This year has marked a significant transition for me, as I have stepped into the Senior Staff Worker role with the Evangelical Union at the Conservatorium of Music. It has been a steep learning curve – new rhythms, new faces, and a unique faculty culture (especially for someone like me who is so unmusical) – but it has also been deeply encouraging to see how God is at work among students at the Con.

Students at the Con are highly committed, often intensely so. The culture is very demanding, and excellence is an expectation that weighs heavily in the pursuit of their music. Students’ schedules are demanding, often mixed with lots of extracurricular musical pursuits, work and church commitments. Performance and recognition matter to the average Con student. This presents a challenge to us who are seeking to bring the good news of Jesus in a way that is both faithful and compelling.

One of the great encouragements this year has been the growth in our gatherings. Our Public Meetings are now regularly seeing around 30 students each week—a significant increase for a faculty of this size, and a recovery from the days following Covid. These meetings have become a real source of encouragement as we see the students pause, open God’s word together, and be reminded of the hope they have in Christ (we have been looking at the second half of Luke’s gospel) amid the pressures of their studies.

Alongside this, our small groups have also grown, with around 45 students meeting weekly. These groups are the backbone of our ministry, where deeper relationships are formed, questions are wrestled with, and students are encouraged to live out their faith in tangible ways. It has been particularly heartening to see students inviting their peers, particularly at Easter time.

What has stood out most, however, is the growing number of students who are seriously considering future ministry. Several are exploring how they might use their gifts—musical and otherwise—in service of the gospel.

For many of these students, the path ahead is very challenging. The music world is often far from Christianity in its values and expectations. Performance environments can be shaped by pressure, self-promotion, and at times, moral compromise. Students are asking important questions: How do I follow Christ faithfully in this space? Can I pursue excellence in music without compromising my identity in Jesus? What might long-term gospel ministry look like for someone in my field? 

Whilst I feel I have nothing to offer Con students musically, I am thrilled to walk alongside the students as they contemplate these questions: I look forward to helping these students think theologically through these issues, which will go a long way in setting the trajectory for their lives towards serving Christ.

While it has been a year of personal stretching, it has also been a year of great encouragement. God is clearly at work at the Conservatorium, growing his people in number and in maturity. Please give thanks for this, and pray that these students would continue to stand firm in Christ, shining as lights as they continue to hold out the word of truth to those around them.