Visa delays meant Irene, a Christian student from Tanzania, missed freshers’ week. So when she arrived in a new country, starting a new course and knowing no-one, she was open-minded when approached by a group who encouraged her to attend their church. She quickly got involved and when she realised that they were not preaching the gospel and withdrew, she encountered opposition and bullying. Then she was approached by another group, no better than the first, and the cycle began again. Thankfully she managed to retreat from these spiritually unhealthy groups and found her way into Queen Mary CU.
‘I just didn’t know where to go’
‘CU made all the difference,’ Irene told me, ‘Finally I was among Christians from many different contexts, and I could tell when I mentioned the church I was involved in that their first reaction was concern for me – they didn’t say anything directly, but I could see they were worried.’ After we met, Irene visited other churches with CU members and is now attending a loving, Bible-teaching church. She is one of the keenest CU members to welcome others and to reach out with the gospel to those around her.
Waging spiritual warfare
‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ Ephesians 6:12
New student welcome matters profoundly because university campuses are not neutral, happy places with loads of healthy options for students – as Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, there is a spiritual battle going on. We have an enemy who wants to stop non-Christians students hearing about Jesus and wants to derail the faith of believers. Freshers’ weeks might look like just a series of fun events but as CU members step out and offer people the chance to hear the gospel or to join their team, they are waging a spiritual warfare – it has to be fuelled by prayer!
In East London the competing worldviews are myriad as people from all cultures and religious background rub shoulders – the campuses are no different. This year the committee has Irene in mind as they work to improve how they welcome new students with a more evangelistic programme, including a bespoke tract to hand out, looking to connect with first-year students during the ‘move in’ weekend, and a games night as a low-risk intro to CU.
‘Our aim and prayer is to give the full gospel to as many students as we can,’ says the new president of QMCU, ‘because the gospel is the power of God for salvation; so that they can hear the gospel and be saved.’
Fuelled by prayer
Throughout September and October, this ‘welcome week’ spiritual warfare will be fought across the country as students lean into opportunities to use their God-given weapons of creativity, hospitality and love. This looks like acts of service and kindness, as in Cardiff where the CU will be helping international students settle in as they arrive on buses from Heathrow, or in Surrey where they will hand out tins of beans with invitations to CU meetings on them. Most CUs will have a stall at their freshers’ fair, providing a first point of contact and a friendly face to those looking for a community to join. From more glitzy banquets in the bigger and more established CUs to simple, faithful invitations and prayer in fledgling CUs, students will be heading out with the gospel.
Pray
The CU's task of welcoming new students into a safe community where they can belong and grow in faith is vitally important. Often CU events or freshers' fair stalls are where Christian students, whether domestic or international, will meet other Christians at university for the first time. It might even be the first opportunity for a seeking student to meet a Christian. Join us in prayer:
- Ask God that they would wear the breastplate of righteousness, not conforming to behaviour around them but living holy and righteous lives empowered by the Holy Spirit to live out their faith as witnesses.
- Pray for feet that are ready to take the gospel of peace to their coursemates and flat mates, to other societies they might join and to strangers around them.
- May they take up the shield of faith – trusting that the Lord is at work even when they can’t see it, and that He can work in and through them no matter how weak they may feel.
- And pray for them to take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, investing deeply in their personal communion with God, keeping His word at the centre of what they do and quickly finding good church families where they can grow in truth and love.
Written by Philly Chambers, Staff Worker in East London