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Cinderella ministryMission to FE and sixth form collegesI wonder how David felt as he stood in Goliath’s shadow, slingshot in hand with just five smooth pebbles? Pure fear? The full realisation that he was puny and the one he was about to fight was a literal giant? No doubt he should have been petrified of what was in front of him but he knew the saving power of God behind him. Welcome to the world of Further EducationThe giant: postmodern; multi-faith or secular ethos; no CU posters going up on the wall please; peer pressure; friends; lecturers; rolling lunchtimes; provision for Ramadan but permission refused for a Christian Union; closed doors to church and Christian workers wanting to support a Christian group in college. David: 2-5 young Christian students studying anything from philosophy to hairdressing, wanting to meet together to build each other up in Christ and share Jesus with the very varied and huge number of students in their college or sixth form. The statsFigures vary from year to year, but: If you are 16-19 years old, sharing your faith in the place where you study is very much a David and Goliath experience. Where are the resources?Family and local church are key to nurturing and inspiring young people and, above all, giving them a mission vision. The modelling and encouragement to live for Jesus and proclaim him wherever you are starts with parents and local fellowships. But when a keen student asks, ‘What can I do at CU?’ or ‘How can I organise an evangelistic event at my college?’ where does the hard pressed parent, minister or youth worker point the 16-19-year-old? Organisations such as UCCF and Scripture Union, to name two, have long had some work in this area but it has never been their core ministry. The continual growth in the university sector keeps UCCF very busy and Scripture Union has a thriving ministry working with those in compulsory education (under 16 years). 16-19-year-olds, however, are in that unique transition between youth and adulthood. The FE and Sixth Form environment comes with its own specific challenges, distinct from schools on the one hand and universities on the other. ‘Colleges are totally different animals from schools. Having a contact inside the institution is key. Many students and staff come into the colleges from outside the area, so knowing who these people are is hard. Also there is often a high turnover of students. Sometimes they are only there for maybe a semester or a year which makes things harder. Lunchtimes often are non-existent which makes getting a regular room a challenge too!’ says Tim Neale, schools worker for Insight, Kingston upon Thames. Enter FestiveBoth UCCF and SU recognised the need to develop focussed support for this age group and have been key over the last 18 months in helping to establish Festive — Further Education and Sixth Form InitiaTIVE — to focus exclusively on Christian support for work in colleges and sixth forms. Nigel Pollock, Current Director of Ministries for TSCF New Zealand, recently commented: ‘I am delighted to see this initiative. For too long Christian witness in the FE sector has been the Cinderella of student ministry. I firmly believe that FE students are on the front line of opportunity in engaging with the very people that the gospel needs to impact if we are to see the church grow in our generation. I hope that many will grow in vision and passion for this vital work in the days and months ahead.’ How?Toni Coulton, Chair of Festive Trustees, shares how the initiative is progressing and her hopes for the years to come: ‘Festive’s purpose is to strengthen Christian faith and witness in FE Colleges and Sixth Forms in the UK with the vision of seeing a vibrant Christian presence in an increasing number of places of education. ‘We are a very small team of passionate, weak individuals relying on God to open doors and see his word spread! ‘Our mission when starting was to develop an interactive website where we could support and equip students, staff, chaplains, the local church, agencies and all those involved in Christian witness in FE Colleges and Sixth Forms. I have to say, God has been so good! We are bowled over by the responses we have had. The website works on two levels; for students and non-students. It has pages for prayer, Bible studies, practical resources designed for starting, running and leading a college or sixth form CU, an evangelism page, a forum and an advice page where students and staff can get advice and guidance about their situations via email. We’re finding that we are able to support many Christian Unions throughout the UK and an increasing number of churches and chaplains involved in supporting or starting a Christian group on campus or at their church.’ God’s heartWell, David didn’t bottle out. He was well aware how fierce Goliath was — David didn’t look at the situation with worldly eyes but with eyes that saw God as the great deliverer, able to use the young and inexperienced like him. And he was used to deliver his people! That’s one of the most incredible things about God’s salvation plan! He chooses to use the weak things of this world, not the outwardly impressive things. The small in number; the fisherman; the stutterers; the sinners; the lame; the ones who said no; the overlooked; the broken in spirit; the poor — Corinthians 1.26-29 is a constant encouragement to both Festive and the people we support. The encouragements!College and Sixth Form CUs are often a picture of 1 Corinthians 1 and the emails coming through reflect that. Recently, two girls who were running a college Christian Union by themselves wanted help as they were preparing a passage and giving a talk every week, and felt like they were going to burst. Another young man is striving to start a Christian Union at his college and has been told that if he can find four other Christians who want one, he could start one! A small group of evangelical ministers with a heart for their local FE college has approached us as they want to reach the thousands of students there. Browning Avenue Baptist Church in Hartlepool has been running a Hot Potatoes lunch Ð getting anything from 35-45 sixth formers coming and listening to talks on the Cross, abortion and the ‘seven deadly sins’, and they are hoping to run a Christianity Explained course for those interested. UCCF has enabled us to be part of its Gospel project FREE: through FE students, church workers and chaplains, nearly 800 Mark’s Gospels have been given out in colleges and sixth forms around the UK! Just as with David — we are small, God is big. Working in FE you are faced with the daunting and obvious challenges, but you also see our wonderful Saviour at work in young and under-equipped believers — for and to his glory. A wonderful surpriseA local church worker shared a great story with me recently. On a Sunday morning just before church a 16-year-old girl approached the building hesitantly. ‘Are you joining us today?’ she said to the worried-looking teenager. ‘I think so’, she replied. ‘I became a Christian two weeks ago at my college CU and my friend said I should go to church.’ As you can well imagine, my ex-UCCF relay worker friend was very excited to welcome this new Christian into her fellowship and she has helped that five-strong FE college CU ever since! The potential of this mission field is massive! Contact Festive to see how you or your church could be part of it in your local area or for help in supporting an FE student or CU. Claire Povey,
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