Towards a Free Church Vision for Higher Education

Towards a Free Church Vision for Higher Education

In 2014 the Free Churches Group (FCG) set up a Working Group ‘to discern the most effective use of resources and best ways of equipping Free Church people to engage with Higher Education’ (HE). The group submitted a Report to the FCG Directors in May 2015. The Report is entitled Hope in Higher Education - a full copy of the report can be downloaded HERE.

In August 2016, the Working Group drew up a paper setting out how the we, as the free churches, could work towards a Free Church Vision for Higher Education. You can read this visionary paper HERE. 

Highlights of the paper set out why and how Higher Education and the Free Churches can collaborate:

• Every Individual is Important to God
• The Education of the Whole Person
• Seeking the Kingdom of God
• A proper secularism
• Inclusion
• The Search for Truth

Read the full paper HERE and find out more about the ongoing work of the HE Working Group by contacting the FCG Education Officer, Sarah Lane Cawte: sarah.lane.cawte@freechurches.org.uk

Prayer Spaces in Schools

For the past few years, the Free Churches Group have been proud members of the Pray for Schools steering group. The other members include folk from Open the Book, The Association of Christian Teachers, Prayer Spaces in Schools and many others. 

Prayer Spaces in Schools are part of 24-7 Prayer International

Prayer Spaces in Schools have just launched some new prayer activities focused around ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ which you might find interesting and helpful... You can check these out HERE. 

The resources are a creative exploration of the Lord’s Prayer. This series takes the lines of the traditional Lord's Prayer as written in Matthew 6: 9-13 in the Bible.

Prayer Spaces in Schools enable children and young people, of all faiths and none, to explore these life questions, spirituality and faith in a safe, creative and interactive way. You can find out more about their work at: www.prayerspacesinschools.com 

Thanks to Tandia Hughes from Prayer Spaces in Schools for sharing these resources! 

Student Sunday is coming up!

Join students and churches around the world in February each year to mark the Universal Day of Prayer for Students (UDPS) or 'Student Sunday'. Save the date for 2018: 18th February.

SCM has produced a resource toolkit for 2018 that can be used by churches, student groups and individuals. You can download a copy of the 2018 Student Sunday resources here.

Uniting the Church - Every year, individuals, churches and communities around the world unite to lift up students in prayer on Student Sunday, also known as the Universal Day of Prayer for Students (UDPS). Student Sunday is coordinated by the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), and has been celebrated since 1898, making it one of the oldest ecumenical days of prayer. It serves as one of the tangible signs of our common life and the connection between students and alumni of WSCF all around the world.

We invite all our members and friends to unite in prayer for the world, the church, students, and WSCF itself on (or around) the 3rd Sunday of February. You may also choose to set an alternate date that is more convenient for your community. On 18 February 2018, people are coming together from different denominations to bring words of encouragement and support around the theme Godʼs Gifts.

What makes a good disciple?

Hmmm, a good question? What do you think?

The word disciple comes from the Latin word for learner (discipulus), so it well worth thinking about in our quest for learning, education and development... Discipulus is variously translated as student, disciple or pupil.

How do we learn today? What do we yearn to learn? What have you learned lately? 

In our aim to share content and ideas from our member churches, we have a feature from the URC. The magazine for the United Reformed Church (URC), Reform, has been considering this question : What makes a good disciple? You can read the full article HERE. 

In the coming weeks, why not think and pray about how you might become a better disciple... a better student in Christ...?

Festive! Let's celebrate and give thanks to God!

As you may already know, the Free Churches Group have been shaping how we can support churches to engage more effectively with further education. One of the organisations we are developing working links with is Festive. 

Festive are a Christian organisation who support and engage students, chaplains and staff in further education across the UK. They have much to celebrate! Their recent Annual Report includes testimonies, news and success stories. You can read it HERE.  At Free Churches Group, we will continue to pray for the work of Festive and look forward to strengthening our links and alliance with them. 

Perhaps you would like to share this prayer in your church in the coming weeks, which was written by the Education Assistant, Sara Iles,  at FCG, and includes praying for colleges and student life... 

You can support Festive in a number of ways - through prayer, volunteering and giving... 

Festive say:  "We believe that the best people to reach students are students! We long to see a generation of Christ’s ambassadors living out the Gospel where they study. That’s why we’re all about: 

• Inspiring students that Jesus is the best news this world has to offer, letting His beauty transform their hearts so that they can look… 

• Seeking God in prayer, asking for His help and power to go… 

• Sharing the life transforming message of Christ with their friends through their words and actions!"

Festive's MISSION IS: 

to inspire and support Christians in Further Education Colleges and Sixth Forms to live for Jesus and to equip them as they share their faith through their words and actions. 

Festive's VISION IS:

to see an ongoing vibrant witness of Jesus in every FE College and Sixth Form in the UK.