The Third Degree

Do you know someone who’s starting university this year?

Christian Unions are a great place for new students to be supported in their Christian faith from day one of freshers’ week. They’re full of other Christian students who know what it’s like to start university and experience the daily challenges and opportunities of being a Christian. CUs are also committed to making sure students get involved in a local church while they’re at university.

Freshers’ link up

With over 15,000 students involved with over 200 Christian Unions, there’s likely to be a CU at the universities or colleges your young people are going to. Encourage them to visit http://www.uccf.org.uk/freshers and register their details.

Pete Brown, youth pastor at Cornerstone Church in Nottingham, comments on the UCCF freshers’ link up scheme.

‘The other week a large parcel arrived on my desk, which was strange because I didn’t recall ordering anything. When I opened it up, I found 20 copies of UCCF’s student handbook, sent to me by one of our current students. It reminded me of the debt our church owes to UCCF, who for many years have supported our young people at university and college.

‘Each year we send several of our school leavers off to study at various locations across the UK. It’s a significant time for all of them, and we try our best as a church to equip them for the experience that lies ahead.

Preparing for student life

‘In recent years one of the most strategic ways we have been able to do this is by making use of UCCF resources. Last year, before our young people left, we spent a morning exploring the challenges they would face, and pointing them in the direction of UCCF’s freshers’ link-up scheme. As a result some were busy making friends with other Christian students before they had even left home. Others were contacted by a member of their university CU before they left, and some received a friendly knock at the door soon after they arrived. It’s things like this that make entering the student world easier, and help young people to make a smooth transition from one sphere of life to another.

‘As a result, after a year away, some of our young people are now on CU committees, and others have found a new church family to be involved with. There are also plenty of stories of crazy CU antics in the pursuit of evangelism.

‘Through the years many young people have flown the Cornerstone nest. Some have thrived, others have struggled. But we continue, in partnership with UCCF, to equip young people to live and speak for Jesus while they’re at university or college.’

Amy Jones, a student at the University of Surrey, talks about her own experience about linking up with a CU.

‘The summer before I started university, during my annual trip to the Keswick Convention, I attended a seminar about being a Christian at university, and I picked up a flyer about the link-up scheme. Once I had sorted accommodation applications and everything else, I submitted my details to the freshers’ link-up page on the UCCF website.

About three weeks before moving to Surrey, I received an email from the CU saying that they were looking forward to meeting me, and giving me details of the events they were running throughout freshers’ week. It reassured me (and probably my parents too) knowing that there was a group of people who knew I was coming and who were looking out for me.

Take a look at our link-up scheme and connect your university bound school leavers with a CU at the website above.

Pod Bhogal,
Head of Communications, UCCF: The Christian Unions

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Freshers’ link up

Preparing for student life

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