Toni Coulton tells us about an innovative new outreach to those just off to be students
Someone had a brainwave!
May 2010 – and there in the Festive inbox was an email from Sarah Ferguson, assistant chaplain at Runshaw FE College.
Sarah explained that she and the Christian Union had organised a cake stall for college leavers. They were keen to offer resources that helped students to think about the gospel as they left for university. She had tried to find something that hit the nail on the head – and discovered that while there were a few things she could give to CU leavers, there was nothing tailor-made for not-yet-Christians.
Sharing Jesus ‘in between’
Further Education colleges are a huge mission field, comprising mostly 16–19 year olds studying a range of vocational and academic courses. CUs in Further Education are like Daniel and his three friends in Babylon: very small in number and feeling the pressure of their secular environment. Yet there are many great stories of how God can and does use them powerfully as they purpose in their hearts to stand for Jesus.
In partnership with UCCF and Scripture Union, Festive began as a ministry in 2007. UCCF was encouraging students across the UK to ‘live and speak for Jesus’ in their universities. Scripture Union was resourcing schools work and ministering to young people up to the age of 16. The prayer was for Festive to equip and resource the ‘bit in between’!
The staff at Festive love it when chaplains and students get in touch. They are there to support them as they seek to live out their faith and share the gospel where they work and study.
Through techy and other means
At the heart of Festive’s ministry is a vision for an ongoing, effective witness across the colleges and sixth forms in the UK. Their policy from the start was that what they produced should be available to 16–19 year olds for free, so that finance would not be a barrier for these courageous young ambassadors. Through the techy means of our website we are able to offer many free resources as downloads. God has a pattern of taking the little things and multiplying them. As more students and chaplains sought support in their evangelism the need for relevant ‘non-virtual’ resources to give away at events became more apparent. Gospels, colourful ‘flyer-tracts’, posters and surveys – the Lord always provided something for students to use for free.
It seemed that if Festive could get something into their hands, these 16–19 year olds would find creative ways to use them.
Let’s go back to Festive’s inbox. Sarah was onto something. Ever resourceful, she set to and made some cards to give away. On one side she had a recipe and on the other a gospel message. They went down really well with the leavers and that got Festive thinking and researching. Would it be possible to create something that could be used across the board? What might it look like? Who would share this passion and how would it be funded?
What about beans on toast?
Market research was done. What would students be happy to give away? In a nutshell the findings asked for something relevant and helpful. It needed to look attractive. Most importantly, it needed to be accessible – something showing their friends (who are often strangers to the Christian faith) how amazing Jesus is.
Festive did have one book already – by Stephanie Bushell. Jesus in College was published by 10ofThose, and told of Steph’s joys and sorrows in trying to run a college CU in London. So 10ofThose was approached with a proposal for some kind of gift book.’
Beyond Beans on Toast is the result of that conversation. It’s packed with:
• Student-friendly recipes donated by a professional chef, with step-by-step photos making the transition from home easier
• Top tips on how to manage in the kitchen, stay within a student budget, cope with assignments
• Stories from students who were at university and knew the Lord Jesus!
In ‘glorious technicolour’, it is just the right size to prop up in the kitchen or grace a table in student rooms.
Reaction
Here’s the reaction from a ex-Runshaw College CU member, Tom Heaton: ‘College and university are such great times for growing in faith through sharing the gospel with people… a cookbook is such an easy way of starting that conversation.’
The current CU who’ll be giving them away this May said: ‘Beyond Beans on Toast should be really useful to give out to our friends as we leave for uni … it could really help to start some chats about Christianity.’
But Festive are committed to providing free resources to students in colleges and sixth forms so that they might make a difference where they study – so here is how they plan to make that happen with Beyond Beans on Toast.
A big ‘Gift Book’ give-away?
Festive’s vision is to provide at least 20 college and sixth form CUs with up to 50 copies of the book so they can give them to friends and fellow college-leavers. That would mean financing 1,000 copies. The group are therefore trusting people to partner with their vision in sponsorship; £1 given to Festive buys one book to give to one student. For one latte less a week, Festive can give two students a book to treasure! Of course £100 buys 100 books. All the CUs have to do to qualify for their 50 copies is to tell Festive how they plan to stage the giveaway, give them a postal address and they will get them in the post asap.
Your Church Outreach
Here’s some ways your church could use the book in outreach:
• As a church, why not give any young person leaving for uni a copy as a gift, plus some spares to give away to their mates?
• Use your school and college links. Chat with the person in charge of the sixth form and see if you can offer the book to all leavers. If there is a CU at the school or college, however fragile, why not include them in the plans?
• There are bound to be people in your congregation who know someone going off to university, a grandson or great niece maybe. Why not order some copies for them to give as presents?
• Resource university students for Freshers’ Week. This could be a wonderful gift for CUs to give to freshers whom they meet in the very early days of term. Copies on the CU stall or at welcome events, with a bookmark of ways to contact the CU slipped inside, will be a welcome addition to their resources.
Or if you know a student heading off for university this is just the gift to give – for those who don’t yet know Jesus, Beyond Beans on Toast is a great pointer to him and, for those who are Christians, why not give them two copies, one to keep and one to pass on to a friend.
