UCI Set-up #1

I'm involved with setting up a table on University of Califronia Irvine's campus.  I'll periodically post how it is going for these set-ups.  

"Need Prayer?"

We set-up a table last night in the Freedom of Speech Zone at UCI with a standing foam board on top that had "Need Prayer?" written on it.  Below the text was a frustrated cartoon character with an angel one shoulder and a demon on the other.  We had verses about prayer on the sides of the board.  We had a coffee dispenser, filled with hot coffee, and optional creamer and sugar on the sides.  We also had a box and slips of paper for prayer requests. 

We basically just stood there and a few people come up to us on their own without us first initiating any verbal contact, but most of the time we had asked passerbys if they wanted any coffee.  The ones who said yes, usually asked if we were Christians, or what ministry we were with, or even why are you doing this?  We shared what churches we went to, offered prayer, shared why we were out there, and that we would be back the next week at the same time if they wanted to stop-by.

The Gospel was never presented, but no one seemed upset that we were asking if they wanted coffee, and one person very enthusiastically wanted us to know that he liked our set-up because we weren't aggressive or forceful to make people talk to us.  I hope we'll see him again next week.

One Christian on campus asked that we'd pray for revival on Campus.  She was a member of Korean Campus Crusade.  A few people received cards for OC Apologist and one of them seemed pretty interested in checking out the site and going to our church sometime.

Next week, we might drop the "Need Prayer?" board and just ask if they want coffee.  This is how I did this sort of thing at UCI several years ago, and I think more people stopped and we got to answer a lot more questions about why were there and what we believe.  Just offering coffee usually makes people ask, "Why" or "Who are you with?", which are great lead-ins to say, "We are Christians and we believe God loves everyone and wants a relationship with everyone, and that for use we hope to share this through offering coffee to college students who might be staying up late to study, while offering opportunities for prayer and answering any questions about the Christian faith."