I recently visited Jonny Hughes and Will Foulger who have planted Trinity Church Nottingham. This is part of the Church of England’s strategy to plant resource churches into the 100 biggest populaces in the UK. Lots of these locations have one or more universities near by.
The fascinating thing about the former Auction House building that Jonny and Will have been given is that it is a stone’s throw away from Nottingham Trent Uni. There are a lot of fantastic churches in Nottingham, but most of them primarily reach the students of the Uni of Nottingham. This is the older, more established university with more of a focus on academic subjects and it’s students tend to come from more middle class backgrounds. Nottingham Trent on the other hand focuses more on vocational or art-based subjects and it’s students tend to come from more working class background. Clearly this is a generalisation and there are many exceptions.
Having spoken to the Trinity team about this fantastic opportunity, I wondered if there was a similar story elsewhere so I asked student workers from churches in other cities and found that it is a common theme. Sheffield Hallam University stands out as an example as it is a larger university than the older University of Sheffield. Oxford and Cambridge also follow the same trend. Churches seem to attract students in much higher percentages from the older universities. I put this basic chart together with some statistics I found from each universities website.
There are also many locations that have not had a university until relatively recently. Good examples of this are Bognor Regis, Weston-Super-Mare, Wolverhampton, Bolton, Falmouth and Ipswich. The churches in these locations are beginning to adapt to the influx of student numbers, but there is more to do.
I suggest that we need multiple church plants from all sorts of denominations and streams who will position themselves to reach the students in the newer universities of the UK.
Other ways the church could reach all students include:
3. Work with the Students’ Union
I hope this encourages you and the church. My intention is not to criticise or deconstruct but to offer practical suggestions that may lead to growth. I also want to recognise that my list of 5 is by no means exhaustive and I want to encourage lots more creativity in this area.
