We are not isolated, we are part of a bigger team, called by God to serve the students of our nations. We are pioneers, we are investors, we are developers and strengtheners. We are pastors, prophets, apostles, teachers, and evangelists. God has placed us where we are and we are seeking to fulfil his purposes, sometimes working in confidence, sometimes in what feels like blind faith, always in hope for what God is doing and what he will do.
Louise Weatherall who heads up the student worker at Christ Church Winchester, writes below about her experience of starting her role as a student worker two years ago and how joining a Student Worker Huddle last year helped her.
"As we all know, it’s been an interesting few months, meaning that student ministry has looked quite different to ‘normal’, but God remained so faithful and people’s lives have still been transformed. To get to this point, it’s been massively helpful to be encouraged by those who are in the same boat. I was part of a huddle with a couple of other student workers with the intention of sharing what’s going on in our contexts, celebrating good news stories and discussing challenges. I found this huddle a welcome addition to my diary, as it gave me an opportunity to chat to others who just ‘get’ it.
Being part of the huddle allowed me to set aside time to soak in the wisdom and learn from the other members, as they openly chatted about their experiences of student ministry - both the ups and the downs. Having a space to do this has been valuable - knowing no one would judge when you admit the challenges or ask questions meant that honesty was easy. Despite the tricky parts, there are many stories of God moving among students, so sharing and listening to what was going on around the country was encouraging, particularly in the depths of lockdown!
The huddle meant that together, we were able to find space in our day to listen, discuss and question parts of our student ministry, such as our student team and the relationship between our students and the church.
I’ve found that in this job it’s too easy to just keep going, without taking time to reflect and refocus on what we’re aiming for - for students to know and love Jesus. Through being part of this huddle, our student ministry developed as we evaluated what we’re currently up to and what we could change, adapt or add to further build God’s kingdom among our students.
CONNECTING WITH OTHERS THROUGH THE HUDDLE HAS GIVEN ME A COMMUNITY THAT I'M INVESTED IN, AND WHO ARE INVESTED IN ME.
As we spent time in prayer in each session, having another student worker lift the student ministry of Christ Church Winchester up to God was powerful and it was a joy for me to be able to pray over God’s work with students elsewhere.
If you want to chat to people who just ‘get’ it, please get yourself in a student worker’s huddle. It’s definitely a worthwhile investment of your time to be able to reflect, refocus and dream big about student work. My experience of being in a huddle reminds me of Hebrews 10:24-25.* I left meetings feeling more hopeful, more encouraged and spurred on towards bringing our students to a live with Jesus. Surely we all need to be encouraged and spurred on as we serve God and our students - joining a huddle is a fab way to find a community to live out these verses."
So, if you want to journey this calling alongside others like Louise who 'get it', who are also working out what student ministry looks like in their context, the best thing you can do is to join a Student Worker Huddle. The simple idea is to connect regularly on Zoom to share where you are, to encourage and challenge one another and to back each other in prayer. Each Huddle will be made up of 4-6 student workers, and led by a Fusion team member.
<<Sign up is closed now. New huddles will be launching in September 2022.>>
*https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010%3A24-25&version=NIV
