From Chatbot to Community

When you hit challenging times, who do you turn to for answers?

Like many in Gen Z, Alisha* turned to ChatGPT. In a difficult patch last year, she wanted to find out what different religions had to say about assurance.

As she scrolled down the chatbot’s response, one answer leapt out of her screen. A Bible verse about prayer – it conveyed the intimacy of a divine-human relationship that she’d never imagined. She knew she must investigate.

Finding Answers

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

It was this verse (Philippians 4:6) that stirred Alisha:

“It made me ask what kind of God would allow me to be so vulnerable as to bring all my prayers to him.”

As she scoured the Bible for more about this God, she discovered “words of life”. They were a delight to read in a language she knew – so far from the religious text she’d grown up with, which she’d had to study in a foreign language.

And the best search result? Jesus. Alisha decided to entrust her life to him. But with no models around to help her understand what being his follower involved, she continued to rely on ChatGPT to aid her Bible reading.

Encountering Community

When Alisha moved to Australia to start studies at a university in Melbourne, she had no idea about AFES, the IFES movement in Australia.

But during Orientation Week, she came across the local group’s outreach stall. She eagerly shared that she’d become a Christian in the past year and that she was keen to connect with Christian peers.

At first, still adjusting to the big move away from home, Alisha struggled to attend the main Christian Union gatherings. But she felt able to connect with the fellowship group for those living on campus. They’ve been looking at the Gospel of Mark together – reading, studying, applying it to life.

The staff worker shares:

“Alisha has appreciated hearing what living as a Christian looks like in the lives of her peers as they open up the Bible together. She’s really loved hearing questions from a real person, because it comes from their life experience and translates well into a practical response.”

In her enthusiasm to grow, Alisha has also joined a Bible triplet with the staff worker and another international student.

“Alisha’s felt how good it is to grow in discipleship in community alongside her peers.”

Pray

Thank God for calling Alisha in her vulnerability into spiritual intimacy through Christ – and for her curiosity to seek and her courage to follow. Give thanks for the local AFES group, for their welcome and honest engagement with Scripture.

Pray that Alisha will continue to flourish in Christ as she grasps the depths of the gospel. Pray for new believers like her on campuses worldwide – that they will find their local IFES group and thrive.

Alisha longs for her mum to find the freedom in Christ that she’s experienced. Pray for bold wisdom so that gospel seeds can be sown in conversation. And pray for all international students who turn to Christ from other faith backgrounds – for Spirit-led words as they speak with family and friends back home.

*Name changed to protect identity.