Region / Country: English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa

How student work began in Zambia

April 1974. 

It was a memorable birthday. As Hank Pott turned 32, he and his wife Cathy touched down in Lusaka. They joined a small group of Christian faculty at the University of Zambia and spent their free time discipling the 100 Christian students there. 

Many people had been praying for them. The previous year, Chua Wee Hian, the General Secretary of IFES, had spoken at the student missionary conference Urbana: 

“Somewhere in this audience tonight are Hank and Cathy Pott. They’re going to Zambia. I ask you to pray them in – and then after two years pray them out, having found their Zambian successor.” 

Two years later, and 4,000 miles away in London, Zambian student Derek Mutungu gave his life to Christ. God gave him a heart to serve students back in his homeland. 

And so God answered the prayers of the students at Urbana. The Potts handed over leadership of the fellowship group, now 500-strong, to Derek. Under Derek’s leadership, the work expanded to more than 30 campuses. Today ZAFES is present on 91 campuses across ten regions. 

A new chapter for GBU Spain graduate Aida

Yesterday was a big day for Aida. The 23-year old graduate from Spain waved goodbye to her family and got on a plane to Equatorial Guinea, 4,500km away. Aida leaves behind a comfortable life, close friends, a familiar culture. Why would she give it all up? Because Aida longs to see a Christian witness established in the universities of Equatorial Guinea. She’ll spend the next year partnering with local Christian students to pioneer a new movement. Aida shared: 

“I know it’s going to be difficult. And I am not the best person to go. You could find someone else better trained and more experienced. But I know God is with me and He is going to mould my life for what He’s calling me to do. Maybe I won’t see great things. Maybe I’m just planting one seed which will not grow up until after my time. But I know God has great plans for this nation. Please join me in praying for God to start a new student movement in Equatorial Guinea.” 

  • Pray for Aida to settle in quickly to her new community, church and culture. Pray that through challenges she would keep walking closely with God, trusting and listening to Him. 
  • Pray for Aida to develop deep friendships with local students; pray that together they can be effective in reaching the universities with the good news of Jesus. 
  • Pray that God would provide supportive local churches and graduates to help the new movement get underway. 
Read more of Aida’s story

Aida’s dream for Equatorial Guinea

Meet Aida. 23 years old. 

This is her story. 

A phone call 

It was a unique childhood. Her friends called her mwana ntang (white girl). They taught her how to play with a stick and tyre. At the age of seven Aida moved from Equatorial Guinea back to Spain. But it was too late. The country and its people were already firmly in her heart. 

In Aida’s final year at university in Spain, she had a chance to go back: a two-month internship at a school in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. Her reading book during that trip was Lindsay Brown’s Shining Like Stars: page after page, Aida was captivated by the stories of Christian students making a difference in their countries. It sparked a dream within her: a desire to hear the stories of Christian students from Equatorial Guinea making a difference in their country. 

On her return home, Aida received a phone call, which changed the course of her life. It was a GBU Spain staff worker: Aida, would you consider moving to Equatorial Guinea to pioneer a new movement? 

What timing! As she prayed, read the Bible and spoke to other Christians over the following few weeks, it seemed unmistakably clear that God was opening the door. 

Not alone 

That was 18 months ago. Since then, GBU Spain have been helping Aida prepare to move to Malabo. IFES supported her to go to World Assembly in South Africa. Hearing the stories and struggles of other pioneering staff and students helped her to adjust her expectations: this was not going to be an easy move, but she would not be alone. 

I know it’s going to be difficult. And I am not the best person to go. You could find others who are better trained or more experienced. But I trust God to provide for me and mould my life for what He’s calling me to do. 

I’m willing to do it because I’m not alone. I know God is with me, and the rest of the IFES family. Maybe I won’t see great things. Maybe I’m just planting one seed which will never grow up while I’m there. But it doesn’t matter. God has big plans for this nation. I’m learning that sometimes God’s timing is not our timing; God’s way of working is not our way.  

