{"id":37101,"date":"2024-07-29T20:19:25","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T19:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?page_id=37101"},"modified":"2026-01-07T15:35:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T15:35:33","slug":"students-transformed-thriving-together","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/students-transformed-thriving-together\/","title":{"rendered":"STUDENTS TRANSFORMED & THRIVING TOGETHER"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Join a global fellowship seizing a strategic opportunity to make Jesus known. <\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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You know they matter, and you can see their vast potential: university students.  <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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They\u2019re at a formative period in life \u2013 exploring their identity, asking questions, seeking truths, and establishing lifelong habits<\/strong>. And they\u2019ll impact the world \u2013 becoming leaders in government, business, education, and academia.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Are you excited by the opportunity to reach and shape the fast-growing number of university students across the globe? Then seize it. Support IFES today and help students be transformed by the gospel and thrive together in Christ. <\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In Vanuatu<\/a>,<\/strong> education student Sency is giving a copy of John\u2019s Gospel <\/strong>to her friend and courageously inviting him to a group to discuss the identity of Jesus.<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In Canada<\/a>, <\/strong>Trevor is studying Genesis <\/strong>with a dozen other Christian graduate students, excited to see how God is speaking into the challenges they face.<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In Ecuador,<\/strong> distance learning student Anabel is gathering others online, offering vital fellowship for isolated Christian students across the country.<\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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In Cape Verde<\/a>,<\/strong> lecturer Isabel is joining pastors and graduates at a board meeting to steer a newly launched student movement. <\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Join with students like Sency, Trevor, and Anabel. <\/strong>They are part of IFES \u2013 in a local group, in their national movement, in global fellowship. By praying and giving, you can support and empower students and staff in more than 180 countries and territories around the world.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n \n \n PRAY NOW <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n \n \n GIVE NOW <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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We believe that our four Thriving Together<\/strong> priorities will shape students that are more confident to share the good news of Jesus, better equipped to engage biblically with the issues affecting them, and fully empowered to be life-long agents of transformation in society. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Here\u2019s how your support will help: <\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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THRIVING IN WITNESS <\/strong><\/h2>
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Students witnessing to Jesus Christ, proclaiming the kingdom of God and showing the relevance of Jesus to all areas of university life. <\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Students are best placed to take the gospel to the university. They can relevantly engage with their peers, sensitively listen to academic discourse, and credibly present a Christian perspective on key issues. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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So, IFES equips students to thrive in witness \u2013 to initiate spiritual conversations, hold evangelistic Bible studies and mission events, and live lives of grace that point others to Jesus. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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What does this look like? <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Introducing the Gospel.<\/strong> Many IFES national movements have used and adapted Uncover<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, a concept that started in the British movement (UCCF) in the 1990s. Students offer attractively designed copies of a Gospel to their friends, who are invited to read and discuss it. In 2021, the movement in Vanuatu (GNYF) distributed a Melanesian form of Mark and accompanied it with the ancient storytelling art of\u202fsandroing<\/em>. They plan to do the same with John\u2019s Gospel in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Facilitating evangelism.<\/strong> The Fellowship of Evangelists in the Universities of Europe<\/em><\/a> is an IFES network that trains, equips, and encourages young evangelists. In November last year, 225 delegates from 45 countries gathered in Spain. They explored how to use dialogue alongside proclamation and how to incorporate creative elements, such as music, drama, testimony and art. One participant said, \u201cwe\u2019re now thinking about organising evangelism days this year. We heard how other small groups with few resources have been able to do it \u2013 and seen fruit.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Holding mission weeks.<\/strong> Many movements set aside one week each year for focused outreach on campus. In 2023, the national movements in Ghana (GHAFES) and Germany (SMD) joined with other mission partners for the University of Ghana Mission<\/em>. The program included drama, door-to-door visits on campus, lunch bars (snacks with a topical talk), personal testimonies, and evening talks. By the end of the week, over 1,000 people had made a first-time commitment or rededication to Christ.\u202fGHAFES reported:  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWe met Eric whilst he was washing his clothes. He stopped to listen to the good news and gave his life to Jesus. Eric hadn\u2019t been to church since he started university three years prior. He\u2019s now decided to join one of the churches on campus.\u201d <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Showing love. <\/strong>When a fire claimed the lives of 20 girls in a dormitory at a secondary school in Mahdia, Guyana, the national movement (IS\/IVCF) sent a team to serve the local community. Over five days, the team handed out leaflets on grief and loss, offered a listening ear, and prayed with individuals. They also offered support to the school and subsequently sent financial support to the Dorm Mother.\u202f<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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THRIVING IN WHOLE-LIFE COMMITMENT  <\/strong><\/h2>
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Students growing as disciples of Jesus Christ, bearing fruit as they integrate their faith with every area of life, learning to lead in their communities and standing for Jesus in challenging contexts. <\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Student followers of Jesus need to authentically engage in all aspects of campus life and discourse if they want the gospel to transform their contexts. The gospel gives them something vital to say across every discipline \u2013 from politics, economics, and science to ethics, education, and the arts. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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So, IFES equips students to thrive in whole-life commitment to Christ. We empower them through regional consultations, resources, grants, e-learning, and mentoring to think biblically and live missionally in all areas of university life. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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What does this look like? <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Growing in groups.<\/strong> In most IFES movements students meet regularly in small groups to share, read the Bible, and pray together. Even in sensitive countries, where gathering on campus is forbidden, students find ways to fellowship together \u2013 in one north African country they met in caf\u00e9s or outside in the forest. Small groups help students in a particular context to grow in faith by biblically engaging with issues most relevant to them. In IVCF Canada, a staff worker is encouraging (post)graduate students on one campus to see how Scripture addresses their challenges of work and rest, identity and worth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Learning to engage the University.<\/strong> To help students think biblically and critically about their context and calling at university, a wealth of written resources and training opportunities are available.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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