The EU is one of the world’s most richly resourced Christian student groups. To highlight this, members of the staff team offered training intensives on the first Monday of holidays. Topics included: ‘Ethics,’ ‘Getting Life Sorted,’ ‘Cross-Cultural Thought,’ and ‘What it Means to be a Worker in God’s World.’ You may think, “That seems committed! Using the first day of holidays to get trained.” You may even wonder, “Why bother offering this kind of thing?”

The answer is that the EU can complement the local church by training its members in the foundations of Christian ministry and thought. As a uni student, I loved my local church. But with a team of three ministers who were pastoring, doing the work of administration, and teaching, there was not a lot of headspace for them to train. It wasn’t until university that I had the opportunity to think deeply about ministry; there were training resources I could easily access from people I trusted. Although my church would have loved to offer this, they lacked the resources. However, they had people like me soundly shaped by the scriptures and more eager to serve!

So if there is an EU student in your church, ask them if they took up the opportunity. Ask them what they learned. And ask them how their learnings contributed to them loving Jesus and serving his church more wholeheartedly. If you have an EU student in your church, why not encourage them to take up this opportunity in Semester 2? Together, let’s work towards the growth of God’s Kingdom throughout Sydney, Australia, and beyond, with well-trained EU students.

– Celia Toose, EU Senior Staff