Blog

Hungry for pizza or God? Freshers poured into a tent that definitely wasn’t big enough for the vast volume of them. Endlessly they came, shuffling around stall to stall to squeeze every freebie they could out of this freshers fair. There were thousands, and the conversations I’d had in the first hour of the fair hadn’t been all that fruitful -...

I remember when I was a final year student at Bristol University, I was part of a great church, and had a great student small group. There weren’t loads of students in our church but we had a really nice number. We’d started off in my first year with just a handful and grown organically to a group of around...

Are you off to Uni this year, and wondering how you best live a life of faith when you get there? Or wondering how to share your faith with your Uni mates? Let’s talk about how we start Uni well – confident in our faith and in sharing the good news with the people we meet. Let’s talk about how we...

In September 2024, Jake, a student worker in Bristol, asked the students at his church about what they’d like to do that coming academic year: any dreams they had, any fun stuff they wanted to do as a student group… The most resounding answer that came back was: Pray! These students were hungry to pray together and to see what Jesus...

As the summer months pass and we look towards the new academic year, we as student workers can feel increasing excitement and expectation for the new crop of freshers about to arrive, we can dream about and imagine all that God will do in the next twelve months and feel a thrill at the thought. But we can also feel...

Off we walked then to the Catholic University, encouraged that God had led us to our new missionary friend, but getting more tired and hungry by the minute… The University was quiet, with no obvious office or reception at which to ask for Father Adam. In fact, there was no one in sight. To our right was a chapel, and we...

Last month some of the Fusion Team took part in Escape and Pray. The adventure involved flying to an unknown country with no money or connections to bless the students and churches in that city, relying entirely on God's provision. Here are the team's reflections and stories from their time. On Thursday 5th June, filled with anticipation, I boarded a train...

Have you ever set off on a run without knowing where you are going? One student called Daniel* was running in Bristol a few months ago, totally unaware of where that run would take him - that it would change the trajectory of his life. He ended up running past a local church with a few students giving out coffees to...

I was talking to a youth worker a few months ago and I asked him if there were many Uni students in his church. They’re a church with a thriving ministry among youth and families, and they’re based in a student area. Naturally, I thought they might have a sizeable ministry among students as well.  “No, we don’t really have students,”...

The wind was bitterly cold, the sky grey and dreary - ominously threatening to pour rain on the drab day. People shuffled quickly between shops, wrapped in big coats, keen not to spend too much time exposed to the cold air. It certainly wasn’t an ideal setting for busking, but the strange group that began to set up their amplifier...

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...

There are 2.94 million students in the UK, but only 1% are actively engaged with church. For those of us involved in student ministry, the temptation can be to focus entirely on those students we have within our churches. Even for these students, our vision can be small. We hope that we’ll be able to provide some community for them...

A few weeks ago, I was at the Uni of Bristol Freshers Fair, hosting a stand with student workers and students from the city, inviting people to try church. We ended up having amazing conversation with students – many of whom had never tried church before but were deeply curious. Some students had never read the Bible before but wanted...

I still remember that feeling, one of the strangest feelings I’ve had in my life. They were gone. Just gone. I couldn’t quite believe it. Here I was, all alone in Bristol. My parents had just driven away, back home to Yorkshire. Of course this had always been the plan, and I was really excited to be starting uni. I...