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Peter Dray leaves role with UCCF

Peter Dray leaves role with UCCF

Luke Randall
Luke Randall

The Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) has announced that Peter Dray will leave his role as Director of Creative Evangelism in early September, after working with them for over 20 years.

Initially a Staff Worker and then Team Leader in North-East England, Dray has supervised 24 Relay Workers and over 20 Staff Workers, and also briefly served as Interim Executive Director in December 2022. He also played a crucial role in keeping several Christian Unions (CUs) afloat during the pandemic.

UCCF appoints new CEO

UCCF appoints new CEO

UCCF

A new CEO, Matt Lillicrap, is heading to Christian student organisation UCCF.

He will begin his role at the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) in the Autumn.

Student leaders equipped at spring training sessions

Student leaders equipped at spring training sessions

UCCF

Each Spring, the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) runs nine regional weekend conferences, known as Regional Forums, to equip new student leaders. Christian Unions across Great Britain hand over their leadership to new committees of students at this time of year, and many have never served in this way before.

This training helps new student leaders to grow into their specific roles, and to work well together as they lead their CUs to the glory of God.

CU mission encouragements

CU mission encouragements

Milla Ling-Davies
Milla Ling-Davies

Christian Unions (CUs) have seen an increase in the number of students professing faith during their mission weeks.

In February, as they do each Spring, nearly 100 CUs across the UK held mission weeks on university campuses – a series of themed evangelistic events spread out over five days. While CUs have often seen students profess faith in the days and months following mission weeks, this year they saw many make a commitment during the weeks themselves.

Text-a-Toastie serves gospel as you gobble

Text-a-Toastie serves gospel as you gobble

Kitty Hardyman & Thomas McBride

Text-a-Toastie originated at the University of Cumbria in 2008, in response to a university policy that stated students were not allowed inside a hall of residence unless they had a specific invitation from a resident.

During the CU events week, the members were keen to have conversations about faith and give out copies of Mark’s Gospel, so they handed out flyers, inviting students to text them a question in exchange for an answer and, naturally, a toastie.

Ready for student life?

Ready for student life?

Xander Coomber

Book Review STUDENTS & CHURCH: Making the most of your time as a student

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‘I’m in’ – stem cell transplant student comes to faith

‘I’m in’ – stem cell transplant student comes to faith

Kitty Hardyman

‘What’s stopping you taking the step to become a Christian?’ For Chris, a student at Nottingham Trent University, this Spring was the point at which he was able to answer ‘nothing’ – and give his life to Jesus Christ, writes Kitty Hardyman of Christian student organisation UCCF.

Chris made his commitment of faith attending the Word Alive conference alongside faithful friends from Nottingham Trent Christian Union who had walked with him during the past four years at university. The journey had been long, but surrounded by 800 other undergraduates and the wider church family, it was at Word Alive that the decision was set plainly before him, and he was able to say: ‘I’m in’.

Questioning students overflow outside at CU mission

Questioning students overflow outside at CU mission

Daniel Stafford

An event hosted by Christian Unions in the city of Liverpool was so highly anticipated that students had to stand outside the venue to remain in earshot.

Students in University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores, and Liverpool Hope universities (pictured left and centre) came together to host a week of daily, high-profile, evangelistic events entitled ‘Truth Defined’. With students facing a much more unsettled and uncertain future, greater numbers than ever are open to considering faith, with over 100 students crowded into a packed-out venue.

‘Flux’: students share Jesus in Aberystwyth

‘Flux’: students share Jesus in Aberystwyth

Daniel Stafford

‘Our campus needs to know the good news of Jesus.’

These were the words of a member of Aberystwyth Christian Union following three days of outreach on their campus back in November. CUs traditionally hold outreach weeks in the spring term. These weeks provide an opportunity for focused mission: the CU hosts events aimed at welcoming every student at their university to consider Jesus. The gospel is clearly proclaimed, and every guest is given the chance to respond.

Students get  fresher packs

Students get fresher packs

Daniel Stafford

Freshers arriving this term have been greeted with a New Student Welcome Pack.

The pack, offered by Christian Unions, includes books, food, other goodies, and information on CUs. Peter Dray of CU umbrella organisation UCCF explains: ‘The pack makes no assumptions about a student’s faith. We are finding that students are showing a new openness to exploring faith.’

