This is Sophie’s experience of immersing herself in a small group community in Cardiff to invest in her discipleship which prepared her very well for her time at university. Sophie is an actor and a creative from Cardiff who just finished her foundation year at an acting school in London.
In one of the most formative and transformative times of her life, she was part of a small family church that didn’t have a huge student group. Something Sophie found difficult was finding solid christian friends who could support and empower her on her faith journey. She wanted a deeper connection with people who believed in Jesus, who could help her grow stronger in her relationship with Him.
In the year prior to going to uni, she decided to join a missional community (a small group) to help her build strong relationships with people who could offer wisdom and courage to her. By doing so, she grew in her familiarity of the Bible and built her confidence to share the Gospel with her friends and even strangers. She found the missional community to be a safe space where she was able to be vulnerable but also help other people to be vulnerable too. Having a weekly gathering helped her be more consistent with talking to God and listening to what he has to say.
“As I received more spiritual ‘food’ I was able to give out more, which is great. Such as inviting my friends and explaining to friends/family and strangers what my missional community is like. Journeying with other Christians was so impactful on my faith as I was able to dig deeper into what I believe and the questions I had. I felt safe and secure to share my thoughts, questions and experiences as well as learn from others.”
Being a part of a missional community helped Sophie build a strong foundation as she began acting school in September. It made her realise how fundamental her faith is and how it’s a key part of her identity that she took with her to acting school. Last year she said, “Once I move to London I will try to find a similar community as I’ve found at the missional community to continue to deepen my relationship with God.”
Fast forward to the end of her foundation year at the Acting School, Sophie has been able to share her faith and have a few deep conversations with her friend who is very keen to learn about “THE FULL BIBLE” and about Jesus. She described to Sophie that she “feels a weird peace when reading the Bible and thinking of God.” So before she went back home, Sophie decided to give her a copy of the Gospel of Mark.
Sophie was one of the few young people at her church going to university but that didn’t stop her from making an intentional effort to invest in her faith and her own discipleship. She also made every effort to invest in her identity in preparation for going to acting school.
Sophie received a Student Linkup Box from her church and joined some training run by Fusion about how to start preparing well for university.
Do you know anyone who’s going to university this year?
How are you preparing them for university?
Do they have a Student Linkup (Preparation for University) Box?
