“Are you coming to AnCon?”

I had no idea what my small group leader was even talking about. I’d heard the name before, and I knew that anything with a shortened name is a big deal so I spoke up.

“What’s AnCon?”

Their answer hooked me – talks so good they kept on past bedtime, fiercely competitive soccer, late night Maccas runs with friends. It was a first-year uni students dream! And none of it came true.

That’s because AnCon (Annual Conference) was foreshadowed by another abbreviation, ‘COVID’ (way less cool). For my first and second AnCon I didn’t even step out of my house! Instead, dodgy internet, a sore neck from looking at my screen, and icebreaker Zoom games that might have made the ice freeze over more, were my lot. It was nothing like the stories!

But one thing did live up to the hype – intentional time in God’s word radically shaping how I think about my life. I remember main sessions where my heart burned within me as we heard the Bible taught – of God’s unshakeable Kingdom, life and peace, his promised rest!

“Even in my small, dimly lit room, the world around me felt suddenly bigger.”

I continued to discover the wonder of the bible in my time at uni, and finally did experience the rich fellowship of the EU when I went to my first in-person AnCon in my final year, aptly themed ‘AnCon: In the Flesh’.

I often joke that I’ve come back as a Howie to make up for “missed” AnCons. Only now I will be helping my students in Business and Law imagine what life with Jesus has in store.

The theme this year? ‘The Cross: This is Love’. I’m grateful that the EU can run this conference and for GradsFund supporters that make it possible!

Speaking of, did you know you are invited!

AnCon Supporters Night is on Wednesday 26 July from 7:30pm. You can join us at Katoomba or watch from home!

Event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/404316625712435/

You can expect all the good stuff – in-depth bible teaching from EU Staff Team Leader Rowan Kemp, prayers for the needs of the university and the world, singing, hearing about the ministry on campus, and more.

Find out for yourself if it lives up to the hype! I think you’ll be surprised.

– Hamish Noble, Howard Guinness Project 2024-2025