Ellie is a first year student studying Geology in Cardiff. She had short-listed a church to visit prior to coming to Cardiff. When she moved to uni, she visited the church and very soon decided to commit to attending the church. Below she shares her experience of preparing well for starting uni and the process of finding and connecting with a church at uni.

“I started at Cardiff University in September 2023. The transition was tough and in the weeks leading up to the change, I was quite stressed. One of the things I did to prepare was to use the Student Linkup app to help me find a church. A friend who used to go to my church back home is a part of the Fusion team, so she was able to walk me through using Student Linkup. The app itself was very useful.

Once I’d put in which university I was planning on going to, it gave me a list of churches in the area and how far away they are. I could then browse through churches and message ones that I felt suited me. However, the churches also messaged me, which I found really welcoming and helpful because it can be so hard to start those kinds of conversations. It was comforting to have a link of any kind with churches in the area before the move. Settling at Urban Crofters in Cardiff certainly made it easier to start my course because I knew I had a community who cared how I was doing and who I could feel safe with.”

Ellie soon joined a small group at church and immersed herself in the community. She made the conscious choice to invest both in herself and her new church community, simply through serving and being intentional about relationships around her in a new city, new uni, new church and all things new. She’s been growing and thriving in her faith and in her confidence to share her faith and invite her friends to church and CU events.

If you or someone you know is heading off to uni in September, why not download the Student Linkup app to find a church near you?