AT FUSION, WE LOVE HEARING STORIES OF HOW GOD IS MOVING ACROSS UNIVERSITIES AND HOW CHURCHES ARE WELCOMING FRESHERS INTO THEIR CHURCH COMMUNITIES.
Helen is a student worker at her church in Leeds. The church is dedicated to reaching students with no background in Christian culture. They love to engage with students who have never explored faith but would like to find out more about it.
One of the ways they’ve been engaging with students is through their Coffee Cart. The church is based right next to a massive park, which forms part of the commute to uni for most students. Every week they take the cart out to the park to give out free coffee to students.
Helen and her team love going out and have found that students are so surprised and always ask lots of questions.
“Students are always asking us questions like ‘Why are you handing out free coffee?’ or ‘What are you doing here?’ And in response we tell them,
“It’s because we want you to know that you’re loved and valued.”
Students find it really strange but are also really happy when we tell them. They have a different look on their face.
Their posture changes because they’ve been told that they are valued.
They also ask if there is a catch. We say in response that we could invite them to church, and we will, but we’re just here to tell them today that they’re loved and valued.”