{"id":4411,"date":"2019-06-15T09:36:50","date_gmt":"2019-06-15T09:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?page_id=4411"},"modified":"2019-11-26T11:24:45","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T11:24:45","slug":"thinkbigger","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/thinkbigger\/","title":{"rendered":"Think Bigger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Change the university and you change the world<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The global vision of IFES extends to impacting our whole\nsociety for the glory of Christ.  That means\nmore than winning students for the kingdom: it means seeing kingdom values shape\nour cultures and change the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The university is the place where people engage with the big\nquestions. The debates happening there today will shape the decisions of tomorrow\u2019s\nleaders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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We believe the gospel has something vital to say across\nevery discipline, from politics, economics and science to ethics, education and\nthe arts.  We want to see disciples of\nJesus confidently and compellingly participating in the conversations happening\nin their universities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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We have a calling as ambassadors of Christ in the world\u2019s\nuniversities. We have a vision to see the gospel transform our societies. The\nfuture of a whole generation is at stake. \nWe need to think bigger.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWhat if God has put us in universities with a bigger purpose? What if he wants us to be faithful in our studies, to start thinking\u200a\u2014\u200aWhere can I take part in this and be a blessing? What are the needs and current issues in my study field, and in my university? How can I make it a more just place?\u201d
Recent Graduate of LKSB Latvia<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Engaging with the Big Issues<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Big Issues in the University Project was established to\nhelp Christian students and faculty better engage with the academic world and\nthe big issues of the university today. The project provided opportunities for\nstudents and faculty from IFES movements around the world to share ideas and\nresources, as together we learn how to bring a biblical perspective to bear in\nour universities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The project team carried out a global survey and a number of\nregional consultations. These consultations were an opportunity to highlight\nand celebrate how national movements are already engaging the university and to\nconsider what the needs are moving forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n \n \n <\/svg><\/span>\n For the full reports and resource list, visit the project website <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe\nBig Issues Project was made possible with financial support from the John\nTempleton Foundation.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cSince our creation, IFES movements have often gone into the campuses as if we were fishing in a lake, without really worrying about the environment of the lake. But our mission in the university should be done with an organic perspective, an incarnational perspective. We should form our people to be part of the university community and to act to transform the university itself \u2013 all the university \u2013 for Jesus. This is about going into the university with an integral, holistic perspective.\u201d
Daniel Bourdann\u00e9, IFES General Secretary 2007-2019<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The Global Picture<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Each IFES national movement operates in a unique context, so how we engage the university inevitably looks different.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Many regions are encountering new challenges: issues of gender and sexuality, freedom of speech, aggressive religious pluralism and a generation of social-media-obsessed students. Other regions face more specific issues: war in the Middle East; the spread of Islam in North Africa; natural disasters in East Asia; corruption and environmental destruction in Latin America.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Engaging\nwith these big issues is essential for the Christian, but far from\nstraightforward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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IFES wants to empower each national movement to engage the whole university, so that the message\nof the gospel penetrates to all people and all aspects of society.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Explore regions below to find out about some of the big issues identified and examples of how students, staff and faculty are already responding as they seek to impact the university and wider society for the glory of Christ.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\n \n \n Europe <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n \n \n Africa <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n \n \n Latin America <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n \n \n North America <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\n \n \n South Asia <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n \n \n South Pacific <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n \n \n <\/svg><\/span>\n Conclusion: The path ahead <\/span>\n <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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\u201cI have discovered that without the full understanding of the context of the university, the impact of our work may have a short life span. But if we consider the university as a whole, then we will be able to transform students while they are in universities and then later as they live in communities. Our responsibility is to reveal Christ in every aspect of university life: in academic, social and political arenas.\u201d
TAFES Tanzania staff worker<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Europe<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Europe is one of the regions which has seen tremendous change in the last decade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Conversations surrounding transgender issues and sexuality, mental health, immigration and freedom of speech have spread across campuses throughout the continent. Christian students are needing to find answers for questions that weren\u2019t even being asked a generation ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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As Europe gradually shifts from a post<\/em>-Christian culture to a predominantly non<\/em>-Christian culture, access to campus and freedom of speech are increasingly under threat. The right to speak and question and think critically \u2013 arguably the very heartbeat of the university, and indeed the starting point for evangelism \u2013 is at risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Christian Union members at a university in Great Britain, for example, were banned from having a stall at the freshers\u2019 fair for fear it could cause \u2018potential harm\u2019 to first year students. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWhat is at stake here is not just the integrity and reputation of our universities, but also the foundations of western, liberal thought and all the good that goes with it. Christians, out of concern for the flourishing of all citizens, must surely challenge campus censorship when they encounter it.\u201d <\/p> Richard Cunningham, General Secretary of UCCF Great Britain<\/em> <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Africa<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The big issues discussed in the EPSA and Francophone Africa regions cannot be approached as abstract ideas \u2013 they are tangible, daily problems demanding practical solutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Poverty\nmeans that many students cannot afford tuition fees or resources. Political\ninstability and persecution of Christians mean that students are at risk. Sexual\nimmorality, exam malpractice and corruption often make the campus a difficult\nplace to be a Christian, and particularly for a Christian who wants to\ncontribute a biblical perspective to the conversations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Despite\nthe challenges, students, staff and faculty across Africa are engaged in\ninitiatives, determined to impact these big issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Francophone Africa<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Even with limited resources and infrastructure, there is a strong network of Christian faculty in Francophone Africa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Annual regional events give academics the opportunity to share their area of research and consider together how to bring a Christian perspective to bear in the university. Conversations are wide-ranging, including subjects like:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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– the role of the sacred in nature conservation
– a Christian perspective on political culture in Africa
– medicine and HIV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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It\nis exciting to see academics start to explore how a biblical worldview speaks\ninto these issues.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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English- and Portuguese-Speaking Africa (EPSA)<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Many national movements in EPSA are already moving from conversation to action.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In Nigeria, for example, NIFES has opened a School of Entrepreneurship to help students struggling with poverty. Students learn skills like bead-making and candle-making to help fund their tuition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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In\nSierra Leone, one of the biggest challenges is internet connectivity. Only the\nprivate universities have access to the internet. In response to this need, a\ngroup of SLEFES students have put together a project to enable students to\naccess websites and online journals for their research. Christian and\nnon-Christian students alike are now coming together to do their work,\nproviding opportunities for SLEFES students to build relationships with their\npeers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Latin America<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The conversations in the universities of Latin America are, in many cases, of huge political, social and personal consequence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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For example:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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