The Merry Month of May
We’ve come to the end of another busy term in St Andrews. As I write this update the first day of Revision Week has begun, students have retreated to the library and another term of formal CU mission has drawn to a close. The stretch from January to April is a long one, but it’s great to be able to look back on four months of fruitful ministry full of encouragements.
Of course the biggest of these encouragements came back in February with Story, our annual events week. This afforded us a very broad reach as a CU, meaning we were able to share the gospel with hundreds of students over the course of the week. This led to great follow-up after the event, with lots of students reading the Bible with CU friends, attending our follow-up course or coming to church for the first time in the weeks following.
It also served as a really helpful springboard for our ongoing mission as a CU. The many follow-up conversations being had by CU members flowed naturally into invites to the two large- scale evangelistic events we’ve run since February. I had the privilege of speaking at both of these events. ‘The Gospel According to Beyoncé’ was an acoustic night in a local coffee shop, at
which I gave a talk on how the gospel connects to the big themes of Beyoncé’s music. More recently we finished our formal programme of events with Starlight Ball, an evening of fine dining and dancing. The theme of the night was ‘The Great Gatsby’, so it was a real joy to deliver a talk to 150 students on how the pressure to portray an image of success is removed by the gospel of grace.
To report every encouraging conversation, story or example of a student boldly making Christ known this term would take up a lot more space than this letter! Please do give thanks for all of these things and pray for the ongoing mission of SAUCU, especially during the weeks of exams that lie ahead.
Looking to the future
As you can guess, with CU formally wrapped up for the term, the next few months will be a much quieter time. Pray that I can use this time well for catching up on study, writing talks and Bible studies for next semester and meeting up with students while they’re still here.
More personally, do also be keeping me and Jody in your prayers as wedding planning gathers speed! We’re both tired at the end of another long term, so pray we’d make the most of our slightly lighter schedules in the months ahead. Pray that we’d keep Christ at the centre of the day itself and our marriage to come. We recently started doing marriage prep sessions with an older couple in church, so pray that these meetings would be helpful. And thanks to all of you who’ve been in touch with congratulations, encouragements and assurances of your prayers for both of us so far!
day-to-day as a Staff Worker
Our strong conviction at UCCF is that students are best placed to reach fellow students. To that end, CUs are student- led mission teams. The leadership of CU changes every year in Spring term, meaning that not long after the Story week a new group of students took on the various roles involved with running a big CU. I’ll be working a lot with Fergus and Sarah in particular, our new CU President and Vice President. It’s been a real joy to work with them both so far and to see their commitment to living for Jesus at university and to making Him known. Both Fergus and Sarah are great at setting an example to the wider CU in how they’ve invested in their unbelieving friends, and it’s a a privilege to get to encourage them both in this as they seek to encourage the whole CU. Pray for them and the rest of the CU committee as they make decisions about the next year of student mission here. Pray too for all of our new CU leaders, including those
leading small group Bible studies, the International Café team and the committee of Solid Rock, our weekly free lunch event at which students share their testimonies. With all of these parts of CU working well and working together we are so well placed to give hundreds of students a chance to hear the gospel every week – what a joy! So pray for our student leaders as they seek to make this a reality.
Support raising
One of the commitments I undertake as a Staff Worker is to raise the as much support as possible to cover the costs of my employment and make this work more sustainable for the future. It costs just over £30,000 a year to employ a full time Staff Worker, including salary, training and administrative costs. I’m continually humbled by people’s generosity in sacrificial giving which has enabled me to do my job of helping students share the gospel – I am now over a third of my way to £30,000 a year. To make it to the half way point would mean 20 people giving £15 a month, or 40 people giving £10 a month. If you feel able to partner with me financially and would like more information please do drop me a line, or follow the link below to donate online!
Prayer Request
Give thanks for:
So many students hearing the gospel this term
Godly, servant-hearted student leaders
God’s ongoing provision in support raising
The joy of marriage and wedding planning
Please pray for:
Ongoing CU witness during the exams
Continued financial provision
Wisdom for the new CU leaders
Wedding and marriage preparations
Using time well now that term has finished
