Monthly column on student work

I recently heard quoted at a conference that a staggering 90% of students involved in Christian Unions leave the Christian faith after finishing university. I expect we have all heard a variation on this, even though research into such urban myths has proved they are unfounded, or even the exact opposite of the truth.

Still, the fact remains that some Christian graduates do walk out on Christ post-graduation. And the Parable of the Sower tells us to expect this. As graduates enter the workplace, wealth and worry hit the agenda and can knock them off track, or as Mark 4 puts it: 'the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful'. It's not exclusive to young graduates, but the transition from university to work is a particularly vulnerable time.

Make or break

As term trails off and final year students disperse to trade in their three-month summers for 21 days a year and collection of hooded tops for a new suit, Christian students face some more significant changes. The CU where they had regularly met with Christians of a similar age, facing the same challenges, and working together to be an effective witness can seem a distant memory when they move into a workplace where they are the only Christians. The church - and even the Bible - may begin to appear irrelevant.

It is this group that Tim Vickers has a burden for. Formerly a chartered surveyor in Central London, he now heads Workwise, a partnership between UCCF and the London Institute of Con-temporary Christianity (LICC) that supports graduates in their post-university life.

Through the year, Tim travels the country meeting final-year students, with a two-fold aim of helping them to develop a biblical foundation for work, so the transition is not so overwhelming that the Bible seems irrelevant; and, showing them the opportunities, so they go on to be Christ's ambassadors in the workplace. 'I often talk about the 9/5 window', said Tim. 'The secular working world is where the majority of non-Christians are in our country. There are vast opportunities for Christians who are being paid by a non-Christian organisation to sit, day by day, with a group of non-Christians who are being paid not to run away from them!'

18-hour days

Andy Hobley, who studied at Oxford University, has been working in Corporate Strategy with Hutchinson 3G since graduation. Talking about his experience of the transition from university to work he said: 'I was fortunate to have time before starting to work, to really pray, read and mentally prepare for the move. As a new graduate I was sometimes working 18-hour days, but I prayed that God would maintain me and keep growing my relationship with him, even when going into a very alien world and different setting.'

Evidence of a real desire among Christian students to understand how to live for Christ in their working life is in the take-up of Transition: A Graduates' Handbook to Life after University. More than 4,500 copies have been given out over the last year, and student movements across the world are looking to translate it. Susie Monro, who read Transition this year before taking her finals said: 'It has been really helpful to be made aware of the different issues, so they are the starting point, instead of just facing them as I stumble across them. It would be great if more people could take these things on board before getting stuck into life after uni.'

While Workwise looks for funds for another print run of Transition in this country, their resources are available (at www.graduateimpact.com) to help final-year students develop a more mature framework in which to think as they enter a new environment and different pressures.

At this time of year when so many students are moving from university to the world of work, could you and your church use this website to pray for them? And could you look out for new graduates by welcoming them into your homes and integrating them into your church? Final-year students certainly present a huge challenge for UCCF, but it is also one for the whole church.

To find out more about supporting final year students and new graduates, contact Workwise on 020 7399 9555.

Urban myth or student drift?

Make or break

18-hour days

Emma Carswell

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