Discipleship is a very important dimension of Jesus’ ministry in the Bible.  It is not only about Jesus’ love for His disciples but also His ministry legacy. That’s why Jesus said in John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
We all know that most of Jesus’ first disciples sacrificed their lives for the gospel. Thousands of people were directly influenced by their ministry and received salvation from the gospel.

One of our purposes of the EU and Gradsfund partnership is empowering students to be equipped for life with God’s word and ministry skills. When students graduate and need to go to work, they can still stand firm in God’s word and serve God wherever they are. One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a Howie is seeing students grow in their own faith, but especially when they start to share their faith with their friends.

There is one girl named Anna. She is a new Christian who joined our Bible study in July. Praise God that I have been able to see her grow in her Christian maturity and love for Jesus. She has grown in hospitality – willing to open her home to host us for Bible study – and in her personal evangelism – inviting her friends to join our Bible study group. She has also just decided to be baptised!

Anna is a disciple making disciple. I am looking forward to seeing her do great things in the future. The staff and student partnership is so fundamental to the EU ministry, because students and staff compliment each other – the students offer things that staff don’t have. One example is connections with other students. Only students have the relationships and capacity to connect with other students as students, peers and friends. Only students can invite their friends along to Bible talks, or small groups.

Because of these introductions, staff have more opportunities to serve non-Christians. For example, there are five non-Christians who joined our Bible study groups because of invitations from Christian students.

Serving students is an important way to for staff themselves to grow. It gives us a way to follow the example of Jesus and apply what we learn in practice: “Love your neighbour as yourself”.

Jairus
Howie EUFocus