Chesterfield is the town with the wonky church spire. Until recently that is all I could have told you about the place. But I visited its bustling centre last week to chat to the church leaders about Student Linkup and my eyes were opened. It’s a great town with a thriving community.

People who are called to a place, love it like no one else.

Paul Hollingworth, a church leader at Zion Church in Chesterfield said this, “People talk about revival in the UK and get excited. I don’t really. Obviously it would be good but what I get excited about is when I see God's Kingdom coming in my town. It’s where I’m from. It’s where I’ll always be from. And I am going to give my life to seeing it transformed by the local people in a relationship with the living Jesus.”

And I believe he will see that. It is believable! I found the same passion in Hull from John Clarke who showed me Hull campus saying “Isn’t it beautiful? I came here to uni and fell in love with the place. I’ve started to see it as God sees it.”

Throughout the bible, people are consistently called by God to a place rather than an occupation. Much of the old testament is an account of God leading his people to Israel. Paul made tents, but he was not a missionary to tent makers (although I reckon he led a few to Jesus!); he was called to geographical locations. In Revelation Jesus speaks to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea; he does not speak to people of different professions or hobbies.

I am not saying that we can’t witness to those with whom we share our daily activities. On the contrary. If you are at uni, your housemates, coursemates or sports teammates are exactly who to share your faith with.

But I am challenging the common assumption within student culture that you decide what job to do first, and where to do it second. I believe that in order to see revival in the UK it is going to take a generation who are committed to and proud of their town. It might be hard graft at times, but it will be worth it. Revival is not something that precipitates; it is ground out of a dynamic and lengthy partnership between God and his people.

So where are you called to? What is your town? Are you called to stay in your uni city? Are you called to move back home? To somewhere completely different? I challenge you to ask God about that today and dare to listen to the answer.