Drawing a crowd

Long before the A level results were even in, we were gearing up for new students arriving at Revs, making up pizza boxes as freshers packs and praying that Christians arriving at the university would able to find a community of friends and to let their hearts be captivated for God and for their uni.

The last couple of weeks have been exciting and exhausting in equal measure and far beyond anything we've seen at Revs in years. Working with Anna, our brand new student worker at Revs, our heart has been to provide the best welcome possible for students - you probably noticed the student table on Sunday mornings; we've also been hosting student meals on Sundays, had a few nights down at the Hope and been catching up with people for coffees, on facebook...in whatever way possible. You've might have been around on a Sunday morning and thought "Wow theres a lot of new people" and you're right. We have seen 34 new freshers come along and visit Revs - either on a Sunday or to our student cell. This is more than 3 times the number we seen in all the years I can remember! And its not just at Revs; more than 80 freshers have been along to the CU. We have already made plans to multiply our student cell and to bring some new freshers into the mix of leading them
- trusting that where God is on the move he always provides the right people and right resources if we can just spot them and draw it out.

There are so many signs that this really is an exceptional year and God is doing something at the university. I was praying on Sunday night with a girl who only became a Christian 10 days ago, when she arrived on campus and found that most of her flatmates were Christians. Another student has arrived from Ibiza and remembered meeting James on a 24-7 team and found us that way. It seems wherever you talk to people, God has made plans for them to be in Chichester.

For the most part of last year you will know we have been re-shaping how we work with students and young people at Revs, in particular out of a sense that this was the year to make preparations and be ready for what's ahead.
Now we are in the flow of new people arriving and sensing that even more is happening behind the scenes, God is really taking my breath away.

Our new Sunday evening meetings began in September and each week we have seen about 45 people gathering together - more than half are completely new faces. I find i'm continually reassuring new people that most other people are new too! - and reassuring the more familiar faces to get stuck into making new people feel welcome.

The truth is, it can challenge all of us in church when we are faced with a tide of new faces, do we retreat or do we respond? The response we can make is the same response Jesus has made to us - he knows us by name and in the midst of a crowd he notices us. So whether or not you work best in crowds or one to one, there is a place for all of us to make our new students feel welcomed and to share our homes, our city, our church and our hearts with them.

We're only just out of the starting blocks, so please pray for our teenagers, our students and everyone involved in leading them. Pray for Anna as well, her first few weeks as a student worker have been overwhelming and she is doing such a fantastic job. Pray that the crowd becomes a community with hearts sold out for God and for our friends. 

 
 

Reflections This article is one of many that will be added on the site over the coming weeks and months, reflecting on the things that are happening in the world we live in.  They are designed to provoke thought and prompt discussion.  Please add your comments below.