In my second year of University, I was put on teaching placement an hour and a half drive away. Three hours of driving a day, five days a week for nine weeks or more. What a nightmare. The glimmer of hope was that my placement partner was a good friend of mine from university.
As the weeks progressed we realised we were in deep need of a snack draw. Some treats for the end of the day that we could look forward to for the drive home. Naturally, the glove compartment was chosen to become the treasure trove that held all of our sweet treats and crisps. Every day we would get in the car, breathe a sigh of relief that the day was over, and wind down as we consumed the contents of the ‘snack drawer’.
It was about ⅓ of the way through placement when I realised that I wanted to develop deeper conversations with the placement partner and friend. We had got into the habit of having the same conversations on the drive home and frankly, I was bored of talking about work.
It was in this moment that I came up with an ingenious plan…
Just before I picked up my placement partner the next day, I placed a Fusion DMC Deck in the snack draw. I knew that at the end of the day, when my placement partner went into the glove compartment, she would find the cards and hopefully, her curiosity would be sparked.
As predicted, this is exactly what happened.
Day after day, we’d open up the snack draw, consume sweets, and make our way through DMC question after DMC question. We shared what we do to relax, what we are afraid of, and what we thought about life after death.
Towards November, we pulled out a card that asked ‘What is Christmas like for you?’
This question provided the perfect opportunity to invite my friend to the various Christmas events happening at church. She went away, thought about it, and accepted my invitation to come along to church.
What began as normal drives to placement and back, resulted in my friend saying yes to trying church - all because of the power of deep and meaningful conversations. She even brought friends along with her too.
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74% of students who don’t know Jesus would try Church if a friend invited them.
I wonder if the sticking point is that many students just don’t know how to invite their mates. Perhaps, like my story, using the DMC Deck in halls, lectures, or on placements might help to facilitate conversations that lead to natural invitations to church so that more students find their hope in Jesus and a home in the local church.
