Back in the May edition of en, you may remember a piece about ‘Beyond Beans on Toast’. Born out of a desire to reach soon-to-be-uni-students, Festive worked with 10ofthose to create this evangelistic ‘survival manual’.
Interwoven between glossy recipes and top tips for starting university are a selection of testimonies from students who went to university and met the living Lord Jesus. These real-life stories help to explain the Good News in simple language and point the reader on to explore the claims of Christ further.
So what happened?
We just want to thank all of the readers who gave a copy to someone heading off to university this autumn. We are amazed at the response from believing grandparents, church youth groups and teachers. The first print-run of 5,000 ran out in August – so please pray with us for the many seeds sown.
Our big prayer was that believing students would give BBOT to unbelieving friends as they finished their time at school or college.
Clinging to the enormous claims of Ephesians 3:20, we prayed that God would ‘do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine’ and, through his power, equip 20 Christian Unions (often only three or four in number) to give away 50 free copies of the book with a hope that 1,000 unbelievers would hear of Jesus.
The stats:
• As we look back over the summer – we can now see that all of the 1,000 sponsored copies were sent to students and chaplains, supplying 30 colleges or Sixth Forms in the UK.
• Students asked for varying quantities to give away in a variety of ways, through: leavers’ parties; leavers’ assemblies; leavers’ BBQs and Christian Union stalls. Some CU members asked for two each – one to keep and one to give away to a friend they had been praying for. Some copies went out ready for results day.
• Copies have gone out in various colleges and Sixth Forms across Cambridge, Oxford, Sussex, Essex, Suffolk, Surrey, London, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Warwickshire, Lancashire, Hertfordshire, Manchester, North Wales and Belfast!
We are so thankful to God for all those who helped to provide free copies; this was such an encouragement to those seeking to share their faith at college.
News from on the ground:
Here’s what one young lady from a college CU in London had to say about her time giving copies away:
‘The package arrived just before our annual college leavers’ service. I was able to not only give copies to those who attended the CU, but also to those second-year students who came to the service. The feedback has been amazing – more students wished to receive a copy, but we ran out on the day – they were that popular!’
A Chaplain at a college in the east of England ordered 50 copies. By the time the box had arrived, the college were nervous about openly distributing the book due to its Christian content, so asked her to email tutors. She was both encouraged and surprised by how quickly the books went as tutors came to see her. In the meantime, the college management read through a copy and made funds available for the chaplain to buy another 100 direct from the publisher.
Life to the full at university…
Please pray for the many students who will hear the good news of Jesus for the first time. Please pray that beyond the yummy recipes, students will be spurred on to find forgiveness and new life in Jesus during their time at university.
