Blog

Steve came to Manchester from Colombia in 2019 to learn English at a language school. Learning English would improve his job prospects back home and being an adventurous guy he jumped at the chance to immerse himself in a new culture.  I first met Steve as he clutched his bike and smiled as I opened my front door. I immediately noticed...

Prayer can feel tricky or tough.  Developed in partnership with 24/7, the P.R.A.Y Deck brings a shot of creativity to your student ministry with ideas to help you Pause and be still. Rejoice. Ask for help and Yield to God in prayer. The P.R.A.Y deck helps students seek God in brand new ways. Here are the four categories/suits and how you can...

"to proclaim freedom for the captives..." (Isaiah 61:1) We’ve been locked down. For some of us, the physical lockdown has revealed a more potent spiritual lockdown. Proverbs 5:22 says ‘an evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him’. We’ve been waiting for the day where we ‘have our freedom back’ and can resume our lives of...

I’m convinced students need the gospel more than ever. They need the hope of Jesus, freedom from darkness, and real belonging in God’s kingdom. We’re in a time where students are doubting, deconstructing, struggling to engage with their faith. The underlying pandemic at play is student mental health. This time presents a significant opportunity to see a hidden movement of...

Working for Fusion is an adventure. Travelling around the country, meeting new people and raising our salaries - we often end up in surprising places talking to extraordinary people with God showing up in remarkable ways.  Unexpected Salvation Last year, we were running a student night for a Church in Bristol. As we were singing to Jesus, the students came up to...

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ' Philippians 2:5-7 On a cold September morning, on the high street in Manchester,...

“but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” Luke 2:10-11 NLT 8 years ago I was standing in a tent full to the brim with 10,000 people. We were all belting...

Out of the 2.3 million students in the UK, there is undoubtedly a proportion ready to hear the gospel and respond. Let us not be discouraged by what we can’t do in this season. Instead, let us look to the possibilities of this season. As you prayer walk your campus and extend the invitation to new students to try church online,...

Prayer works.  It’s a vulnerable thing to lay our needs before God in prayer and believe he will meet them. It’s a case of trust, faith that he is a good father, that he wants to hear our prayers and answer them.  Crafted, short prayers can be specific and repeatable. Jesus warns us against using clever words and waffling on in prayer to...

Imagine for a moment Jesus preparing a table for his friends.. Jesus sets the table, he takes care in arranging the table cloth, the silverware, the candles and writes name tags for each person’s place. He prepares a meal, your favourite dish included, he takes his time and serves the food just as his friends arrive.  Some sit at the table, enjoying...

Imagine for a moment Jesus preparing a table for his friends.. Jesus sets the table, he takes care in arranging the table cloth, the silverware, the candles and writes name tags in each person’s place. He prepares a meal, your favourite dish included, he takes his time and serves the food just as his friends arrive.  Some sit at the table, enjoying...

As a Fusion worker, I’m used to travelling every other week. It’s what I do. It makes me come alive. I love being out on the road meeting with fiery students, praying over campuses and strategizing with Church leaders to reach the lost. Even the rainiest day in Ormskirk comes to life when I’m sharing good news with students. I...

Let’s remember international students at this time. Perhaps isolated, likely confused, missing home and in need of our contact. Even if they don’t know it, internationals are in need of support and prayer. Many are stuck in the UK unable to get home, uncertain how long lockdown will go on. The good news is at Fusion we’re hearing stories of the...

If you’re a final year student we’d love to hear your voice at this time. 2020 has been a rollercoaster ride with Uni strikes kicking off the year and now you’re likely at home working toward dissertation deadlines and watching lectures online - this virus outbreak has disrupted your life and likely your plans for what’s next post graduation.  At Fusion, we...

Can you see what is coming alive?  Our lives are now substantially different. It's confusing for the mind, the body and the spirit. We're not getting outside as much, not traveling to uni, you might be eating differently, your body might be feeling uneasy with less sunlight and exercise. Your mind might feel a little less stimulated with limited human contact....

A word for small groups and students this year. Dare to imagine with me for a minute!   I was walking in a field which was perfectly square, well maintained with short green grass, no bumps or uneven surfaces. Like a championship golf course, it almost didn’t look real. There were no surprises in this field! As I walked through this field...

Is your love for student mission infectious and contagious? Are you hungry to see students share their faith? Passionate about students belonging in the local Church? We’re looking for two new Fusion team in Manchester.    Student link up developer Banging the drum to prepare young people for University and linking to a Church. Primarily connecting with youth workers to empower students for a life full...

What’s next? I lost count of how many times I was asked this question in my final year. It seemed like every other day a mate, lecturer, old family friend or stranger in the street would ask me. It’s a valid question. It’s often asked with good intentions to take an interest. However, hearing this question again and again as a...

