Nicole Lewis – March 2023

Oh Happy Spring!

Hey friends, I hope this email finds you all well. I have been enjoying watching my plum tree, which sprung up in my hedge in the Spring of 2020, gift me with it’s beautiful pink blooms. It was such a lovely gift during the beginning of the pandemic, a reminder of new life and new things to come. Each spring I look forward to seeing it again as a reminder of God’s work in my life, in the lives of others and in the world around me that I can’t always see, until it comes into full bloom.

This spring, in a particular way, I feel like I am seeing that blooming happening here in our Student Ministry and it has been amazing to watch it unfold. Our Fireseeds Conference was fantatstic. Thank You so much for praying. We actually had 43 students who came in the end and for many who came it was a significant weekend for them. One student who I was so looking forward to seeing is a someone I met when I spoke at her Dad’s church in September. She and I really connected over a number of things, we are both mixed, only children and wanted to do PR when we graduated from Uni. I ended up introducing her to one of our staff in the City where she studies.She has started getting discipled and also sharing her faith with her friends. I saw her Dad a couple of weeks ago at the Ekklessia Church Leaders gathering I was co-hosting and he said that she told him “Dad I am just so much happier now that I have decided to give my life totally to God.” It’s moments like these that are like the bloom on the tree for me, that new life springing out from a life that is learning what it means to abide in the Jesus the vine.

At the beginning of March we launched our Discover Jesus Campaign. In the Autumn we spoke to over 600 students about their biggest questions about Jesus, here were the Top 5 questions that emerged:

• Who was Jesus and what was He about?
• Did Jesus really exist?
• What about all the Suffering?
• Is there an afterlife and does Jesus have a say in this?
• What is the purpose of my life?

From that survey we created our campaign which we began running 5 weeks ago. Our hope is that we would be able to engage 50,000 students. There are four elements to the campaign: The podcast, The Conversation, The Quiz, and the Challenge.

The Podcastis a series of five podcasts with experts from OCCA (Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics) answering our big five questions.The Conversation is a small group resource designed around the big five questions. Each session inlcudes Bible Studies and discussion questions for students who are exploring faith. The Quiz is an evangelism tool with a series of 25 questions designed to begin conversations in person.The Challenge runs alongside the campaign, encouraging students to grow in their personal walks with Jesus while inviting friends to join the conversation.If you want to check out the Campaign, you can click the link here to do that. The Podcasts are really really good and you can listen to them or also watch the videos. https://www.agape.org.uk/discover-jesus/

It has been incredible to see what God has done in the past month. I hear stories every week of students stepping out in faith to share the gospel with their friends or invite them to join them in the conversation. I don’t know if we will get to our goal of engaging 50,000 or not, but what I am witnessing happening with our students as they trust God in ways they never have before, I know will have an impact long after they have left Uni. It has been such a pleasure to have a front row seat to see God’s transforming work in their lives. Would you please join us in praying that this month will bear fruit in the lives of students that will multiply itself in the lives of those around them.

As we look forward to Easter, I pray you will rejoice in seeing how God’s Kingdom is breaking out in the lives of students through your faithful investment and partnership.

With Love,
Nicole