Dunedin
VCF
Students from VCF were involved with welcoming a visiting team from InterVarsity USA. Many of us who have never started conversations with random students about God had a chance to partner with them in an outreach.
We also helped run the annual barn dance, which is always a lot of fun. Along with dancing and eating there are also good conversations and a chance to connect with students outside the group.
We fundraised for students attending SPARC by “travelling” the 3,406km distance between Dunedin and Vanuatu through exercise. This was a great chance to support them while also getting fit!
– Daniel Sim
Bay of Plenty
Summit conference helps students on separate campuses across New Zealand partner together around the Gospel and mission. Conference and travel costs can be a barrier to students attending. This year Bay of Plenty students fundraised to reciprocate Lincoln University Christian Fellowship’s wonderful initiative last year, when they gifted money to North Island-based students who were heading to the Summit 2017 conference in Christchurch.
Lincoln
Can God help me pass my exams?
What is God’s biggest goal?
Why should I believe in Christ?
And how do you stay positive about God’s presence with so many bad things in the world?
These are just some of the questions that Lincoln CF students asked us at one of our outreach events, “Ask a question about Christianity and get a free piece of cake.” These events seem to work well, however this time we got students to write down their questions anonymously. The result, on the whole, was more engaging, challenging questions. It was quite revealing that, when given time to think and write, people do have questions about Christianity, and those questions are not easy.
TSCF has four aims that direct us as we reach students for Christ. This term we’re focusing on Deep Thought: being a Christian does not mean you abandon your brain. Our faith involves thinking deeply about who God is, what he says in scripture and how that applies to the world we live in.
Please pray for CF students as they wrestle with these questions, that it would deepen their relationship with God and their understanding of who he is. Please also pray that the students who asked the questions would seek answers, first in God’s scriptures, but also through the CF and other Christians around them.
– Chris Hay
AUCKLAND
Staff worker May Lee, centre, with AUT student leaders Mel Hennessy and Nick Choo.
AUTCF
AUTCF now maintains an active presence on all three campuses. Each campus has a small group that operates independently. Over the past semester we held weekly Bible studies to discover more about who God is, and occasionally hosted other fun events to bond with one another.
– Nick Choo and Dorcas Choo
Massey Albany
international student ministry The second semester got off to a good start with more than 100 international students signing up, most of them in a WeChat group. While a smaller number have ended up coming to English Corner and the meal and study Annette and I host, it is good to have a mix of old and new students.
– Jeff Lane
Waikato staff and students at Summit in July.
Hamilton
University of Waikato CF
We had lots of good conversations at a prayer station during the Waikato Student Union’s UN International Youth Day. We contributed to a combined worship service that day with the other Christian clubs on campus. Fifty people attended, including some nonbelievers.
At the end of first semester, we had a well-attended quiz night.
Amy Harrison attended the Lausanne/WEA Oceania Creation Care Consultation in Australia earlier this year, representing TSCF along with Jen Allaway, staff from Otago.
– Felicia Tjung and Amy Harrison