Hundreds of Christian university students took a week out of their holidays to spend time reading the Scriptures, discussing theology, and hearing the Bible taught. Three separate conferences were held at the Merroo campsite in Kurrajong over the uni break.
First off the rank was Sydney University's Annual Conference (or AnCon) which had record numbers of students in attendance " 445 students and staff in total. Evangelical Union staff team leader, the Rev Dr Rowan Kemp, described the growth in numbers as "really exciting".
Next was the AFES Mid Year Conference (MYC), which had students from the University of New South Wales, University of Wollongong, University of Western Sydney, UTS Kuring-gai and Korean Bible Study. 370 staff and students attended this conference, where Phillip Jensen was speaking. AFES staff worker from UOW, Rob Copland says the conference is always a good opportunity for students to think critically about what they believe. "It gets people to read the Bible for themselves and gives them confidence that they can do it," he says.
The University of New South Wales held their MYC last week. 450 students attended the conference which was themed "So you think you can worship?". The talks were delivered by former Unichurch rector, the Rev Paul Grimmond.
“Bowled over” by the Bible
Sophie Gyles hadn't been a Christian long when she first went along to MYC in 2004. The former Journalism student attended the conference with her UTS Christian group just three months after she became a Christian through the Introducing God course. What does she remember of her first MYC? "I remember being bowled over by the idea of a God who was so righteous, so holy " who we could not approach but through Jesus," she says.
After spending last year working in radio journalism, Sophie was back at the conference this year " this time as an MTS trainee. She says MYC makes people feel like "tertiary Christians" and she says it was a motivating force behind her decision to do a ministry apprenticeship. "I think Phillip [Jensen] has a real knack of explaining why we are called to be servants" MYC really set me on the right track to understanding the value of ministry," she said.
While Sophie is unsure of whether she will return to journalism or pursue full-time ministry after her ministry apprenticeship, she says it was "such a joy" to witness the conference shift the priorities of students this year. "You can just see it in their eyes. The week has just inspired them to take God more seriously and make him the centre of their lives," she says.
Another person who knows the value of MYC is the Rev Rob Elder (pictured). He is the Anglican Chaplain at UWS Penrith and says the conference is the "highlight of the year". It had a shaping effect on his own Christian faith.
Growing up, Mr Elder was a Christian. But upon entering university to study Psychology, he recalls having “a bit of a hippy view”.
“I signed up to a dozen different clubs and I guess I wanted to test whether my faith was just a childish sort of faith or whether it was founded on truth," he says.
Not concerned by other religions because of their views on Jesus, he narrowed his decision to Atheism or Christianity. And though he was plagued by questions about God and suffering, he began leading a Bible study on his campus during the final semester of his degree. For practicality's sake he decided he needed to put his anxious thoughts on hold until the year was out. Rather grimly Mr Elder remembers thinking: "If I was [to become] an atheist, I should at least be willing to kill myself, if not actually do it."
So how did such confusion turn into conviction? Mr Elder says an MYC in his final year of uni had a lot to do with it.
The topic was prayer and he remembers Phillip Jensen speaking on Jesus' prayer in the garden on Gethsemane. "It helped me to see that when it comes to suffering, no one understands suffering better than God" it just blew my mind and I guess I came to see that my questions about suffering weren't big enough " the cross was bigger than them," he said.
That "wonderful night" was the turning point for Mr Elder. "I remember walking out of the auditorium that evening and looking up at the stars and everything was just brighter," he says.
There has been no looking back either. After leaving uni he headed into student ministry and Bible college. This year Mr Elder was on his 10th MYC and he says every time he comes students have their lives changed. "It's the sort of thing where " unless you're dead " it's going to have some impact,” he says.
Campuses are segregated ghettos
Recent media reports have suggested Australian universities are increasingly becoming segregated places. The reports highlight that local students and overseas students do not often form relationships with one another, despite attending the same tutorials and lectures.
Supposedly this is because local students often work away from campus, while overseas students spend more time on campus studying in the library. This has proven to be a great let-down for international students who come to Australia expecting to make Australian friends easily.
The Evangelical Christian Union (ECU) at the University of Woollongong (UOW), is aware that a high proportion of students on their campus are international students.
According to Chaplain Andrew Beddoe, the proportion of international students is somewhere between 20 and 30 per cent.
The ECU at Wollongong run a specialised ministry for overseas students called the Fellowship of Overseas Christian University Students (FOCUS), which is attended by around 40 students from week to week. In an effort to build relationships between Australian students and international students, the ECU ran a night of "friendship dinners". The dinners brought together groups of 10 people from different backgrounds, and were attended by over 100 students in total.
“That was one of the most successful events we've run," Mr Beddoe said. "It helped to raise awareness among the Aussie students of the international students."
