When was the last time you had a 'God conversation' with a person with an axe in their head? When was the last time you chatted about Jesus to a 6ft bloke in a gimp suit? For me, it was last Friday night. I joined the Club Mission team at Loughborough University Students' Union in what the local church does there every week.
It was a halloween party in the union so there were 2,500 students in fancy dress, most of whom were very drunk. The church there has been invited by the Students' Union to provide a chill out room and serve the needs of the students. So we wondered round the club, chatting to people, clearing up bottles from the floor and encouraging the security and bar staff. Hundreds of students stumbled into the chill out room through the evening. They had a glass of water, took a breather from dancing and drinking alcohol, sat on an enormous elephant bean-bag called Harry. Some people were being sick into a bucket in the corner of the room, others were having deep conversations about why Christians would want to do this, and lots of people just came into the room and chilled out for a bit.
I prayed for an atheist bloke dressed as a zombie who had stomach cramps. We chatted for about half an hour about Jesus, God, the church, Christians and how he believed the most important thing was to not be an ignorant person. After I had prayed for his stomach cramps they gradually got better. He wasn't sure if it was God, but he was visibly affected by my offering to pray for him and actually doing so there and then.
As a local church leader, I was blown away by how open students were to talking about Jesus. Most people think Jesus was cool. They like him. And the vast majority of students are pleasantly surprised and warm to a bunch of Christians who believe Jesus is alive within them and who have time for them.
And this openness of students to the gospel is matched by an increase in desire within churches across the UK to love their local university. It's growing and bubbling. As a Fusion team, we are starting to hear more and more stories about brilliant church-based student mission, which is so encouraging.
So let's get out there! What are we waiting for?! Let's stop waiting for someone else to reach the students of our city for Jesus and get on with it.
