Happy New Year
As I write this, we’re approaching the end of the first week of term back in St Andrews. Now that the students are back from their lengthy break, I’m excited to get stuck into another term of mission on campus! This time of year is a particularly exciting one in the life of a UCCF Staff Worker because this is when most CUs run events weeks. Events weeks are a focussed, week-long series of large scale evangelistic events which give CUs a chance to have a wider reach in evangelism, provide an opportunity for many to hear the gospel for the first time and serve as a catalyst for ongoing evangelism amongst friends. This year I’ll be involved in two mission weeks (details to follow), and I can’t wait to get going!
January was a mixture of very quiet spells and slightly busier times. The month kicked off just outside Birmingham with our New Year Training Conference (NYTC), a teaching and training week for all staff and Relay Workers. As well as enjoying some refreshing teaching on 1 Corinthians, it was nice to catch up with friends from far-flung corners of England and Wales! Students in St Andrews didn’t start back until January 29th, so the weeks following NYTC was quiet. During this time, it was nice to be able to get ahead with preparing talks, Bible studies and
training materials for the term ahead. Towards the end of the month I had a unique opportunity to venture once again into England, leaving the border far behind as I travelled down to London with Fergus, our CU secretary. We had been invited down by Richard Cunningham (UCCF Director) to see him speaking at the first night of the London CUs’ joint mission week. Richard is coming to St Andrews as our main mission week speaker in 2020, so it was really helpful to go down and see the kind of events we could be running. It was also a real privilege to see brothers and sisters from CUs across London make Jesus known, and for us to get involved in a small way as they did so!
PRAYING FOR ME
Give thanks for:
- His provision of finances and practical things for Story
- Creative, keen CU students running events
- The joy of getting engaged
Please pray for:
- Boldness in evangelism during events week season
- Many students to hear and respond to the gospel
- Preparation for RGU CU events week
- Wedding and marriage preparations
DAY-TO-DAY WITH UCCF
As mentioned above, events week season is coming soon! This year we’ll again be using the Story theme for our events week here in St Andrews. Last year, Story St Andrews was a great time of engaging unbelieving students on campus with the good news of Jesus, finding out about them and their story, and introducing them to the wonderful story of hope, reconcilliation and new life in Christ held out in the gospel. We’re hoping to have more of the same this year! We’re putting up a marquee so that we can host all of our events in one central location on campus and Glen Scrivener, an evangelist based in Eastborne, will join us as our main speaker. It’s been really exciting to see plans for Story 2018 take shape over the last few months. Praise God for how He has provided so far. It’s great to have genrous supporters giving towards the week alongside creative and keen students with a desire to put on events
that will make people want to come, feel welcome and have the best chance they can to hear the gospel. Events this year include a ‘Gin & Jazz’ night, ‘Acapella & Appetisers’ and a Hog Roast style pulled pork dinner. Pray for the logistics of running these events and primarily pray that the CU would be bold in inviting their friends and the wider student body. We pray that loads of students here in St Andrews would have a chance to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus!
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
The focus this month is, of course, events weeks. Story St Andrews will run from 12th-16th February and is covered in more detail opposite. The week after this, I’ll be heading up to Aberdeen where I’ll be speaking at Robert Gordon University CU’s events week. I’ll be giving three talks from John’s Gospel in the evenings, a lunchtime talk on the subject of ‘Suffering’ and repeating my ‘Gospel according to Beyoncé’ talk, which I prepared for Stirling CU last year. This is the first time I’ll go to an events week as the speaker, which is really exciting, but also quite daunting, especially as it comes so soon after Story. So, pray for energy as I head up there, for good time in preparation and for boldness and clarity as I share the gospel there! The month will end with two Scotland Team Days on 26th and 27th February. Please pray that this would be a refreshing time together for us all after a busy month of events weeks!
I GOT ENGAGED!!
The doubtless highlight of January (and, indeed, my life so far!) was that I got engaged to the wonderful Jody MacIver! I met Jody not long after I moved to St Andrews and it’s been a joy, privilege and delight to get to know her during this time. I’m so excited to get to get to marry her and feel like the luckiest guy in the world. Please do pray for both of us as we plan a wedding and prepare for marriage, that God would provide everything we need, and that we serve Him well together as we keep a desire to glorify and grow in love for Him at the centre!
Supporting Matty
Fundraising
One of the commitments I undertake as a Staff Worker is to raise the entire cost of my employment each year. It costs just over £30,000 for UCCF to employ a full- time Staff Worker, including salary, training, employment and administrative costs. I’ve been blown away over the last year and a half at people’s generosity in sacrificial giving which has enabled me to do my job of helping students share the gospel! 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!
