Physics Evangelism: When Faith Meets the Lecture Hall
University is a place where curiosity thrives. Students come with open minds, eager to explore new ideas—both academic and existential. In recent months, we’ve seen an increasing number of students walk into church gatherings on campus, simply wondering, “What’s going on in there?”
One evening at Loughborough University, I was preaching on the theme of momentum in our walk—how to stay consistent in our walk with Jesus. In preparing the message, I felt prompted to use a metaphor drawn from physics: a train gaining momentum. I explained that just like a train moving forward experiences air resistance, we too face resistance in our spiritual journey. Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” (John 15:20). Resistance, whether external or internal, is part of moving forward in faith.
What happened next caught me completely by surprise.
Just as I mentioned the phrase air resistance, a student walked in through the back—on his way to the toilet. But hearing that specific term made him freeze. He was revising for an exam on air resistance that week, and suddenly he found himself in a room where physics and faith were colliding in real time.
Curious, he stayed for the rest of the talk.
As he listened, he heard how we can overcome the “air resistance” of life through Jesus—how God empowers us to keep moving forward when we feel stuck, opposed, or overwhelmed. After the gathering, he spoke with one of our student workers and asked to meet up to talk more about God.
What I didn’t know at the time was that several Christian students from the church, all studying engineering, had invited their course-mate to come along that same evening. Without coordinating, we had created the perfect environment—a message infused with physics and engineering illustrations, speaking directly to the world they lived in every day.
Let’s continue to speak about Jesus on campus, leaning on the spirit to guide us in how we communicate the wonderful gospel of Jesus.
