For Churches
IFES Ireland believes that making disciples is a mission given to the local church. As such we see ourselves as serving the church in Ireland, helping it to be effective in its mission among students. Student ministry is not the preserve of IFES Ireland and whilst we believe that one of the best ways for a church to fulfill its mission among students is to support IFES Ireland, there are some other very practical things that churches can do.
Churches usually engage with students in one of four ways:
- Sending students
- Hosting students
- Receiving graduates
Sending students
Churches and parents send their young people proudly off to their chosen university or college. Behind the excitement of tertiary education lies the fears in those sending of what moral or spiritual battles will be fought in the pending months. How can the home church support those entering tertiary education whether a local commuting student or someone studying in Southampton College of Art?
- Students are a vital resource in our local churches. They are at the right age for participating in leadership of young people in the church. Their generally flexible timetables, intelligence and energy make them the ideal people to fill gaps in the churches requirements. However it is worth considering the following:
- Students have increasingly busy timetables, burgeoning social lives and more part time jobs than ever.
- Students getting involved in leadership in the Christian Unions learn a whole new range of skills that they may not learn as quickly in their local church context. The experience of leading their peers, organizing, working in an interdenominational leadership structure are perhaps worthy long term gains for the church in spite of the short term loss in leadership in the local church.
- September is an excellent time to highlight the people returning to studies or those attending for the first time (Freshers).
- Use one service to interview 1 or 2 students and pray for all the students publicly.
- Some churches give student packs to their young people (these might include some useful student books, phone numbers of their church leaders and a Mars bar). (An excellent range of suitable books are available from IVP publishers http://www.ivpbooks.com/)
- Praying for students - perhaps linking each student (particularly those far a field) with an older member of the congregation as a prayer partner.
- Students can write articles for the local church magazine. In a sense they are working in a different "missionary" context and the church can learn from their experiences.
- Send church magazines / emails to your students.
- Holiday get-togethers. Some churches hold events during Christmas and the summer for their returning students. These are better if they are informal - a Chinese takeaway meal in the church with some music and perhaps a short epilogue is preferable to more formal events. The students who may be struggling in faith will be more likely to attend something low pressure and can still feel a link to the church.
- A Student rep. in a church is a good position for a layperson to ensure the students are being considered and looked after. Perhaps they could organize a service to focus on the student world and ask some local students / IFES people to talk about student issues / life.
- It is a good idea to find out information in advance about the campuses that students are going to. Contact IFES Ireland for information on CU's in Ireland (North & South) and UCCF www.uccf.org.uk for CU's in Great Britain. Many Christian Union's and Chaplaincies have special fresher events or weekends that can help integrate students into good friendships. UCCF and IFES use a student link up form, which passes information about the student to the local Christian Union. Click Here for the link up form.
- "Starting as a Student Day" - is an interdenominational event happening in the Belfast area. It is a one day preparation conference on student life - including areas of Finances, Cooking (including demonstrations!), Studying and Faith. Ask for details from your Youth department or look out for information in the local press.
Hosting Students
Churches that are on or near University campus often want to assist in ministry amongst the students they see around them. There are many good examples of churches that students attend during their term time; other churches merely assist with resources the ongoing work of Christian Unions.
- Food & Hospitality are an essential ingredient of the student friendly church. Some hold Student lunches after church or on particular evenings as a way of integrating students into church life.
- Supporting the local CU - in areas like Belfast there are a proliferation of churches and many of them have an avid interest in student work. The difficulty much of the time is attempting to coordinate and streamline what is already happening. The temptation for Christian students is to attend a Christian event every single night of the week leaving little room for non-Christian socializing never mind the studying itself. It is worth talking with local student workers in IFES or local chaplains to know how support will help rather than merely add another event.
- International students are bewildered as they enter a strange country with strange food and customs. This is one of the most needy areas in terms of church support and one of the easiest and most fun ways of getting involved in local campus work.
- Orientation programme to the city/town/campus - Christian Union's, chaplaincies and other groups take part in welcoming international students to the country.
- Offering your services by inviting International student(s) for a Christmas meal. They would otherwise spend the day in deserted student accommodation with a candle and a coloured hat. Sunday lunches are an equally effective way of making their stay in the country a pleasant one. They get to experience Christian hospitality and your congregation get to meet someone from anywhere from France to Malaysia.
- Some people open their homes for morning coffee or Sunday evening supper.
- Some churches run home groups specifically for students. This can be useful but it is also worth mixing them with older people as they may well be spending considerable time amongst their Christian peers in University organized study groups.
Receiving Graduates
- Re-entry – This can be a struggle for many graduates. They have spent 3+ years in the weird and wonderful world of University and are now getting used to a 9 to 5 work pattern and their home church culture. The variety of their experiences can leave them feeling culturally different from their home background. They have changed in ways they are not sure how to articulate.
- Home students tend to have developed more friends at home. Away students may return home but feel “baseless” and may quickly decide to move on somewhere else.
- Graduates have had a vastly different experiencing of “doing church” – they have mixed with people on either extreme of the denominational line, worshipped in different ways, discussed theology with people different to them and generally had a broadening of their minds.
- Experience of Christian Union leadership affects attitude to home church. Used to wide variety of styles, the best local speakers, and often more open and honest relationships. The speed at which decisions are made in the home church can often frustrate them as they are used to highly mobile and flexible decision making bodies in their student world. They have the great potential for bringing their experiences into the local church but also a potential for frustration. This is not to say that the church should bow to “know it all” graduates but certainly recognize that many of them have been involved in a unique missionary environment. They are some of the only ones in your congregation who have been to another Christian community for a long period. They will have learned significant things that the home church is blinded to by familiarity.