The mid-semester break is often a time used by frantic students to get in some extra study before upcoming exams, catch up on readings, or for the lucky few, to go away on holidays. However, some students in the EU spent 2 days of this precious week sitting under God’s word at a conference known as ‘Changeover’, prayerfully preparing for their roles as student leaders of the EU next year. Here are two of the many thoughts that were explored during the conference.

Partnership

Following dinner on the first day, there was a terrible (and imaginary) outbreak of food poisoning, leaving all the students blind, and the staff and faculty leaders deaf. In this fragile predicament, teams of staff and students had to work together to solve a challenge. This simulated activity helped us to think through the nature of partnership in the EU. The students would be leading in their respective faculties and teams next year, responsible for making the decisions that would shape the character and direction of their ministry. On the other hand, while the staff team often have more experience than the students, our roles should serve to walk alongside students, in helping them navigate the exciting (and rocky) terrain of being a ministry leader.

Prayer

As we considered the purpose and significance of existing as an Evangelical Union over the past 86 years, there was a consistent challenge to consider the role of prayer in our mission and ministry. For example, we heard of the 1935 mission where students were concerned that the prayer meetings were “lacking in vitality”. So in that same year, the mission committee responded by sending out 1500 cards, seeking prayer support, and held a prayer meeting on a Saturday night at which 250 people attended. We were challenged as leaders of the EU to consider the state of prayer in our current ministries and how we could ensure it to remain an integral part of our strategy and any future plans.

Please pray that our future teams would partner effectively and depend on Christ as they seek to serve Him.