The Christian Union Needs To Change Tactics

The Christian Union is ever present in university life. Whether you’re having a lunch break in Portland or making that drunken walk after Crisis, you’re guaranteed to see them waiting outside, in sub-zero temperatures, armed with biscuits and a friendly smile.

The Christian Union is great at this; demonstrating selflessness which, as a Christian, I feel is amazing to see. Nevertheless, CU falls short in some aspects. Bribing students with food in order to get them to interact causes resentment and can be ineffective to the point where the message is lost completely. It’s high time the Christian Union changed tactics.

NUCU – ‘United in living for Jesus’

Text-a-Toastie

Catchy, funny and memorable. The text-a-toastie campaign has everything going for it. Alliteration and the promise of free food, what could possibly go wrong? Flashback a couple of days, and twitter was telling a completely different story.

Twitter was telling a different story…

The general consensus was clear: “why must I be subjected to a reading of John when all I wanted was a toastie?” Anyone would think they were being forced to text. Still, it wasn’t the message that people were uncomfortable with; it was the fact that it was the promise of free food that lured them.

The food became the focus, the message was lost and thus appeared misleading. The issue?  By doing this any good intentions are side-lined. Food shouldn’t be used to lure people in; simply being upfront would be far more effective.

Keep it simple

It’s nice to know that you can still get a free lunch these days, especially when your funds are running a bit low, however this simply isn’t necessary.

Text-a-Toastie

No-one wants to think they’re attending a free buffet only to realise the catch when it’s too late. Why not make it clear from the get go?I’m sure people wouldn’t run away in horror. Even something as simple as a talent showcase would be more effective, allowing people to invite/attend if they choose to do so.

Make food the secondary, not the primary focus so no-one feels cheated. This way everyone knows what they’re getting into and there’s no need to complain.

Heck, even something as simple as “I’m going to Church tomorrow, do you want to come?” would do the job. It may be old fashioned and lacking in the gimmicks but it works.