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The Third Degree

Back to Christmas

It is a rare occurrence that on a cold evening students would decide that what they really want to do is leave the warmth and comfort of their rooms and venture out into the cold to a church of all places, sing songs about Jesus and then listen to someone talk about him.

Strangely enough, this seems to be quite appealing to people around Christmas time, for many people this is the one time of the year that they enter a church.

Carol services can just be a chance for people to come together to sing a few carols, eat some mince pies and enjoy some Christmas cheer or they can be a fantastic opportunity for people to hear the gospel of life. Whether it is out of a sentimental inclination to jump on the Christmas bandwagon or out of a real desire to find out more about the true meaning of Christmas, this presents a great opportunity for Christian Unions to share the good news of Jesus with students who do not yet know him.

As Christian Unions exist to make disciples of Jesus Christ in the student world, this means that in all they do the gospel is the main focus. CU activities are shaped around this desire to bring the gospel to the students at their universities and this allows for lots of creativity and flexibility in the format of these events to make the gospel most accessible for those who come along.

For Durham Inter-Collegiate Christian Union this looks like a big traditional carol service in Durham cathedral. De Montfort University Christian Union held a carol service in the Students’ Union bar with funk and blues versions of carols. These two events may look vastly different but the same purpose is at their core; to take the gospel of Jesus to university students. This happened not only at Durham and De Montfort, but on campuses around the country.

In Liverpool, the three university Christian Unions came together to put on a joint carol service which, as well as being a great event where the gospel was proclaimed, was a brilliant picture of gospel unity. The CUs from the three Liverpool universities pulled together to organise the event and bring people along to pack out the church.

The Swansea CU carol service was held in a football stadium and, as part of the service, a Relay worker gave his testimony. A non-Christian student who came along said that she had never heard anyone talk about Christianity and a relationship with God like that before. The student was really challenged to think about Jesus more and has been meeting with the friend who brought her along to do just that.

It is exciting to hear of students stepping out to invite friends and course mates along to hear the gospel and this does not only happen at carol services and big events. For Christian Unions, living and speaking for Jesus is year-round mission, so it is thrilling to hear of students that have got to know friends, are praying for them, sharing lives with them and speaking the truth of Jesus to them over the course of their time at university.

Charlotte Petra,
UCCF