a sharp curve in the level of learning, but there are new people to get to know, societies to join, and a whole new way of life to figure out. One way to help your students to feel less alone through their first term is to make a prayer hamper for them. This is how it works:
- Invite people at church to buy a tin/packet/jar of some non-perishable food and write a prayer/blessing/encouraing note to tape to it.
- Put all the food in a nice box or hamper, and present it to the student in church (or privately if that works better for your context!) with the Gift Membership pack.
- All term when they pull a tin out of the cupboard, they will be reminded of the support and love of their church, and hopefully feel God’s love through their sending community.
Keep in touch
Another simple way to support your student is to designate someone in the congregation to write to the student(s) on behalf of the church while they are away. Even just once a term would be lovely, and who doesn’t love getting post?! You could even arrange to send care packages of treats, books or toiletries throughout the year.
Student Sunday
Student Sunday is a great chance for your church to remember and pray for your student(s) and others around the world. Sign up to our newsletter and you’ll be sure to get the link to SCM resources in good time!
Connecting in their new city
Check out SCM connect to see whether there is a local SCM group at their uni. If there isn’t, does this student like to lead things? We’d love to help them get a group started! What about the chaplaincy at their university? Have a good hunt around for Christian support that might fit your student’s personality and church tradition. You could present some options in a graduation card or in an email.
Prayer blanket
Do you have knitters in your congregation? If so, commissioning a prayer blanket could be a lovely gift to send a student off with so that they can feel wrapped up in prayer when sad or chilly. There are lots of resources to help with these online, but all you need is the ability to knit, a pattern, and the time to spend in prayer whilst knitting the blanket!
We hope that this blog has given you some ideas of how to bless your students as they go off to university. Let us know if you have any other ideas of how to support new students, and let us know if you try any of the above!