{"id":266513,"date":"2025-05-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/?p=266513"},"modified":"2025-07-22T09:33:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T15:33:34","slug":"chick-fil-a-sandwiches-for-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/blog\/chick-fil-a-sandwiches-for-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Chick-fil-A Sandwiches for Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does it take to creatively reach college students for Christ? Sometimes, it\u2019s as simple as offering a chicken sandwich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once a semester, Navigators at Rowan University<\/a> in New Jersey carry out a campaign called \u201cText for Chick-fil-A,\u201d where students can text in a spiritual question in order to be delivered a free Chick-fil-A sandwich later that day. As students involved with The Navigators ministry on campus drop off sandwiches, they take the opportunity to answer the students\u2019 questions, sparking gospel conversations and opening the door for future relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Students from Rowan University’s Navigators Winter Conference.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re using the desire for hunger \u2014 physical hunger \u2014 to have all kinds of conversations with people about spiritual hunger,\u201d Navigator Cameron Jones<\/a> says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea started four years ago when Cameron was first launching the collegiate ministry at Rowan University. As he and his team started building relationships with students from scratch, they wondered how they could best engage non-believing students on campus. Cameron remembered hearing about a campaign some Navigators in the United Kingdom did several years back, where they asked students to text a spiritual question in order to receive a free \u201ctoastie\u201d (a grilled cheese sandwich) and an answer to their question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought that idea could work, but wondered how I could shape it for an American context,\u201d Cameron recalls. \u201cWhat would people respond to? A Chick-fil-A sandwich.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cText for Chick-fil-A\u201d campaign<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The event was a success that first semester, and since then, the campaign has grown alongside the campus\u2019 thriving student ministry. This past fall, over 160 students texted in questions, asking deep spiritual questions. Each of these students were then hand-delivered a chicken sandwich that night, visited by Navigator students who personally answered their questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the exchange is short and sweet, but for many, it sparks longer conversations about faith that allow for further dialogue and relationship. The event always happens on a Tuesday so that students can be invited to the weekly Bible study the following night, and usually, several new faces show up after being met the night before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students at Rowan University promoting the “Text for Chick-fil-A” campaign.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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For one student, Davis*, the Text for Chick-fil-A event couldn\u2019t have come at a better time. Raised in a Christian family, Davis believed in God but fell into partying and a worldly lifestyle once he got to college. Though he was feeling convicted about what he was doing, he didn\u2019t know how to move forward. When he saw the event, he texted in a question and was surprised by how well the conversation with Navigators students went that night. Since then, he has been a part of The Navigators ministry on campus and has been growing in his faith.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur believing Navigator students get so excited about the event every semester as it\u2019s taken off,\u201d Cameron says. \u201cThey send the event to their sports teams, dorm floors, and fraternities. It\u2019s partially how our ministry has grown.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another impact from the event is the effect that it has had on the believing students in the ministry. In order to engage with student\u2019s questions, they are having to prepare themselves to answer difficult topics, as well as grow comfortable with navigating faith-based conversations. For many of the students, this has developed an attitude of evangelism, instilling them with the confidence to share Christ in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up scared to share my faith as a college student,\u201d Cameron says, \u201cbut these students are having spiritual conversations in their majors and sports teams. They are inviting new people to our Bible study all the time. It\u2019s this culture that, hey, it\u2019s not that big of a deal to share your faith with others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaching the lost, one question at a time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Cameron, the Text for Chick-fil-A event is a way to create a landing place for non-believing students to feel comfortable, whether they are asking hard questions or trying out Bible study for the first time. The event has opened doors to engage students who might typically be hard to reach. \u201cI\u2019ve spent a whole evening in a frat house, having awesome spiritual conversations, and there\u2019s no way I\u2019m in that house that night if the chicken sandwich didn\u2019t get me there,\u201d Cameron says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of evangelism over the years with The Navigators, and this is by far the best form that I\u2019ve found,\u201d he continues. \u201cBecause it\u2019s so clear, right? This student asked a spiritual question, and I have the chicken sandwich. And I can meet them in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Discipleship Tip:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Asking questions can go a long way to building trust in relationships and starting gospel conversations. Consider inviting those around you to ask spiritual questions they may have \u2014 even if you don\u2019t fully know the answer. By being open to questions, you can create space for candid discussions that can point back to Christ.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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Opening Doors to the Gospel Through Generosity<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Like offering a free chicken sandwich to college students, meeting practical needs can often open up a doorway to conversations about spiritual needs. Learn more about how generosity can soften hearts for Christ by checking out The Navigators resource, \u201cOpening Doors to the Gospel Through Generosity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LEARN MORE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Through the \u201cText for Chick-fil-A\u201d campaign, Navigators at Rowan University are reaching students with the gospel on campus in creative ways.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_helpful_pro_status":1,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,6337],"tags":[1483],"mission":[150],"topic":[46],"class_list":["post-266513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-disciplemaking","category-ministry-impact-stories","tag-disciple","mission-navigators-collegiate","topic-evangelism"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/052025-Article-Web.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"The Navigators","author_link":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/staff\/thenavigators\/"},"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266513"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":266533,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266513\/revisions\/266533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266513"},{"taxonomy":"mission","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mission?post=266513"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.navigators.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=266513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}