‘The easiest conversations I’ve had’   - is this model of mission the future?

‘The easiest conversations I’ve had’ - is this model of mission the future?

Milla Ling-Davies
Milla Ling-Davies

If you were asked how a Christian Union runs an evangelistic event, you might guess it would look something like this: a short talk, time for a Q&A, and perhaps some food.

You’d be right. CUs have long operated within this structure and seen encouraging fruit come from it. This year, however, the CUs in Leeds pioneered a different approach.

‘I’ve had to pinch myself – evangelism’s never felt so easy’

‘I’ve had to pinch myself – evangelism’s never felt so easy’

Milla Ling-Davies
Milla Ling-Davies

CU mission weeks are back.

Until recently, the idea of hundreds of students sitting chair to chair in a marquee, baguettes in hand and listening to a gospel talk, has seemed laughably out of reach. In the past few weeks however, 77 Christian Unions across Great Britain were finally able to run mission weeks in-person again. After a two-year break, they were uncertain how these weeks of focused evangelistic events might be received.

Online ‘Yorkshire pudding bake-along’ draws students

Online ‘Yorkshire pudding bake-along’ draws students

Kitty Hardyman

From Kingston-upon-Thames (photo left) to Strathclyde (photo right), students in Christian Unions across the UK have been active welcoming first-year students.

Dinners, picnics, tables at Freshers’ Fairs laden with cake, even an online ‘Yorkshire pudding bake-along’ – all these sought to create an inclusive space for any students’ first contact with Christians.

Surge in student  gospel interest

Surge in student gospel interest

Nicola Laver
Nicola Laver

There has been increasing openness to the gospel among university students in the UK this Autumn, the UCCF has reported.

One unbelieving student attended an Abertay Christian Union (CU) lunchtime talk on ‘Lasting Joy’. Afterwards he said: ‘If this is true, you have a genuine hope for eternal happiness. If it’s not, you still have an anchor that allows you to find joy in this life – I find that exhilarating!’

‘Dial-a-doughnut’ and ‘Circus’ inspire 1,000 young leaders

‘Dial-a-doughnut’ and ‘Circus’ inspire 1,000 young leaders

Milla Ling-Davies
Milla Ling-Davies

Having never set foot on campus, having met only a few members in their CU and feeling uncertain about what university life will be like this term, many Christian Union leaders were especially eager to come to Forum 2021.

Forum is UCCF’s annual training conference for CU leaders, aiming to inspire and equip them to share the gospel in the universities, before they head back to campus in September. This August, over 1,000 students from across Great Britain arrived at the Quinta Christian Centre in Shropshire. They met friends face-to-face, sang praise to God, attended seminars and put their heads together to plan for the year in front of them.

Revealed: untold story of students in Covid

Revealed: untold story of students in Covid

Milla Ling

Many of us are aware of the difficulties that students have faced this year; Covid outbreaks on campus, intense loneliness and even protests against extreme restrictions – it is becoming a sadly familiar story. But underneath and alongside this, runs another, lesser-known story of the innovation and passion shown by the Christian Unions.

Faced with a tough and completely different context, the CUs courageously rose to the challenge and tried exciting new ways of sharing the hope of Jesus within the universities.

Students	&	anxiety

Students & anxiety

Peter M. Mawson

Book Review TRACK: ANXIETY A Student’s Guide To Anxiety

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New Christian student resources for pandemic

New Christian student resources for pandemic

Kate Duncan

Student Christian umbrella group UCCF is launching new resources to enable students to engage with the gospel and keep making Jesus known.

The Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) has planned resources for Christian Unions (CUs) which cover all eventualities in the current pandemic. ‘More than ever we will need to encourage our CUs to maintain and sharpen the tools used for the kind of evangelism that has been bearing fruit, albeit with a somewhat different expression from what has gone before,’ says Peter Dray, UCCF Head of Creative Evangelism.

UCCF: tackling loneliness at university

UCCF: tackling loneliness at university

Kate Duncan

As campuses get bigger and social media gets louder, there is an increasing danger of loneliness in our universities.

According to recent research, people between the ages of 16 and 24 are the loneliest in our society, with one in six saying they have not found any real friends while at university.1