Imagine you're the only Christian

Last September, Catherine was the only Christian at Norland College, a specialist training college for nannies in Bath. After her fellow CU members graduated, she spent a year keeping the CU alive by inviting friends to read the Bible with her.

‘Left alone when the other four girls in our CU graduated, I wasn't sure what this year would look like’, Catherine said. But encouraged by her time at Forum 2023, meeting with other students from small universities, she was confident, ‘God has been so kind already, I'm sure He has a plan. I just need to be patient.’

Catherine’s perseverance paid off. Four first-year students joined her church in September, two Christians and two seekers. One had become a Christian online three years prior but had never joined a church until then. The seeking students had both grown up in the church and were keen to join the CU and explore the Bible. Supported closely by Relay Worker, Eadaoin, Catherine continued to promote the CU and by October, 12 students had attended the CU!

During a quieter spell in January, when official CU meetings paused, Catherine ran a seeker course with three Norlanders. When they came to the end of the course, they were eager to explore further so the girls attended a ‘back to basics’ course at a local church. One loved it so much she brought friends to CU and church so she could share what she was hearing with them.

Though Catherine has left the college for her placement year, the Lord has provided Emily, Amy and Lauren to continue the CU. Will you join Catherine in praising God for answering her prayers and multiplying her efforts?

We caught up with Catherine, Lauren, Amy and Emily at Forum 2024. Hear how you can pray for Norland CU:

The Lord can do great things through individual students who serve Him for His glory at university!

There are some 2 million undergraduate students in the UK. Of these 2 million, 7,000 are regular attendees of their Christian Union.

This may seem like a tiny drop in the ocean. Yet these small groups of believers are impacting the university for good in Jesus’ name. It should be no surprise that God uses His people in their weakness for His purposes.

The shortest parable Jesus tells is just one verse:

‘He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”’ Matthew 13:33.

It’s a powerful reminder that the Kingdom of God grows from something tiny. 60 pounds of flour equates to just over 27kg! A huge sack of flour needs less than 400g of yeast to make a world of difference.

As Catherine faithfully shared the gospel with students at Norland, the Lord was at work saving souls and transforming lives.

It should be no surprise that the gospel message has a mighty impact; as this simple message is passed from student to student, in the power of the Holy Spirit, lives are transformed as students turn to Christ.