With a long history of undergraduate Christian Unions in the UK, it is rather less difficult to start a workplace Christian group in a university setting than it might be elsewhere.
After two years as a prayer meeting, the Christian Postgraduate and Staff Network (CPS) was formed back in 2016 and puts on events appropriate to university culture, to reach colleagues and encourage Christians.
Reading groups (where participants gather regularly to read, understand, and discuss a book), panel discussions and seminars (a 45 minute talk followed by a Q&A) are frequent activities in the academic pursuit of new knowledge, and have also proved popular ways to engage colleagues with the gospel.
"Everything is made to glorify Christ, including academic research!"
About once a term, we ask a Christian academic to speak about how their research connects with the gospel - based on the fact that everything is made to glorify Christ, including academic research! This is an easy invitation for the speaker and to colleagues with a related research area, and indeed unrelated ones. We have seen a good number of colleagues come along and ask searching questions at these events.
Partnering with the CU
When Oak Hill lecturer Kristi Mair visited as a CU speaker, it became clear that there was room within the CU's annual mission week for a talk aimed more towards postgraduate students and staff. Since then, CPS has partnered with the CU to organise a lunchtime talk within the week for this audience.
While staff need to be careful about power relations when talking about faith with students, it is perfectly acceptable to post a copy of the CPS term programme on our office doors, which invites questions.
One new colleague asked me, within a few weeks of starting, if I was a Christian and invited me to say how and why. It transpired that her best friend had recently been saved. Several conversations followed and she came to a talk by speaker and author Sharon Dirckx during the mission week entitled "Am I just my brain?" Shortly afterwards she let me know she had become a Christian. When I discovered she had no Bible of her own, I gave her the one on my office bookshelf. Her daughter came to do work experience with me for a week and, with her mother's permission, I gave her a girl's study Bible.
Other ways to scatter seeds of hope
But it is not only in this way that believing academics and professional staff can scatter seeds of hope. I am in the mathematical sciences and it was discovering that maths can be used to make people's lives better than inspired me to go in to research. I find I am drawn to solving problems in the areas of household food security, environment and health.
Food poverty, environmental degradation, and illness are all consequences of the fall. When we uncover ways to reduce such harms, it feels like a partnership with God in reversing the fall. Of course, the most fundamental reversal of the fall was achieved by Christ in His death and resurrection, but as we share the gospel and take action, we follow in His steps.
I discover that many people working in these areas are Christians or have Christian-like values, which, just like Paul in Athens, opens up opportunities for good conversations.
Writing this from the airport, on my way home from an international powerlifting competition, I prayed for, and had, a gospel conversation with a fellow competitor over a drink, with another competitor listening in from an adjacent table.
May our Saviour use these everyday interactions as He did with the woman at the well, for the salvation of many!
Dr Martine Barons is part of the Passion for Evangelism network. PfE exists to empower, encourage, and equip women to share the good news of Jesus with God-given confidence and creativity.
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