Student Alpha

If my wife knew I was writing this she would kill me.

She wants nothing to do with anything public, but I think it’s time her story was told.

It’s a simple story really, set a few years ago in a London university.

At first in halls, then in a house, she lived alongside some wonderful people; people whose lives were changed forever by knowing her. She prayed for them incessantly, cared for them continuously and loved God relentlessly.

One by one, because of her natural faith and living witness among them,they came to know the love of God for themselves. Simple as that. (And yes, to this day they are all still great friends.)

Now, I have to admit that when I look back on my time at university I do so with a certain degree of regret. Don’t get me wrong, it was great to live with other Christians and to get involved in Christian activities on campus – it was easy to do, as there was always a lot going on. But, if I’m honest, I know that I let myself get stuck in the Christian ghetto: by my final year most all of my friends were either from church or from the CU. I fell at the first hurdle of evangelism: when it came to just being there … I wasn’t.

You would think that I’d have learnt my lesson already, but now that I’m all dog-collared up in the Church of England, things are painfully similar to my university days. Here I am in the Bible-bubble all over again!  

Heading up Student Alpha, and passionate to see every student equipped and released to offer the truth of God’s love to their friends at college, I often find myself reflecting on how unique and precious are those university years. I find myself wondering what I would do differently if I had my time again. And the conclusion I’ve come to? Do you know the one thing I would do more than anything?  

I would listen.

Not exactly earth-shattering, is it? But answer me this: in this crazy old world of ours, where everybody is talking … who is listening?  

I believe, and my experience has shown, that a good eighty per cent of evangelism is merely a case of keeping silent. Isn’t that great? It’s so simple!

If you are keen to make a big difference for God, if you want to be eloquent in your expression of the gospel, then that’s the place to start … don’t say a word!  

One of the most powerful ways of showing someone that they matter, and that you care, is simply to be silent as they speak. Allow yourself the time and space to engage with their story and to appreciate all that has gone into making them the person they are now.

And pray for them. Pray for them silently. Pray that God’s love would become an earth-shattering, soul-healing reality to them. Pray for the chance to offer them prayer – you’d be amazed how often that offer is accepted. Give it a go!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be convinced of the truth. It’s great to be overflowing with life and excitement about God’s grace. But let’s not just TALK. Let’s refuse to allow the life-changing wonder of the gospel to come across as hollow words. Make no mistake – the church can be just as bad as everyone else at talking when no-one is listening.

I love Student Alpha because at its heart it has the expectation that those who are leading it are devoting themselves to the fine art of listening. The Alpha course is nothing new, and its not alone. There are many fine models of evangelism around. But the finest is you, just being yourself, allowing others to be themselves too, listening and caring, loving and praying.

Enjoy!