Spring months are busy.
It’s the time of mission weeks. By contrast the pace of the university summer term can seem slower as students knuckle down for end-of-year deadlines and exams. Yet with these stresses and challenges also comes a stream of evangelistic opportunities – in Christ and in Christ alone can we find rest for our weary souls and purpose for our lives. So, despite the increase in deadlines and work pressures, Christian Unions (CUs) continue in their gospel mission.
Outreach at a stressful time
‘Examgelism’ (evangelism during exams) may not be in the OED yet but you’ll find it in common usage among CU members. Not only have CU students sought to study hard and show their watching coursemates that their treasure is elsewhere, but they have also spent the past couple of months creatively reaching out with the gospel at the most stressful time of the academic year.
In the midst of quiet colleges, busy libraries and formal robe-clad students hurrying to exams, Oxford CU held a ‘stress-free banquet’. They created a relaxing atmosphere with lights and flowers and gave each guest a colouring book. CU members invited friends along to take a break from revision, to enjoy a three-course meal and hear a short gospel talk on ‘The peace that Jesus brings’. Meanwhile, Lancaster CU handed out chocolate bars to stressed students in the library with a sticker on the back offering the chance to talk and pray with someone, and UWE CU ran ‘Library Loving’, in which they showed practical love by giving out sweets with Bible verses to encourage and start conversations about Jesus. Various CUs, including in Cambridge, York and Bristol, held lunchbars on the theme ‘Work, eat, sleep, repeat – does Jesus offer more than this?’.
The question ‘why?’
‘Why would you give up precious revision time to run an event for other students?’ Peter, a member of Newcastle CU which ran a free refreshment stand outside the library during exams, says: ‘We got quite a few people stopping by for free tea and coffee. The less stressed ones will chat and ask why we do it.’ This included Joanna, who said: ‘It’s sweet of you to give up your time for us during exams. But why?!’
These questions are answered in one-to-one conversations, as well as in campus-wide evangelistic events once exams are over and the celebrations begin.
For the past few summers, Lancaster CU has run an evangelistic end-of-term celebration for the whole university, ‘Party by the Pond’. Last year, there was a free barbeque with more than 800 students attending the event.
Similarly, in Warwick the CU makes the most of term not finishing until 1 July by hosting a uni barbecue on an area of open land on campus. ‘There are lots of picnic blankets and live music from the front in collaboration with some music societies,’ says Hugh, the CU’s prayer secretary. ‘Interspersed between performances, members of the CU share their testimonies.’
Ice-creams & sushi?
In Oxford, the CU gave out ice creams, Uncover John Gospels and flyers for upcoming CU events at Summer Eights (an annual regatta), and in Cambridge each college CU hosted an evangelistic event during May Week (post-exam celebration week). From sushi making in Buckingham, film discussion in Bournemouth, club outreach in Chester, Dial-a-Donut in Liverpool, lunchbars in Aberdeen, banquets in Swansea and cheese & wine in Newcastle, CUs have made the most of their last few days of the academic year.
This sacrificial commitment to serving their fellow students during all seasons of uni life is why so many CUs have won SU (Student Union) awards this year. Over 30 CUs have either been nominated for or won an award, with a further four CUs on the shortlist for the NUS National Society Awards.
