CHANGE TOMORROW’S WORLD
SHAPE & EQUIP STUDENTS FOR GOOD
Today’s university students will change tomorrow’s world.
Let’s make sure the gospel reaches, shapes, and equips them.
Hope. Justice. Peace. We all want tomorrow’s world to be a brighter place. As followers of Christ we long for his broken world to be transformed with his love through the power of his Spirit.
The average campus carries strategic potential for that transformation. University students are at a formative period in their lives – exploring their identity, asking questions, seeking truths, and establishing lifelong habits. Universities will produce leaders in government, business, education, and academia. During these critical years, students need to hear and grow in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today, turn your longing for a brighter world into action: join with IFES in helping students on campuses around the world to encounter Jesus, grow in him, and lead fruitful lives of service – during and after university.
Over 75 years, God has blessed IFES with a growing network of students, staff, and supporters. Today, we’re shaping lives and developing leaders among university students in over 180 countries and territories.
Will you become part of this global family?
Pray. Give. Support students living out their faith.
This is how your support will shape and equip university students to change tomorrow’s world:
ENCOUNTERING JESUS
True change starts with a living, personal relationship with Jesus. Students of every background, language, and culture, in every corner of every campus, need to know Jesus as Savior and Lord.
We believe that students are the best placed people to take the gospel to the university. They have the unique opportunity to engage with their peers, to listen with openness and sensitivity to the conversations of the academy, and to present a credible Christian perspective on key issues.
So, IFES equips students in effective witness: we encourage them to initiate spiritual conversations, hold evangelistic Bible studies and mission events, and live lives of grace that point others to Jesus.
Students in the national movement in Denmark (KFS) organized a week of mission events around the theme ‘imagine’, with evangelistic talks such as ‘Imagine if I could live without shame’ and ‘Imagine if I were more than my job’. The talks were led by students and were well attended by non-Christians. One member of the KFS group was delighted when several classmates came to a talk and then asked if they could join a group to read the Bible together.
God is at work! Students are encountering Jesus. Last semester, through our national movement in the USA (InterVarsity), over 50 students made decisions to follow Jesus on three campuses in Southern California.
GROWING IN JESUS
True change is felt as the mind of Christ transforms us. Disciples of Jesus need to authentically engage in all aspects of campus life and conversations so that the gospel reaches and transforms every part of the university and every aspect of life.
We believe the gospel has something vital to say across every discipline, from politics, economics, and science to ethics, education, and the arts. Students can shape societies and cultures with kingdom values.
So, IFES shapes students to be whole-life disciples: we empower them through regional consultations, resources, grants, e-learning, mentoring, and research to think biblically and live distinctively and missionally in all areas of university life.
Sandra, a PhD student in community psychology in Mexico, is helping students become agents of peace and justice in Latin America. Through an LCI project she is collaborating with her IFES movement (Compa) to foster dialogue about faith, justice and peace, and empower Christian students to take active steps as peacebuilders. She has led workshops to equip student leaders and ministry staff to develop initiatives to respond to social violence at the local and campus level. She has also organized an online academic forum, bringing together experts from theology, social sciences and civic initiatives to discuss violence in Mexico.
God is at work! Students are growing in Jesus – the gospel is shaping their lives. Last summer, a conference in Georgia brought together over 140 student leaders from across the Eurasia region. One student from Moldova noted how she gained a new perspective on what it means to serve with love and be a good friend in Christ.
LEADING FRUITFUL LIVES FOR JESUS
True change is worked out in faithful service. Students need to grow into lifelong disciples of Christ, serving with integrity and vision in their lives beyond university – in the workplace, church, and society.
We believe the gospel raises up servant leaders with godliness, discernment, creativity, and compassion. Being part of a student-led movement on campus gives students unique opportunities to develop godly character and learn leadership skills.
So, IFES equips students and with tools to lead Bible studies and prayer times, deliver evangelistic talks, plan events, and serve their peers with humility and grace. We help students and young graduates to consider their character, gifts, and calling, sending them into the world and church eager to serve.
Ezéchiel is passionate about student ministry – he likens the student training offered through IFES in Francophone Africa to “a workshop that transforms lives”. Once a student leader in a polytechnic small group, Ezéchiel is now the General Secretary of the national movement in Chad (UJC): “I realized my potential and developed many skills, including: communicating effectively, developing a ministry plan, equipping students, implementing creative thinking, working in a team, using the Bible to teach, adopting efficient working methods, mobilizing resources, and learning independently.”
God is at work! Students and staff have gone on to lead fruitful lives of service. The former General Secretary of the IFES movement in Uganda (FOCUS) is now a Member of Parliament there.
Will you get involved to help today’s students change tomorrow’s world?
Pray. Be informed and inspired in your prayers: Prayerline is a fortnightly snapshot of what God is doing around the world through students, including helpful points for prayer. Subscribe to get it straight to your inbox.
Give. Whether as a one-off or monthly donation, your gift will make a difference:
Find out more. We’d love to hear from you if you have any questions or would like more information.
We look forward to welcoming you into the IFES story, working together to see the gospel change the world. Hope. Justice. Peace. A broken world transformed by the love of Christ.
Explore IFES movements around the world with this map.
