Bringing Back Alumni

Welcome Back AlumniHow often do we stay connected with students who were in our BASIC ministry after they graduate? The transition to life after school can be a difficult one and the best way for students to prepare is to hear from people who have graduated and are still living for Christ. So, this week I wanted to give you two quick ideas as you plan for the upcoming fall semester.

Contact a former student (or a couple) and ask them to come share at one of your weekly meetings this fall. They could preach a message or just talk about what it’s like to enter the real world and take on new responsibilities, all while continuing to glorify God. I’m sure it would be a real encouragement for your current students to see and hear stories of people who are changing the world for Christ after college.

If you want to take this to an even bigger level and have some time to put into planning a larger event you could hold an alumni reunion. The group at Stony Brook recently did this and it was a great success! There are many different ways you could do something like this from holding a banquet complete with musical performances, story sharing, and more to something simpler like a BBQ at someone’s house. With tools like Facebook available to us it’s much easier to find people who used to be a part of BASIC.

Either way you choose to get alumni involved it will be a great opportunity for former students to reconnect and for current students to get some practical advice. Have you ever done an event to bring back alumni before? How did it benefit your group?