One of the greatest joys of serving alongside one group of students for the last two and a half years (the Conservatorium of Music faculty) has been the chance to see students grow over the years. There are so many ways that God is at work among students at the Con!

Just one of these ways is how God has been shaping and expanding the “gospel horizon” of Con students – to notice and consider and love and pray for the needs of the world, especially places that are Less Resourced and Less Reached.

I asked two students to share how they had been particularly impacted over the last two years:

For Dan, it was AnCon, and especially the presence of LRLR workers, that had a huge impact on his ‘gospel horizon’.

“Frankly I had very little care for the LRLR when I began my time at uni – the past year has completely changed my perspective! At Ancon 2023, the intimate time with our LRLR worker made the global scope of God’s church feel like a genuine reality to me. This exposure made me feel and care like I never had before, and had an immense impact on me in my walk with God. As someone looking towards vocational ministry, I have been led to consider not where I would like to work, but where work is needed most! Whether in Sydney or overseas, I feel a deep longing to make the gospel accessible in LRLR locations.”

Ben, a second year student, writes about how a one-day intensive on ‘Making Life Decisions’ challenged how he planned for his life:

“I think that for a lot of Con students, thinking about life after study can be stressful as the Sydney music industry doesn’t offer much job security. I’m the kind of person who likes to have a big picture and ‘sort out’ my life to suit their own vision, but God has been teaching me that he already has everything sorted, I just need to be obedient. If the creator of the universe feeds the birds and clothes the flowers, and died on the cross to secure my salvation, why should I worry about my future?

“A big part of helping me readjust my plan for my life further than just ‘what I can accomplish for myself’ was The Making Life Decisions workshop. I was challenged to think about life through the lens of God’s vision for my life, rather than just what our culture tells us. I was especially encouraged to allow my plans to be shaped by God’s, rather than trying to force it the other way round. I’ve also been really encouraged to see uni life as another mission field with so many people who actually don’t know the gospel, and that I can be doing God’s work in my weekly student life, not just at church.

Please be praying for the many students like Ben and Dan at Sydney University as they consider how God might be guiding them to serve him, especially as they pray about potential vocational ministry and the LRLR.

– Sarah Chaudhary, EU Senior Staff