Starting an Orthodox Christian student organization needs serious, dedicated people with a vision.
First of all, the group needs a Spiritual Advisor, preferably a priest from a local church near the college/university. This is a crucial role for the success and continuation of your group. Remember that if you are a student now, in a few years you will graduate, and there has to be someone that will continue God’s work that you start on campus after the current students graduate.
A few dedicated students leaders are needed to work together to start and continue the service on campus.
Find out from your Student Activities Center (or equivalent) what are the requirements for starting an official college student organization. There are usually a few requirements that may include a faculty advisor, 2 to 3 people to serve as officers, members names and signatures, a mission statement, and a constitution. These may differ from school to school, so you have to research the steps to take at your particular university.
There are many advantages to registering a club on campus:
- Many schools only allow registered groups to advertise on campus or in school publications.
- Registered groups are often allocated a certain amount of money to assist with their programs on campus.
- Registering on campus gives you the right to use school buildings and on campus facilities for meetings and events. You also have the right to have a booth at an “info fair” at the beginning of the school year to advertise your group to new students.
- Most schools offer a mailbox, web space, and an email address, so you don’t have to change your organization’s contact info from year to year.
Here is a Sample Constitution you may use as a guideline in making your group’s constitution. Each university has its own mandatory requirements for a constitution, so please adjust the sample one as needed.
To learn from the experience of other groups, here is list of Officer Responsibilities. This list is a guide to let you know the roles needed to be fulfilled for a successful campus ministry organization. If you are just starting out and don’t have that many people, a few people can hold multiple roles for now, until your organization grows in the future.
We pray that this humble effort may help and assist you in starting a group on your campus. Please look to our Exchange Ideas page for examples of on campus events, outreach, community service, and fundraisers. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] with any questions.