On the Thursday night of Annual Conference 224 students decided to commit themselves to prayerfully considering vocational word ministry for the next five years, in the context of what they might do with their lives after university. Whilst it has been immensely encouraging for the EU staff team to see so many students keen to actively and prayerfully explore the option of vocational ministry, it has also been a challenge to work out how to best support and equip these students as they seek to do this.

One particular follow-up strategy that I’ve been involved with has been using relational networks that already exist among students to help them keep thinking, talking and praying about vocational ministry together. We affectionately named this project “Prayering Them Up”. It involved us getting together students in our faculty who are in the same year, and sharing with them the vision of gathering regularly to pray about this consideration, not only through the rest of this year but hopefully into the future as well.

In the Arts Plus faculty that I work with there were 22 students who made this commitment. So, a few weeks after Annual Conference I invited the four first year girls from this group for a coffee to kick-start their thinking and praying about vocational ministry. We heard where each person was at in their thinking, brainstormed questions that they wanted to pursue answers for and thought through practical steps that they can take now to serve in various ministries. It’s exciting to see these girls already thinking hard about how they can make decisions with their lives to serve and spread the Gospel, and even more exciting to imagine what God might do through them and the 220 others for the growth of his kingdom!