A few churches in Bristol have been collaborating every other week, to do Coffees on Campus for students walking by – right on the main street where all the Uni buildings are, and students are constantly wandering up and down between lectures and libraries. The concept is super simple. They have a table on the side of the pavement with free tea, coffee, cake and a few bibles people can take. They just chat to whoever wants to stop by, and tell them about why they’re doing it – to show people that Jesus loves them. They offer to pray with people there and then if they’re up for it.
Andy, a student pastor in Bristol, was chatting to a couple of guys. One of them seemed far more engaged in conversation, the other guy hanging back a bit more, just listening. Andy ended up sharing his testimony – how Jesus had transformed his life, the real impact he’d seen Jesus have. The conversation came to an end, the guys moved on, and Andy didn’t think much of it.
About three weeks later, Andy was pleasantly surprised to see one of these guys he’d been chatting to had turned up at church. He was even more surprised that it was the guy who’d seemed less engaged in conversation. As it turned out, he’d been listening intently to everything Andy was saying. When Andy asked Sajid* what had brought him to church, his response was “when I heard you telling your story, I could see in your eyes you were telling a truth.”
Sajid didn’t just come that one Sunday. From that point he started coming to church every Sunday, and started coming along to the Tuesday night student gatherings as well. He had so many questions and was hungry to read the Bible. He ended up going for coffees with Andy and chatting through books of the Bible as Andy tried to answer any questions he had.
A few months after their initial conversation, Sajid went skydiving. The first time he tried to pull his parachute, it didn’t open! He prayed a quick prayer that it would open – tried again and it did. The next time he saw Andy, he told him this story and said “I think God saved my life…” Andy, absolutely amazed, didn’t really know what to say to that.
What started with just a chat over coffee, and Andy sharing his story, became a pattern of God at work in Sajid’s life as he continued to come to church and figure out what it meant to follow Jesus. Worship songs would serendipitously end up playing on his Spotify when he hadn’t clicked on them, and they’d make him feel “all tingly inside”.
He then went to a baptism service at church and heard others share their stories of what Jesus had done for them and in them, who Jesus was to them, how he’d changed their lives. Inspired, he went up to Andy at the end of the service and said “can I be baptised?”
It’s amazing what God can do through us when we simply make ourselves available for him to use us. When we’re present on campus and having conversations with students, God can transform lives. How could you do this in your own context?
*Name changed to protect identity.
Every week of the academic year, we are sharing a story of student mission. If you have a story to share, let us know.