GBU Spain

Starting from scratch 

Aida wants to reach students. But what’s the best way to start? Ideas were sparked while listening to others at World Assembly: English clubs and music lessons – for both Christians and non-Christians – and other ways too. It’s going to be hard: most of the undergraduates there are a couple of years older than her, and the majority are male. But despite the potential challenges, Aida has a peace. 

I know I’m not there to be a leader or a director. I’m not there to impose my familiar IFES Europe way of doing things. I’m there to build a team and work together with them to start an indigenous movement. And God-willing, that will happen – first in one of the faculties of Malabo, and hopefully on other campuses in Bata as well. 

Beauty and brokenness 

Aida loves Equatorial Guinea. She loves the way you’re never alone there: if you’re out in the street, someone will say hello and walk with you to where you’re going; if you’re at home, there’ll be someone knocking on your door, wanting to come in for a drink. She loves the hospitality, the way of life, the smells, the colours, the diversity. 

But, like any country, there is brokenness here too. 

While most people are nominally Catholic, animism has a grip on their hearts. When a baby is born, the parents present the baby to the spirits for ‘protection’. When someone is ill, they go to the witch doctor. When someone is angry, they might have their enemy cursed. While the younger generation practise it less than their parents and grandparents, it’s still deeply embedded in the culture. For young believers, it’s hard to break away from it. And for an outsider, it’s hard to challenge it without causing offence. 

It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by such signs of darkness, but Aida is trusting God to work: 

“I believe the power to change is in God’s Word. As we read the Bible together at university, I’m praying that God speaks to us and shows us where we are putting our faith in things other than Him, the one true God.” 

The country has big dreams, but few resources; many feel hopeless and frustrated. But Aida and the Christian students have a different hope to share – a hope which is not based on humans. It’s a hope that can change the heart of each individual, each campus, each community. This is Aida’s dream. 

“IFES family, imagine we are all gathered together in 2023, and standing here: a sister from Equatorial Guinea saying their movement is ready to join IFES. Will you join me in praying for that reality?” 

Aida is being supported by the IFES Breaking New Ground project.  

Reaching international students together

I was hoping to get a prayerful roommate at college. But when I started my program God gave me the opposite. Moses was not a believer. He was into drinking and partying. So I started praying for him. 

Moses was an international student from Equatorial Guinea. He had a lot of questions about my faith. Through him I met other international students from Equatorial Guinea, and started inviting them to our events, praying for them to receive Jesus Christ. 

Last year, God answered my prayer. Moses and some other international students professed faith in Jesus Christ! They are now active in spreading the gospel on campus. 

Godfree, a student from FOCUS Zimbabwe, is at World Assembly this week. He is here to share his story, encouraging others to reach out to international students. He is also here to learn. To get ideas. To be reminded that he is part of a growing global movement of students like him who want to tell their friends the good news of Jesus. 

Join us in praying for Godfree and others at World Assembly: 

  • Thank God for the international students at Godfree’s university and pray that these new believers would walk closely with Jesus, now and when they return to Equatorial Guinea. 
  • Thank God for the 1,200 participants who have travelled from more than 170 countries to be at World Assembly. Thank God for safe travel and blessed times of fellowship and teaching so far. 
  • Pray that each participant would encounter Jesus through His Word, and would leave better equipped and more inspired to be messengers of hope in universities around the world. 

Thanks for praying with us!

Watching God work

EvaSUE, the movement in Ethiopia, is the fastest-growing student movement in the IFES family. With more than 45,000 students involved, it is also one of the largest. Each year they see around 3,500 people turning to Christ (1,500 in universities and 2,000 during student mission trips). 

The numbers are staggering! Yet there are still campuses where Christ is not known. In 2018, eight new universities were opened. With support from the IFES Breaking New Ground project, EvaSUE set about trying to start student ministry on these new campuses. 

There is already much fruit to give thanks for! New fellowships have been started at seven of the eight universities. 

On one campus, 26 small groups have been started already, involving more than 500 students! What is remarkable is that on this particular campus (and on others as well), the students are experiencing great persecution. Still, the students pray and fast, and watch God work. 

