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The Third Degree

A case of mistaken Adnabod?

I'm sure you've been there. You're trying to explain the gospel to someone, but they just aren't hearing you. They're listening to the words, but you've some huge hurdles to get through before they'll really hear, let alone respond. Christian students in Wales face this problem every day. The fact is, they are speaking the wrong language. No matter how well they present their message, or how appealing an event they put on, if it's in English, many Welsh-speakers will have closed ears.

It was back in the 1970s, when Welsh national pride was first on the rise that the Christian Unions realised they needed to start sharing the gospel in Welsh, if they were to reach the Welsh-speaking community. As the Christian students prayed for opportunities and began to present Christ in the Welsh language, they saw large numbers converted.

Today, many students still see the Welsh language as essential to their sense of identity and belonging. In the nine Welsh-speaking higher education establishments, the Welsh Society is a distinct and vibrant group.

There's no-one else!

In Aberystwyth the Welsh Society has over 500 members; a vast number when compared to the 20 members of the Welsh-speaking Christian Union. Mair Davis, who works with students in North Wales said, 'We need the Welsh-speaking Christian students to catch the vision for this mission field. They may be small in number, but I keep telling them that there is nobody else to reach the Welsh-speaking students but them. As a nation we have become so apathetic, and in the student world we really need to see a new passion for the gospel.'

Welsh-speaking halls of residence in Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities provide obvious targets for evangelism, but in Cardiff and Swansea where halls are mixed, the CUs need to work harder to find the Welsh-speakers. Recently, the Welsh-speaking CUs have made a gospel-motivated effort to be actively involved in the Welsh Society, by joining the choir and other social activities. As a result, during the annual Eisteddfod, they were able to have a CU stand, giving out free tea and toast, chatting about Christ and befriending fellow students.

Last year, UCCF and churches in Wales worked in partnership with Scripture Gift Mission to produce a Welsh version of the 'Identity' Gospel that had been distributed to thousands of students across the UK. Over 2,000 copies of Adnabod have made their way into the hands of Welsh-speaking students. Martin Downes, UCCF Team Leader for Wales, said, 'It is our prayer that as the students read Mark's Gospel, they will find their identity, not only in the Welsh language, but in Christ.'

Local church support

One of the graduates on the Relay training programme is this year working alongside the Welsh-speaking CUs. Steffan Jones is involved in discipling and training the Welsh-speaking CU members, and encouraging them in their evangelism. He said: 'It is a tough work at times, but in Wales we are privileged to have the support of local churches who we can work closely with and who help our small teams. In Aberystwyth this year, we even had the Welsh Students Union helping us in evangelism - in lieu of a debt, the SU paid for and produced thousands of glossy gospel tracts! Please pray with us that we will have many more opportunities like this to share Christ with Welsh-speaking students.'

Emma Carswell