The Third Degree - I just love university missions

Roger Carswell has been an itinerant evangelist for over 20 years, faithfully preaching the gospel at church and university Christian Union missions across the UK.

At the last count he had been the main missioner at over 70 university missions. This year he spoke at Bristol, Durham, Newcastle, Stockton, Sheffield and Exeter. He just loves university missions! EN’s The Third Degree caught up with Roger to find out why.

EN: What’s so special about university missions?

RC: I count it a huge privilege to work with a group of young adults who are committed to Christ, and have a passionate desire to winsomely and engagingly preach the gospel to students on campus. To proclaim Christ crucified is the greatest act of friendship we can show fellow students. I’m struck that churches with all their expertise and resources often seem unable to put on effective evangelistic missions with the flare and energy of even the smallest of Christian Unions. It is a tremendous opportunity for Chris-tian students to stand for Christ. I know for many students, the Mission week is one of the defining moments of their time at college or university; an event they look back on as a key moment in their own spiritual growth. So whenever I’m invited to take a CU mission, my heart skips a beat with excitement!

EN: I’ve seen your diary and it is packed — is it tempting to just go to the big CUs?

RC: Of course it’s brilliant to go to the big CUs, but it is a principle of mine that I want to work with the smaller ones too. For example, this last season it was great to work with Exeter in November and Durham in February (see March EN’s Third Degree for a full report), both of which use their size and expertise to put on great missions. But recently I’ve had equally memorable weeks in Stockton and Hertfordshire as well. We saw fruit at each of these CUs, so in many ways ‘size doesn’t matter’.

EN: What makes a memorable mission? Is there any ‘one-size-fits-all’?

RC: Without a doubt preparation is the key. Students aren’t always known for their organisational skills, and this can be quite frustrating. However, where prayerful and advanced preparation has been done, the Lord seems to bless. Whether it is a supper party in somebody’s flat or hall of residence, a grill-a-Christian, or an evening with a special guest, where the emphasis is on the straightforward proclamation of the gospel there can be most effective missions. A vital time for me during a mission week is the time I can spend chatting to students over a coffee. It can be tiring, but exhilarating, to have an hour with an atheist, followed by time with a Muslim and later sit down with someone who wants to trust Christ... in the course of a week I drink a lot of coffee! This pattern of personal work during the day, and then event evangelism at lunchtime and the evening seems to work well in all types of CUs.

EN: What has been most thrilling about this season’s missions?

RC: Without a doubt it is seeing students trust Christ as their Lord and Saviour. However, an essential part of that mission is its follow-up. A well-attended follow-up course, like Christianity Explored, enables students to have prolonged grounding in the Bible before trusting Christ. However, there are some students who are ‘ripe’ already and it is always encouraging to lead them to Christ.

I have worked with many assistant missioners and CU committees over the years and we are all still learning; it is right that we are. However, this year I have been reminded that it is not the size of the CU that matters, but how ambitious they are: where there is passion to clearly present Christ and him crucified, God works.

This academic year over 50 CUs associated with UCCF have held missions. The first was in November 2004 at Essex University, and the final one will be held in May at Llanmdrillo College, Wales. Around 30 missioners spoke, with hundreds of assistant missioners supporting them.

If you want to be kept up-to-date with all the latest mission and other prayer news from UCCF then contact them at: e-mail@uccf.org.uk