In Depth:  Charlotte Petra

The summer holiday is definitely one of the perks of student life; months without coursework deadlines or exams, but does student ministry take a break too? With many students going home, travelling or working, it may appear that there isn’t much opportunity to reach the student world with the good news about Jesus. But things aren’t always what they seem...

This year six UCCF-led teams of students are going overseas, to Lithuania, Bulgaria, a country in the Former Yugoslav Republic, Russia, Paris and an East European country. Each team is made up of students from Christian Unions across the UK and led by Christian Union Staff Workers.

Christian Unions are made up of students, led by students and exist to reach students. Who is in a better position to reach students with the gospel of Jesus than those they live with, go to lectures with, spend time with and share lives with. Students are best placed to reach students and that is why Christian Unions exist and why they are led by students.

Student leadership is not only beneficial for the mission of CUs, but it can have a lasting effect on the student leaders themselves. CU leadership is more than standing at the front during the weekly main meeting; it involves service, servant-heartedness, time, planning, organisation, co-ordinating and working with others, sharing responsibility, knowing the goal and being passionate about working for it.

It is a rare occurrence that on a cold evening students would decide that what they really want to do is leave the warmth and comfort of their rooms and venture out into the cold to a church of all places, sing songs about Jesus and then listen to someone talk about him.

Strangely enough, this seems to be quite appealing to people around Christmas time, for many people this is the one time of the year that they enter a church.

I went to talk to Josh who was a student at Loughborough University and is now a UCCF Relay worker there. I wanted to find out a bit more about the Relay programme from a Relay worker’s point of view.

CP: What is Relay?

Josh: Relay is a year of discipleship training in a student context. There’s a lot of training, input from Staff Workers and others involved in UCCF. It involves a lot of study, but also you get to learn by doing and you get chucked in at the deep end. At the same time you’re really supported as well, there’s great teaching and it’s a lot of fun.

A university freshers’ week is typified by hordes of people doing exactly what they want; enjoying their new-found freedom, spending their student loan and often consuming vast amounts of alcohol. During this time everyone is trying to find their place, to make new friends and to get off on the right foot.

Imagine, or maybe you have been there yourself, a Christian trying to get by in this. For some it’s exciting, full of opportunities to get involved and have fun, but to stand tall for Jesus. For some it’s terrifying, being dragged to clubs and bars every night and having to explain over and over again why they aren’t getting drunk.