The task of evangelism for most Christian Unions is quite daunting. At Newcastle University for example, the student population is in excess of 15,000, whereas the CU has around 100 regulars this year. It is impossible to expect each of them to sustain friendship with around 150 other students, yet they do want to share Christ with this number. Similar comparisons can be made in the 334 Higher Education institutions in this country.
Matt Walmsley, evangelism secretary for Newcastle University CU was determined to overcome these hurdles. Last summer he developed a growing concern for the crowds of new students beyond the immediate reach of the CU through friendship. He shared this burden with other leaders in the CU and together they came up with 'Firestarters', a programme designed to initiate a gospel conversation with every first year student. Matt said: 'My vision was for the CU to do this each autumn, so that three years down the line every student at Newcastle University had been given the opportunity to hear the gospel.'
The CU was invited to sign up for two sessions of training - on evangelism generally, and 'cold contact' work specifically. They were surprised to find that around 100 people had signed up - virtually the whole CU! Dave Gobbett, CU Staff Worker in the North East, was one of the trainers: 'We put all those who turned up into pairs, providing a balance of experience. Once they were out "on the ground", working in pairs definitely helped new Christians or those who had never done this type of evangelism before.'
