‘I’d have given you anything you asked for because you came here to ask for something outside of yourself.” In a culture where the only things that students are known for campaigning and petitioning about student loans and debt, what happened to students who changed culture and pressured parliament on behalf of others?
I think we forget too easily the revolutionary that we follow; the man who turned systems upside down, engaging differently with politics, and the God who asks us to hope for an upside down kingdom.
A group of students in Belfast wanted to follow Jesus’ example and speak up for the gospel, so they started a petition on campus to ask for their uni to be a fair-trade uni. They got into awesome conversations, students loved getting involved and soon they had thousands of signatures from people who agree that our global neighbours deserve a fair wage.
They took the signatures to the university Dean who loved meeting students that didn’t just care about themselves but chose to look outside of their own needs, to those of others. (See quote above!) Belfast Uni is now a fair-trade university.
At uni I loved pursing a life that demonstrated discipleship and hope for the future. But even better than demonstrating it, was getting to invite people who never would have thought about faith into a different way of thinking and living. A group of us at uni ran fundraisers, signed campaign cards and explored faith in a very practical way.
The Bible asks us to “Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.” It is part and parcel of the adventure of discipleship and pursuit of the kingdom of God.
Speaking up can start anywhere, if you love twitter you can follow @TearfundRhythms to find out how to develop a rhythm of advocacy in your life. You could also start getting together with a few mates and praying about the needs on your campus, in your local area and in our world. If there’s a particular issue that particularly stands out, start speaking to people about it, get in touch with us and start making change happen.
If you want to change the world, you need to become the kind of person who changes the world. rhythms.org