Pray with us for pioneering work in Ethiopia: 

  • Pray for the one campus where efforts to start a fellowship have not yet been successful. 
  • Pray for the continued growth of the new fellowships, in numbers and spiritual maturity, even in the face of persecution. Some of the universities are located in remote areas with high populations of Muslims or Orthodox Christians. In some cases, fellowships are not allowed to meet as a big group on campus.
  • Such rapid expansion puts pressure on finances and staff. Pray for the Lord’s provision, and for wisdom for EvaSUE General Secretary Robel, and the staff team. 

Thanks for praying with us!

The persecuted Christian students of northern Nigeria

It was early in the evening, around 6pm, and we’d just finished our student fellowship leaders’ meeting. There had been trouble in the city that day. We felt the tension in the air as we walked quietly back to our dormitories, talking in low voices. The road looked deserted. But then we noticed some boys following us. We picked up the pace. And suddenly we were running. In all directions. The boys were in front of us too, and they had knives. I threw off my bag and ran into the bush, fear pumping around my body like never before. The boys were hunting for us. I hid there for five hours, terrified. I managed to make some whispered phone calls and eventually some security men from the army came to rescue me. It was a miracle I survived. But I don’t want to remember that experience. 

This is Emmanuel’s story. He’s a Christian. He lives in the north of Nigeria, an area known for its recent attacks against Christians by Muslim extremists. Though much of the violence has been directed towards people in rural areas, Christian university students are targets too. They often experience the sting of injustice, discrimination and hostility. 

The sting of injustice 

One of the biggest challenges for Christian students is finding a place to gather for fellowship meetings. NIFES groups applying for permission to hold meetings on campus will be refused. They are forced to meet outside on football pitches or under trees, sitting on stones, exposed to the rain or the scorching sun. Even then, meetings will often be interrupted by university officials threatening them with expulsion if they don’t stop the meeting. 

In some universities, chapels have been burned and Christians can’t get permission to rebuild them. This kind of treatment is even harder to accept when they see new mosques being built on campus around them. 

Christians are also prevented from participating in student councils. Some find that their grades are changed by lecturers who don’t want Christian students to do well. Even getting admission to the university is a challenge for some, despite having good entrance exam results. Some resort to changing their name, or adding an additional Muslim name to their own, in order to find favour with the registrar. 

This is everyday life for Christian students in the north of Nigeria. As one staff worker put it: “Justice for Christian lives never comes.” 

Praying for big fish 

In this context, it’s remarkable to see the students responding with courage, perseverance and faith-filled prayer. When asked how we can pray for them, one student responded: 

“Pray that God fills us with His Spirit so that we can be bold to witness to His name as the Apostles did. Pray that God gives us grace for effective witnessing and opens the door of salvation in the north of Nigeria. Pray that we would love our Muslim classmates. Like the Apostle Paul, they are big fish, and must be won for Christ.” 

Another student reflected: 

“I think that this suffering and persecution gives us a sense of what the Apostles went through. These experiences test our faith and help us to depend on God at every moment.  

We would love you to pray that we would be more committed in our worship and fellowship with God, irrespective of the challenges we are passing through. Thank you for praying. I know that we are part of a bigger body.” 

Indeed, we are part of a bigger body. Let us be those who stand alongside our suffering brothers and sisters, confident – as they are – to approach our sovereign, merciful God in humble prayer. 

Lessons from Liberia inspire students 4,700 miles away

Andrew had been dragging his feet. In theory, he was on board with the idea to plant a new InterVarsity/USA ministry at Penn State York campus. It was just around the corner from a campus with a thriving fellowship. They should go and plant. But they hadn’t. It seemed too big a task.

An even bigger task

Then Andrew and his wife Liz were invited to Liberia, to spend a week visiting LIFES, the IFES movement there. It wasn’t a holiday. They were going to serve, to listen, to learn. On their second day, Moses – one of only two LIFES staff in the whole of the country – announced:

“Bong County Technical College is just down the road from here and it doesn’t have any campus ministry. Let’s go plant a new fellowship there this week!”

Plant a new fellowship? In just one week? They had their doubts. But they squeezed into the five-seater car (13 students, staff and volunteers), and set off along the dusty, pot-holed roads to Bong County Technical College.

I want to be transformed

Andrew was in for a big surprise.

