It seemed like God wanted this to happen too. A church member put me in touch with CMF, which led to Tatenda and I meeting Bex Lawton. It was encouraging to share our vision, pray together and feel energised to get things started. We did various bits of advertising, including giving notices before each year group in the lecture hall, and so our new CU in partnership with CMF was born!
We've been going for a couple of terms now. Our group is well attended and has a diverse mix of nationalities, which is great. Our sessions consist of worship, sharing, prayer and an episode of a Bible study series. One of our best attended sessions was entitled 'nationality speciality' where students prepared a dish from their home countries. We had food from Africa, India, and Europe. I brought jam scones with clotted cream as a British representative - delicious! Some of our group members have said:
'For me, being in a group of people who have a common goal is so encouraging to my faith.' Tigi
'Since starting university, the CU group has encouraged me and support through our learning journey at Oxford Brookes. Most importantly, I've made some genuine friends.' Rose
'Faith brings about community and community brings Christian together to worship. It's the joy I see in us when we come together to worship that strengthens me. This faith has shaped the decisions I make towards caring for all.' Gabriel
In this term we're using the new nursing and midwifery toolbox video series I helped create. We had contributions from various CMF groups around the country, so I'm excited about how this will unfold. In our last gathering we finished with a time of worship and each group member shared a prayer. It is wonderful to provide a platform in university for students to be able to worship, pray, and share fellowship together. Please pray for continued blessing and guidance of our Oxford Brookes (Swindon Campus) CMF Christian Union. Or, as it's easily abbreviated, our OBUSCCMFCU!
Jacob is a student nurse studying at Oxford Brookes University.
