University & Colleges Christian Fellowship Forum Oswestry September 2014

 

Richard Scott started with TFM on September 1st.  No easy run-in but straight to the action and this date found us attending the 4-day UCCF forum along with over 1400 students.  Alfresco dining and canvas over our heads; something I haven’t done for a while!  Great fun though and to be part of a group of young adults whose sole purpose was to learn how to share their faith with friends was a tremendous blessing.

We were part of the Hub, an exhibition area where mainly mission organisations had stalls showing their wares and presenting the various opportunities available for outreach.  TFM went with a two-fold brief; to try and attract recruits to our missions and to offer our help in campus outreach opportunities and it quickly became clear that our focus should be the latter.  UCCF are a tremendous organisation dedicated to supporting CU’s and the leaders with written material and staff.  They have the structures in place already to put on outreach events; however, in conversations, the students and support workers often stated the need for outside help from speakers and more mature Christians to aid them in these endeavours.  So we were able to offer TFM staff and others to be able to fulfil this.  And this made us distinctly different from other stands in the Hub in that we were offering direct support into their own situations.

Although we have worked in Universities in the past, this is a new venture for TFM that Richard is very keen to get involved with.  As a consequence we have had, through Rev Michael Green, an offer to join with him at a couple of events already arranged to get our ‘face known’.  Hopefully we will also get some calls from CU’s as they start to think about their spring programmes.
Please pray for TFM and Richard particularly as we seek to develop these opportunities.  And also the students themselves; that they may be empowered in their outreach opportunities.



David Baslington