We like things to be predictable. Trains that are on time, schedules well planned and that new episode on netflix ready to watch when we get home. Predictability encourages comfort and comfort relieves stress, it gives us something to look forward to, a escape from that uncertain, underlying longing deep down looking for something more. Do you know what it feels like...

Josh studies AT The Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester. He's a wild Zimbabwean with a full heart. He lives and loves well, walking out the vision God gave him to reach every student on his campus. This is what he had to say about pioneering a student ministry. Student work I have found to be like breakers on a shore. There...

Reuben leads the student work at HT Weston. He’s passionate, a visionary and has given student work a crack this year for the first time. God has moved amongst students in Weston through his work, here’s his story and some of what he’s learned on the way. During my year as a ministry intern at Holy Trinity Church (HT), I was...

‘I’m just not getting enough rest time!’, ‘I’m just trying to get that balance of work and rest!’. I don’t know about you but I hear these conversations a lot! In fact, I’m often a part of them. Millennials are bombarded with thoughts of making the most of each day and balancing work and rest often leading to a mental muddle...

The words of John chapter 6 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on...

In an age that is designed to distract us from looking one another in the eye and speaking face to face, the value of communing cannot be overemphasised. As I travel the country I am beginning to see pockets of contagious student communities meeting and living in small groups spurring one another on in pursuit of Christ. We are addicted...

The Fusion Manchester hub have been on the road recently. Edinburgh, Cardiff, Lancaster and Liverpool and further afield.. Our goal has been simple. To create space for groups of students to explore how their small groups might fulfill a mission. A mission that, on paper, looks impossible. To reach the thousands of students on their doorstep. Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and...

I recently met with James from Bath. He is the worship pastor at St.Swithins Walcot and he loves to see students involved in the local Church. Navigating the post-uni years can be challenging as we enter into a new life post-studentdom. There is something unfamiliar about what happens after the mortar boards have been excitedly flung. I had a fairly unusual university...

With only 3 weeks to go until this year's Fusion conference, Firebrands, we are gearing ourselves up to go prepared to listen, learn, worship, and hear from God. Femi, from Exeter, recently shared a short devotional with us on another part of being a Firebrand. It's not too late to get your ticket: Buy my ticket Find out more 

Take this as an opportunity to wait. Wait for God. Wait for your perspective to lift, lift out of what you’re doing and where you’re going next. Let this moment be a moment you acknowledge and experience, now is the time to see God, hear his tender voice and receive his fire. Fire is often born in secret, away from...

Frederic is a wild worshipper who is passionate about the mission of God for students and the nation of France! You can’t help but feel energetic around him and he is a powerful example of counting the cost and following the dreams God puts inside us. Do you dream with God? Yes, for me it means to see God in other people’s...

I recently met with Katie to chat about dreaming with God. She's full of life and full of expectation as she finishes her degree and prepares to run into missions in September. Check this out for an opening statement on dreaming! For me, life is all about walking with God. When we walk with Him closely He starts to put His dreams...

Meet Tom. He’s one of the smiliest gents you’ll meet and he just can’t stop writing songs. Tom released a new EP recently and his favourite music genre is Neo-Soul – I’d never heard of it either! He is the student worker at Severn Vineyard Bristol and loves seeing students embrace who they are and start to dream big with God. Tom...

Matthew 28:19; ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’. Take a minute to think about the word ‘disciple’. What does it mean to you? ‘Mathéteuó’ is the Greek word and it means to be instructed, to be trained, to become a learner.  A disciple lives...

I’ve recently returned from Fusion’s annual student work conference. As a team, we gathered with 300 student leaders from all over the UK and Europe to worship, pray and share God stories from our cities and campuses. This year’s theme was Uprising. We were stirred to join in with the Uprising of faith, power and holiness rising in the hundreds of thousands of...

The tragic events in Manchester and heightened security all over the country are a media frenzy. Constant news updates make for a stimuli overload of details and analysis. At times, I’ve found myself engrossed in news articles, videos and live updates which seem to be designed to provoke worry, escalating thinking and self-centredness. We all know the details. However, I’m interested in what...

Last week I met up with Femi Kalejaiye (Operations Pastor, Rediscover Exeter) to hear all about New Day – a morning of celebration held at the biggest venue in Exeter which happens to be The Great Hall, a spectacular arena smack bang in the middle of the University main campus. Femi, why ‘New day’? "We recently doubled up our services at Rediscover Church...

Every day we make countless choices. From where we go, who we hang around with and what we say – we have to make a choice. Every choice we make impacts us and those around us. We have real responsibility and authority, in fact, we are co-creators with God himself! Jesus constantly invited his disciples and followers to make choices. He continues to...