Australia: Persevering on the Sunshine Coast
This World Student Day, on Friday 20 October, we’re praying for students around the world to persevere as witnesses for Jesus. It’s an exciting opportunity to join with thousands in prayer. But knowing exactly what to pray for can sometimes be tricky. That’s why the World Student Day prayer cards are a brilliant resource to help you – they present real requests from students, staff, and movements from across our eleven global regions.
Here’s one example from the South Pacific:
Behind every request is a current situation with a specific backstory. For this Prayerline, we’ve asked Lucy to tell us more about Moreton Bay.
“UniSC’s Moreton Bay campus opened in 2019 as an offshoot of the main UniSC campus in Sippy Downs on the Sunshine Coast. The AFES group has fluctuated in size and student engagement since then – during one semester we had up to fourteen students coming along to the main Bible study and social events, but it has recently dropped to just a few.
In fact, at the start of this semester no students came to the Bible study for the first few weeks. It was quite discouraging. But by God’s grace, he brought along Bevan, a non-Christian student who’d seen our advertising around campus. He wanted to find out more about Jesus. Ever since, he’s been meeting weekly with a staff worker to read Mark’s gospel.
And Bevan’s also connected with one of our Moreton Bay students, Noah, who, along with a Sippy Downs student, has been reading through the Old Testament with him. A few weeks ago, Bevan decided to give his life to Jesus at one of these Bible studies!
Noah says, “One thing that’s been encouraging about Christian Students at Moreton is simply that the group is surviving despite it being small. I’m thankful to God that we’ve got this far.”
The hope we have is that the small group will grow and – with a firm base of Christian students – have an impact on the Moreton Bay campus as it expands.”
You’ll find dozens more requests like this here. As you explore them, please pray with us for students in Moreton Bay – and all around the world:
- Give thanks for the encouragements in Moreton Bay and pray for the students and staff as they persevere – that they will establish a Christian witness that will impact the campus.
- Give thanks for our global family of IFES movements and supporters that are praying for students on 20 October. Pray for a move of God as individuals and groups use the prayer cards – that those requests will be answered and that those who sent them will find strength to persevere.
- Pray for all Christian students who are struggling with their faith, mental health, or circumstances. Pray that this week they would feel uplifted and discover that God’s power is made perfect in their weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).