Every September, Fusion gathers local churches from up and down the land to descend upon the university freshers fairs with the aim of inviting as many students to try church. It has been truly remarkable seeing what has been well documented in a variety of reports regarding the spiritual openness of Gen Z, including our own, becoming an on-the-ground reality. In conversation with students, it has been astonishingly noticeable the increasing number of students who say they encountered Jesus way before being invited by a friend or stepping inside a church by their own accord. This was true when I met students, Shannon and Lewis, at Chichester Freshers Fair last month:
Shannon is a third-year student who gave her life to Jesus 6 months ago. Prior to her encounter with Christ, Shannon experienced awful addiction for a number of years which impacted her mental health and her outlook on life. In fact Shannon’s mental health had deteriorated to a point where she believed there was no way back. That was until her Mum, who is not a Christian, suggested she should try reading the Bible. Shannon had nothing to lose but everything to gain. She began reading the gospel accounts and became totally transfixed by the person of Jesus. Within a few weeks, Shannon’s addictions broke as she accepted the life giving words of Jesus. This was the story Shannon relayed as she stood at the Try Church Stand, poised and ready to get connected into the heart of a local church. Incredibly, Shannon brought a friend over to the Try Church stand who had stood by her since the very beginning on her struggles. The remarkable transformation in Shannon meant her friend was curious to know more too. This lead to Shannon’s friend also signing up to give church a go during her time at university. Praise God!
Later on that afternoon, Sam, a local student pastor in Chichester, got into a conversation with a second-year student called Lewis after noticing his a cross displayed on his black cap. Sam asked Lewis whether he believed in God. Lewis replied he was not a Christian but last week believed he may have experienced something. Lewis is training to qualify to represent Team GB at the L.A. Olympics in Powerlifting but had been carrying a back injury that had not shifted. Lewis tried every remedy under the sun to restore his body back to full health in order to start training again. Nothing had worked. On his way back to student digs, Lewis spontaneously decided to head into Chichester Cathedral, which he later reflected was a strange decision. When Lewis sat down in the cathedral he felt an urge to pray for the first time as he was desperate for his back to get better. There and then, as he opened himself up to God, he felt the pain in his back disintegrate. It was a miracle! He could not believe it! Lewis thought to himself why only ask for one miracle when he could get two, maybe three? So Lewis assumed his prayer position again and asked God to give his sister a job. Lewis’ sister had been out of employment for a number of years and was struggling to make ends meet. As Lewis walked out Chichester Cathedral he heard his phone. PING. It was his sister. “I’VE GOT A JOB!”. "WHAT?!" Lewis replied. As Sam listened to Lewis relaying this encounter, he asked whether these two answers to prayer had led Lewis to consider whether God was real. Lewis could not disagree. Whatever had happened was beyond extraordinary. He accepted an invitation to Church.
