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Monthly column on student work

A fresh start

Moving a pile of clothes and a three-day old newspaper, I managed to find a space to sit down and survey the scene. Evidence of Freshers Week 2002 was all around me. Brightly coloured flyers of varying shapes and sizes were strewn across the floor. A free yo-yo advertising a university society, enough pens for a lifetime of lectures, mobile numbers scrawled on scraps of paper, and a T-shirt bearing the name of a sports club. The mess and accumulation of junk was impressive, particularly as it was only a week old.

But it captured the essence of Freshers Week. For thousands of young people this is their first taste of independence, and with it comes a bombardment of messages, an excessive social life, and an exposure to a unique community. For Christian students it may also be the first major test of their faith.

Jonathan, a first-year student at Durham University, looked back over Freshers Week: 'Arriving with my priorities in place was essential. I was ready to tell people I was a Christian, I found some Christian friends and went along to CU and a local church. And I was amazed at the respect I was given by people in my college. Chatting to the early hours about what other clubs and societies I'd joined, and the different things I'd done during the day, I think they realised I am also a human being!'

Around the fringe

This year CUs across the country made the most of the start of the academic year to encourage Christian students, look out for those on the fringes, and to share Christ with those who don't yet know Him. Marcus Honeysett, UCCF's London Team Leader, said: 'For most first years Freshers Week is a great hinge point in their lives as all of a sudden they are asking big questions for themselves about who they are and what life is all about. This makes it perhaps the most fruitful time of the year for Christians to clearly explain the good news about Jesus.'

At Bath University the CU is not large, but they made 1,000 Freshers packs to give away to new students. Under the title of 'God calling', they included a testimony from a CU member, invitations to evangelistic lunch bars, as well as some humorous items and practical advice on surviving as a student. The packs proved to be an ideal point of contact, and 200 more had to be made up when the first batch ran out.

I could become a Christian

The lunch-time talks were also encouraging, as Kat Tweedale from Bath CU emailed this report: 'I was sitting next to a Chinese student who told me enthusiastically that he had bought a Bible and was reading it, and hoped that when he knew a bit more he could become a Christian!! I wanted to shout, 'You can become a Christian now!!' but I don't think that would have been appropriate... I pray that God will be working in him as he reads the Bible.'

Nine students filled in response slips after the talks re-questing that someone from the CU meet with them to talk about the gospel. Kat asks for prayer: '...that God provides the people from the CU to do this.'

They were not the only ones to display energy and creativity in befriending and sharing the gospel with Freshers. In Edinburgh, students from overseas were welcomed by members of the CU at the International Welcome Desk at the airport; Liverpool John Moores and Liverpool University worked together and gave out 4,000 copies of the Mark's Gospel during their Freshers Week; in London, a CU staff worker was asked by a group of first year girls to help run an evangelistic course for their corridor; and in the Exeter area, the CUs joined up for a day of evangelism training, followed by questionnaire work in the city centre.

The frenzy of Freshers Week may be over for another year, but many seeds have been sown. Please pray with us that these will be like those thrown on good soil, and that in the coming months and years they will produce a crop of eternal value.

www.thecumovement.org/newstudents
Emma Carswell