The biggest secret I learnt at University - The #GoingToUni SeriesHannah Heather - 25 Sep 2014

Why is so much of our communication these days in weird little lists?!

'17 things you never knew that will blow your mind… you won’t believe number 15!' …and etc.   They never blow my mind!  So in general, I try my best to ignore them.

Try as I may though, some of these lists do manage to slip through the net and just this week, one actually really caught my eye.  It said this:  ‘X (a random number I can’t recall) SECRETS NOBODY TELLS YOU ABOUT BEING A STUDENT.’

It got me thinking - what’s the most important secret that I might have to share about being a student?  

And although I can’t bring myself to write one of those lists, I do have a few thoughts I’d like to share with you about my experience as a Christian at University and the secrets that surprised me along the way.

The first, and most important, of these is that ‘University’ does not hold the power to shake your resolve as a Christian. 

My role at 24-7 Prayer lets me come into contact with lots of students and I get sad every time the major message we, as the church, communicate is that your faith is fragile and there is a good chance it will break at uni.

The Bible promises that the power within you is infinitely greater than any around you and the adventure of the Kingdom far more alluring than anything else you will discover on campus.  

I wish that in the church we spent far less time warning new students of the perils of university and far more time getting them excited about the potential that their time at University holds.  

Can you imagine if every Christian fresher across the land was running confidently towards their University experience armed with the transforming spirit of God and aware of the powerful potential they carry in Him?

Because, the exciting truth is that every Christian student arriving at University is bringing the presence of Jesus to their campus.  

Everyone they meet will have the chance to encounter Jesus through their friendship.  Every dark place on campus can be replaced with light as Christian students campaign for justice. And hedonistic notions could be shattered as students turn Universities into tabernacles of worship.   

I think before too long Universities would become places where people expect to find faith; not lose it. This, for me, is the biggest and most amazing secret I discovered at University.  

Upon arrival at their place of study, Christian students are presented with the most incredible opportunity to see transformation, to set people free and to see Jesus do amazing things on their campus.  This, in turn, means that the future leaders of their country in commerce, politics and education may lead the nation in a different direction because of encounters they had with Christian students at University.  

When I was a student at St Andrews, some of us began to realise the exciting potential of our time at University and the things that God wanted to do.  So we decided to start praying.  

And once we had started praying we found it difficult to stop!  

We set up a room right in the middle of town and decided to turn our campus into a centre of worship and prayer.  We kind of figured that once we had finished praying, God would begin sending us out to tell people about him.  And he did do this.  But before we could even think about finishing our prayer vigil and going out to tell people… they began coming to us.

See there’s something so radically different about people who are running passionately towards Jesus.  And this stands out like a beacon in a post-modern, existentialist place like University.

I remember leaving parties at 1am to take up my shift in the prayer room and this strange pursuit of Jesus always caused a bit of a stir.  Those who hadn’t yet met Jesus were so curious about this crazy prayer room movement and what had captured their friends that they would often join us and come to the prayer room to see for themselves.

Our thirst for Jesus was actually… quite irresistible.  

What it did was show people that Jesus was worth it.  He is not a Sunday morning duty but a Saturday night delight.

He really is worth our whole lives and we don’t just want to tell you that from our soap box… we want to show you that with our actions.  With the way we will race to a fairylit room at 3am to meet with Jesus.  With the way we will love you unconditionally.  With the way we will clean you up after a night out and bring you coffee the morning after. With the way that we want to honour Him with our purity. With the way we will tell you about the truths that have set us free.  And listen when you need a friend.

This is the potential that University holds.  And this is the radical Kingdom call we get to be a part of as Christian students. 

For those of you starting University soon or returning to University after the summer, I’m so excited for you! And sorry for how often we warn you about the perils of University and forget to encourage you that you are both called and equipped to see your campus dramatically transformed for Jesus.  

Go change the world - and have loads of fun doing it!

This is Part 4 of our #GoingToUni Series; you can find the other parts here:
 'Getting Ready to Leave' 
'Alcohol, Acceptance and Compromise'
 'Failing at Faith'