The gospel in student hands

The International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) is a global fellowship with ministry in over 140 countries - UCCF is the UK national movement.

EN: You have your World Assembly in 2003. Tell us first about that.

LB: It's a remarkable event every four years, with leaders from over 140 nations. Some countries have well-established student movements, like UCCF here. But in many places they are young, fragile, or still being pioneered. Our General Committee meets each World Assembly, with every movement represented. This is the most senior body of the Fellowship, and together we plan for the next four years. We're gathering in July in the Netherlands, at the invitation of the Dutch movement.

EN: How many countries have tertiary education?

LB: 167, so we still have a lot of work to do. As you can imagine, some of those remaining are among the toughest, mostly in the '10/40 window'.

EN: Is pioneering your priority?

LB: That's not easy to answer. We don't want to pass up opportunities, and God has given us some very able and courageous young graduates to help in this. I guess we will always be stretching ourselves to the end of our resources in every way. We do have further plans for pioneering to take to General Committee. But equally vital are indigenisation, and 'renewal'.

At World Assembly we will welcome nine new countries into the global fellowship. To affiliate to IFES, a movement needs to satisfy certain criteria. Doctrinal integrity is central, with enthusiastic commitment to the truths in our doctrinal basis, and to our three aims (evangelism, formacion and world mission). But infrastructure is also needed, with a Board in place. We look for good standing with the national church, wherever this is possible.

Last year eight movements appointed their first ever national staff member. Bosnia is one of these, a country still recovering from the pain of war. Italy is another. Tom Balma from the USA has just handed over to Marcello Bozzi after several years as General Secretary. Some 14 movements have yet to find national staff. To make this step is always highly significant.

In short we aim to see student ministry in each country have its own Board, train its staff and student leaders effectively, and where possible be self-financing. In countries with an uncertain economy we have to be patient, and we provide fellowship grants to keep ministry afloat while finance is needed.

EN: You mention renewal. Could you elaborate on this?

LB: Gladly. We can all lose our spiritual edge. As movements and structures grow, we are all in danger of neglecting the work of the Spirit. Staff workers need to be personal evangelists themselves to train students in campus evangelism. They need to be diligent about their own spiritual growth to exhort students to love Scripture, and to apply it.

EN: Tell us about some struggles students face.

LB: Many students are extremely poor and the greatest struggle is mere survival. In times of turmoil, universities can close for months or years, resulting in serious disruption. Some universities are virtually dominated by industrial action. Corruption profoundly affects students in parts of the world. For example, in Latin America it is not unusual for lecturers to expect female students to sleep with them if they want to pass exams. Sadly, many young women feel compelled to do so.

Then I think of African countries where AIDS is ravaging the campuses. Femi Adeleye, one of our senior staff, who is based in Harare, has just held a consultation to look at ways we can serve here. He has also appointed a specialist AIDS staffworker. AIDS is a growing issue in the Caribbean too. Students in these places are very familiar with death and grieving.

This is not to make light of struggles on campuses in the UK. There is much debate here on sexual orientation, in particular homosexual practice. Some British CUs have been denied use of university facilities and membership of the Students Union because of the stance their leaders have taken. And of course there is the sheer insidious force of hedonism. Christian students are a bit like the Christian in Pilgrim's Progress passing through Vanity Fair.

One of the greatest intellectual challenges in the West is in the area of postmodernity. As a consequence, there is a total lack of clarity regarding values for life, and the university doesn't offer any guidance. In our culture, freedom to choose is probably prized above anything else, but is not linked with responsibility. This has damaged many young people's lives and set up patterns of behaviour which, in due course, will prove disruptive for them, their families and loved ones.

EN: What of wider social concerns on campus?

LB: I think there is a growing awareness among Western students about social justice issues, but this is only a soft whisper compared with the loud cry for justice in many Third World countries. There the proclamation of the gospel transforms people's lives and improves social conditions - a separation is rarely made. In the West we tend to make a separation, which I think is unbiblical; we just focus on evangelism without having a concern for people's physical and social well-being.

Then there is global warming and pollution. This was rarely discussed anywhere 20 years ago, but is of great concern today, especially in non-Western countries. When American students were surveyed recently about the top ten issues they face, global warming wasn't among them. But in the Third World it is consistently in the top three, together with poverty and corruption. People from poorer countries feel the effects of climate change in a very real way: it can make soil harder to cultivate, and this affects their provision of food.

And globalisation, which is essentially the spread and influence of Western values on the rest of the world, acting rather like the tentacles of an octopus. To change metaphors, this influence is either absorbed by other cultures, or there is a reaction against it. A lot of Islamic and Hindu fundamentalism is a reaction to this perceived imposition of Western values through radio, television and music, and through the application of military might. In particular it goes back to America and Western Europe's role in the Gulf war and in the Palestinian situation.

EN: We've seen extraordinary times in the former Soviet Union. How has this affected students?

LB: There's a big story there, and I wish you had space for all of it. Jonathan Lamb and Pete Lowman, both from the UK, brought visionary endeavour before and after 1989. In 1990 we had just two Bible study groups - in Moscow and Kiev; now we have national student movements in several countries, with over 60 nationals on staff ù people who came to Christ as students. Let me tell you about one of them. Natasha Stepanova, General Secretary of the movement in Russia, professed faith in Christ only nine years ago. The Lord evidently had his hand on this woman's life in an unusual way, at a very unusual time in history. She first heard the gospel through a group of American students from our US InterVarsity movement who were teaching English in their summer vacation. We must never presume that God will use us to plant a lasting work; we're his servants. But he used that group of students in a way they could never have imagined. So many have offered prayer for Russia over the past 40 and more years. This has been part of God's answer to those prayers.

Some countries now have their own intern scheme (like UCCF Relay in the UK) so they are training the next generation of staff. The Ukraine has already sent new graduates into other parts of Eurasia to help build student witness. This is one of the strongest expressions of IFES partnership.

But the work in this region hasn't been an uninterrupted story of success. Spiritual work never is. I heard recently of young staff beaten up; of a student murdered, and of an IFES team in one country being deported, all within a few weeks. As I said, God is giving us some real calibre people. When we pray for them, we must pray for peace of mind for their families as well.

EN: Finally, how would you sum up the main challenges IFES movements face?

LB: First, to present the gospel clearly: to proclaim passionately the necessity of repentance and faith in Christ in the student world. Secondly, to encourage new believers early on to make their lives count for the cause of the gospel, so they want to make an impact for Christ, and not just live a comfortable life. Thirdly, to encourage graduates to have a deeply penetrating impact on their workplace and in their society.

For further information see www.ifesworld.org

IFES was founded in 1947 by leaders of Christian student groups in ten countries.

The UK InterVarsity Fellowship (now UCCF) was a founding member. The largest of the ten founders was the China InterVarsity Fellowship. Others were France, USA, Canada, Nether-lands, Norway, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia. 47 national movements have joined the global fellowship since 1990. A further nine are preparing to join in July.