Clean Team

Vision

The Clean Team is a way to share the love of God with students by practically serving them. This is done through cleaning the kitchen and the toilets in their student accommodation.

Things to consider beforehand

What type of accommodation do we want to go to? Think through some questions like:
Do you want to focus on a particular year group i.e. first year accommodation or accommodation where the older years live?
If it’s a hall of accommodation instead of a house do you have any good contacts inside like a student friend?
How many flats / houses would we like to clean through Clean Team?
What is the purpose of doing it? It’s important to have the team clear about this before you go out. Clean Time is a way for you to seek to serve students practically and show God’s love. God may open up spiritual conversations naturally with students and you may end up having deeper conversations about life and God!
Who is on the Clean Team? Think through who you would like to invite to join you as you lead the Clean Team activity. You may choose to have more than one group involved so that you can clean more students’ accommodation than one team would be able to alone. A good size for each team is between 5 -7 people with at least two boys on the team.
How many cleaning products will we need? Make a list of all that you will need to run the outreach. E.g. rubber gloves, sponges, washing up liquid, cloths, antibacterial spray, bleach, bin bags, tea towels, dustpan and brush, buckets and mop.

How to run the outreach

Meet as a team to pray beforehand, brief the team and collect all the things you will need to take with you.
When you arrive at the accommodation knock on the door of the apartment / house. (If there is no answer then move onto the next place)
When a student answers the door introduce yourselves and what we’re doing clearly eg “Hello, my name is…and these are my friends. We are from a Christian student group on campus called Agapé and are out and about today offering to clean students’ kitchens and bathrooms for free. Is this something you would be interested in?”
If they say yes introduce yourselves and get their name(s). When you’re inside the house split into two teams to clean the kitchen and the bathroom.
Practically serving the students by cleaning their kitchens and bathrooms is important but serving them through Clean Team also includes being friendly towards them, listening to them and being interested in them as a person.
If they say no thank them for their time and go to the next house.
If you come across houses with non-students in them, be polite and explain that you are cleaning student houses and unfortunately must move on.
At the end of the outreach meet together as a team again and pray for the people you have met through the outreach. Help each other to get home with all the equipment safely.

A few tips

Safety and Security: Don’t go off from the main team on your own and don’t go into a student’s bedroom. Look out for one another during the outreach and make sure the whole team is together before moving on to the next house / flat.
Attitude: Be warm and friendly. Try to see the person as God sees them and be full of grace and kindness as you are filled with the Spirit. (See the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-26)

Serve willingly, without complaining. Serve with unconditional love remembering that cleaning a student’s kitchen and bathroom is not dependant on them talking about Jesus. But be prepared to share about Jesus in a gentle and respectful way (1 Peter 3:15).

Common questions

Who are you guys? ‘We are a student group called Agapé which is run by a few Christians and for anyone to explore the bigger questions in life and what it means to connect with God.’
Why are you doing this? We just wanted to serve students, clean their accommodation, and show God’s love.
Do I have to pay? No. (Don’t accept money!)

Team briefing:

PRAYER – worship Jesus and pray to be spirit filled and full of God’s love. Pray for the Students you will meet and for them to encounter Jesus and his love. Pray for protection over the team and students.

The leader should give a briefing on:
The purpose of Clean Team explaining who we are and why we are doing it.
Safety and security.
Attitude – perhaps you could share a Bible verse with the team, e.g., Galatians 5:22-26.

Things to take with you:

• Cleaning products
• Mop and bucket
• Evangelistic resources eg. The Knowing God Personally booklet
• Agapé flyers explaining your group and informing students about any upcoming events you have planned.

Remember that God is with you and loves to use you to reach out to your campus so have fun and enjoy meeting new students as you bless them with Clean Team!