Week 38 - Seeds Sown

Every now and again, we get to see glimpses of the seeds we’ve sown. 

Recently, I experienced a prompt from the Holy Spirit to reach out to a student who was at our church 20 years ago. Liz Hunter (as she was then) was one of our first students at G2; she was clever, academic, thoughtful, passionate and quite scatty. Well, she was an English and History student! We had lost contact for a long time but I felt a prompt to message her and see how she was doing. Not long ago, we both happened to be in London and so we met and reconnected. It was so good to catch up on all that life has been for her in the last 20 years. She is now married with children and goes by the name Elizabeth Oldfield. She has just written a book called Fully Alive which I thoroughly recommend.

Over the past 20 years, she has gone through a season of losing her faith and refinding it. The book is all about her journey of faith and what it means to live a good, whole and fulfilling life. Some time after rediscovering her faith she became Director at Theos until a few years ago, and in recent years has dedicated her time to writing her book about her journey. She also runs a podcast called “The Sacred” and featured as a guest on Russell Brand’s podcast years before he became a Christian!

Occasionally, we get to see what we’ve been investing in. I was unaware of Elizabeth’s journey for most of the last 20 years since she was a student with us. Every now and again you get a little glimpse and you’re reminded of the seeds you sowed into a person and their life. It’s so good to see what God has done in that person’s life and how much fruit that person has borne in their life since then. It’s such a delight. 

Who are the students that you’re working with now? Let’s see them for all that is to come in the rest of their life. All the people they will know and the journeys they will go on. Their journey of faith - they might struggle, they might refind it. Who knows. It’s a rich tapestry of life. 

This has been very much on my mind over the last few months as I’ve been recording The Legacy Podcast. It’s all about seeds that have been sewn, lives that are well-lived and the long-term impact of student ministry and mission. Watch the latest episode here!

Every week of the academic year, we are are sharing a story of student mission. If you have a story to share, let us know

Luke Smith

National Team Leader (England & Wales)

Luke has worked with students in church for 20 years. He loves helping churches figure out how to reach students. He leads the Fusion team to keep them sharp and focused as they serve the local church.

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