Creating a launch strategy creates a rhythm for your Student Ministry where you can vision through leadership training and preparation. Here are a few simple steps to get the process started.

Dream, but not alone. It is hard for solo ministries to reach students. Dreaming with others creates ownership. Bring people together to hear your dreams and share theirs. Dreaming becomes contagious when it is shared.
Plan and give ownership. People respond differently when they have a sense of ownership. One of my early mentors taught me that the more volunteers you have in the process, the greater your reach.
Strategize by setting measurable goals and expectations. An easy way to look at this structure is in three parts.
Run up strategy > event strategy > follow up strategy
If you want to move the needle, focus on lead measures not lag measures. A lag measure would be a goal for how many people show up. A lead measure would be how many contacts you make. Lead measures become visionary while lag measures are the review mirror.
Stretch. Create a “can’t miss event” with a call to action during your launch for a future outreach event during the semester. I first tried this approach in launching a new sermon series for our church. We set a specific date far enough in advance where people could add it to their calendars. During the run up strategy we keep saying, this is a can’t miss event. On the day of the event, every person received a free themed tee shirt. After the event the extra shirts were put away.
Note: a can’t miss event is something that is sharable and memorable. It is something people will talk about later or regret if they are not present. This is not easy, but with practice you will build a reliable reputation.
This stretch was costly but helped us build the reputation around a can’t miss event. One of the most effective events in my experience was when our Middle School minister planned a black out outreach event. He never shared details. For the run up strategy he said be here, wear dark clothes. We hit a new attendance milestone that night.
Evaluate. What did you learn? Check your measurements, Adjust and make notes for your next launch.

Using a launch strategy will engage your current students and give you the opportunity to share your overall outreach strategy. A big launch at the start of the Fall semester is consistently the best time. Other launch strategies could be in January or prior to a major Student Ministry event.