Anika’s journey from flyer to faith in Jesus
Anika is a CU Staff Worker in Brighton. Right now, she is helping her CUs prepare for their upcoming carol services. But just five years ago, she herself was a student at a carol service, sitting in the audience and not believing in Jesus. That night made a big difference.
We caught up with her to find out what happened.
Q: When were you at uni?
A: I was at Sussex University in 2018, studying Zoology.
Q: What were your thoughts on Christianity when you first arrived?
A: Just before I came to uni, maybe about a year before, I’d come into contact with a Christian community. They had been so loving. So I thought Christians were nice, but I’d say I still had some misconceptions about what Christianity was actually all about.
Q: How did you first encounter the CU?
A: After a couple of months of settling into uni, getting into the party scene and things like that, I ran into someone who was handing out flyers for the Sussex CU carol service. It was that evening, they were just handing out flyers right up until five minutes before! I had nothing on, so just said ‘yeah, sure, I’ll come.’ I didn’t know anyone there, but went along with a friend who I think knew one or two people in the CU.
Q: What impact did it have on you?
A: It reminded me of the Christians that I’d met before. I don’t remember exactly what it was. It was something about the talk, the wisdom in it and the way the message was shared that made me feel warm – it’s hard to describe. I remember thinking, ‘oh, this feeling is familiar, I’ve felt like this before’.
I wanted to continue looking into it. I didn’t meet anyone from the CU, but filled in a connect card. And a little while later a CU member got in touch and we began reading Uncover Mark together.
'Someone can have fertile soil, where the seed from that carol service can land and sprout immediately.'
Q: What then made you decide to follow Jesus?
A: I didn’t know a lot. I knew Jesus existed, but not much more. So I got plugged in to the CU, made friends, and started going to a church nearby. I was starting to learn more – but even then, I struggled to believe the core of Christianity. I was studying biology. That Jesus had died and rose from the dead seemed unbelievable to me – once someone is dead, they’re dead. It was during a seeker course at the church a few months later, in March, that I was saved.
Q: You’re now a Staff Worker! As you approach your CUs’ carol services, how are you encouraging them?
A: I’m encouraging them to remember that you don’t know where someone is in their story – anyone can come to believe. You don’t know how much God has done in their lives. Someone can have fertile soil, where the seed from that carol service can land and sprout immediately.
Ultimately, God will use the carol service in the way He wants to use it, and He will guide the people there that He wants to go. And – do last minute flyering!
Christmas is an incredible opportunity for the CUs to share the gospel. They have been busy preparing for Christmas meals, carol services and other events! But for all the CUs preparation, and for all the opportunities there are, this work will be impossible without prayer. Will you pray?