The dean of students enthusiastically allowed them on to campus and the small team paired up. They started asking students if they would be interested in joining a Christian group.

Liz was paired up with Becky. They got chatting to a student, Emmanuel. “What do you want God to do for you?” Becky asked him. He replied:

“I want to be transformed. I want to be like you two – going around and talking with my friends about Jesus.”

Within minutes, Emmanuel was walking around with Liz and Becky, sharing the vision of LIFES and inviting his peers into this new fellowship.

The next day at the launch meeting, Emmanuel and another 100 students showed up. After an introduction to LIFES by the General Secretary, the students broke into small groups and experienced a student-led inductive Bible study. The following day, students like Emmanuel who had expressed an interest in serving as leaders, gathered for the first of many leadership trainings.

One year on, the new fellowship meets regularly. Five of their leaders recently attended the LIFES Easter conference.

No excuses

The trip left a lasting impression on Andrew. God had used his time on the dusty roads of Liberia, to breathe new life into his heart and ministry. He returned to the US re-envisioned. He resolved to act when he saw a need; to release students with leadership gifts to lead, like Emmanuel; to step out in faith, even when he had doubts. But more than that, the trip had given Andrew the encouragement he needed to move ahead with planting a new fellowship at Penn State York. Just like Bong County Technical College, there were students at Penn State York campus who had never heard about Jesus; there were Christian students craving fellowship and support. The two campuses looked very different, but their spiritual needs were essentially the same: new life.

There were no excuses now. If it could be done in Liberia, with less funding, and far fewer people and resources, there was no reason it couldn’t be done here too. With God’s help.

A harvest field five minutes away

Andrew spoke to a group of enthusiastic Christian students from the neighbouring campus, five minutes away. They caught the vision. They started by prayer-walking around Penn State York, inviting the people they met to get involved. It was a slower start than it had been in Bong County Technical College in Liberia, but they persevered. Weekly student-led Bible study meetings are now up and running, with a number of students involved.

Recently a Hindu international student came along – not only had he never read the Bible before, but this was his first time reading any religious text in a language he could understand! He signed up to come to future events. The group is also organising outreach events, keen to see others come to know the God of the Bible, the God who brings new life.

Captured by the vision

What were the big take-aways for Andrew?

Partnership. Learning from other IFES movements. Learning from people like Moses, the unsung heroes on the other side of the world, stepping out in faith, with nothing and no-one to depend on but God. Moses’ commitment to pioneering impacted students 4,700 miles away in the US, who caught the vision and have now started a fellowship group on an unreached campus.

Have you caught the vision? Are there students around you who haven’t yet heard about Jesus? Or a whole campus, perhaps? Where is God calling you to step out in faith?

IFES supports the new board of a national movement

“It was late in the evening when we eventually made it to the training venue. The pouring rain had delayed us, and night had already fallen. But the next morning the bright sun lit up the beautiful land. I was new to eSwatini*. I looked at the eager faces around the table. They were all new to being board members. Moved by their enthusiasm to learn, and mindful of how much we would need God’s help, I bowed my head in prayer, and asked God to bless our time together.” 

Mirek Pieszka and Affy Adeleye recently led training for the new board of ESWAFES, the IFES movement in eSwatini*, to help them in their role supporting student mission. The new board is made up of 12 local people from a range of professions including business, education and medicine. Their role as board members is critical to the health of the movement. Over the coming months and years, they will need to build a culture of good governance, supporting Mukululi, the National Director, in developing strategy, vision and policies. 

Join us in praying for ESWAFES: 

  • Praise God that the recent board training went well. Mukululi, shared: “The training has set us on a good trajectory and we are trusting God for a great future.”
  • Pray for the new board to become a strong team, implementing the training outcomes and re-establishing a strong governance culture and sustainable ministry in the country.
  • Pray for the recruitment of new staff and supporters, as ESWAFES works on seven campuses and seeks to re-pioneer on five others.
  • Pray for Mirek and the Governance Development team as they seek to train and support national movements to be wisely-governed, well-structured and God-honouring ministries. 

*Swaziland was renamed to eSwatini in 2018 

Thanks for praying with us!