Evangelicals Now
<< June 2002 >>

Monthly column on student work

Student exchange schemes

For a year of my degree I exchanged Irn Bru, ceilidhs, and a campus of 6,000 students for ice hockey, two feet of snow, and being one of 37,000 students at the University of Alberta. I also left behind a thriving Christian Union that packed in a good 200 each Friday night. In Canada, I didn't meet one Christian student.

This summer, thousands of students will be heading overseas on exchange schemes or as part of their degree. For the Christians who are leaving this can be a make-or-break experience. They often depart as unprepared missionaries, who struggle to find a church or Christian students they can meet with. Too many feel isolated and doubt their faith, or compromise their integrity.
Richard, a student at Queen Mary's College, London, is currently teaching English in a small Austrian town. Although he has found Christian friends, he has no regular teaching and admits to being very lonely in his faith. Another student described his time as 'five months in the wilderness'. The results can be devastating.

Students abroad

It is this group that UCCF's 'Students Abroad' ministry is looking to support. The co-ordinator is Wenonah Barton, who spent a year overseas as part of her language degree. The challenges she faced while in Voronezh, Russia and Strasbourg, France have persuaded her of the need: 'When I was a student abroad I knew nothing of IFES, so I didn't know how to find an equivalent of CU. The language was difficult, so I didn't settle into a church either. I struggled in my relationship with God and ended up returning to the UK a very weak Christian.'

At the same time, studying or working abroad can be a time of spiritual growth and development for Christian students. Stephanie returned to Bangor University after a year working as an English Assistant near Lyon. She reflected: 'Although there were a lot of challenges, I was hugely dependent on the Lord and this was amazing. I was taken out of my comfort zone and had to live out Proverbs 3.5. One of the things I learnt is that even though I didn't feel as if I could be of use to anyone, God used me and showed me how it is to live on faith and faith alone.'

But the vision for Students Abroad is bigger than merely ensuring a greater 'survival' rate. 'A year like this can be a tremendous opportunity for mission', said Keith Walker, UCCF's World Mission Co-ordinator. 'Student status can unlock all sorts of doors. One student I heard of chose to study Chinese specifically to enable him to have a year sharing Christ in China.'

It is encouraging that some students return with a burden for their host country. Lindsey's course at Nottingham University allowed her to exchange with a university in the Ukraine. Not only did she make the most of the year, but having graduated she is now back in Russia, serving on the IFES team.

Support back home

So, what can we do to get behind students who are going abroad? 'We need the word to go out, so students know there are resources available, and people they can link up with', said Wenonah. 'And we long that these students will be upheld in prayer and supported by Christians back home.' One student wrote in to UCCF, 'I had no church to call my own while I was away, but my home church were very supportive. I was, and still am, very grateful for their prayers and letters of support.'

Support to students abroad is being offered in two ways. The website (see address below) aims to provide contact details for finding a church and Christian student groups abroad, and carries advice on preparing for life away from home, how to be a witness for Christ abroad and facilities for contacting other British Christian students who are going away. Ambassadors for Christ is a 24-hour conference, held in the first week of September, to help prepare students spiritually and practically just before they depart for a year abroad.
For more details, call 0116 255 1700 or look at the website: www.thecumovement.org/studentsabroad

Emma Carswell