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"language": "en-US",
"title": "Latin America Archives · IFES",
"description": "A movement of students sharing and living out the good news of Jesus Christ. Locally. Nationally. Globally.",
"icon": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ifeslogo.png",
"items": [
{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=46067",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/passing-on-a-passion/",
"title": "Passing on a Passion",
"content_html": "
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Rocio has a strong conviction about the Bible. And she loves passing it on to students. As a staff worker for CCUH, the IFES national movement in Honduras, she\u2019s helping them see how Scripture illuminates their contemporary challenges and university context.
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Earlier this year, at \u2018The University: My Mission Field\u2019 \u2013 a national training event for around 30 student leaders \u2013 Rocio and fellow staff worker Suany led a workshop on creative evangelism. Their purpose was clear:
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\u201cWe wanted to remind students of the power of God\u2019s Word in evangelism and how it guides us when we faceall the issues being discussed in university hallways.\u201d
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A Relevant Word forCampus
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Before the session, they\u2019d surveyed students and discovered that common conversation topics on campus were sexuality, self-esteem, politics, creation care, and mental health. At the workshop, they worked through the six steps in the IFES resource Exploring the Word and the World. Rocio explains, \u201cWe reflected on how contemporary issues can become a gateway for people to encounter the Lord in the Scriptures.\u201d
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Students then picked one of the themes and prepared a creative way to share what they\u2019d learned with non-Christians. But this was no academic exercise. As part of the training, one day was set aside for outreach on a local campus so that students could practise what they\u2019d learned.
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Natalia, a law student in Tegucigalpa, said:
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\u201cMy perspective changed. I learned to identify the issues in my university community and to reach out according to that reality. I was also struck by the fact that we must be an adequate expression of what we\u2019re preaching.\u201d
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A Relevant Life on Campus
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The importance of both speaking and living the gospel was reinforced by daily Bible studies in Acts. Reflecting on what she\u2019d learned, another law student Brizeli commented, \u201cUniversity is an opportunity to reflect God’s values in all my actions, decisions, and conversations \u2013 to be his witness, showing his love and sharing the hope of the gospel.\u201d
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Carlos, a computing student in Yoro, put it this way:
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\u201cIt’s not just about offering the gospel. It\u2019s about knowing it, living it, and making it a habit in every context, no matter how difficult it may seem. I realized that dwelling in God\u2019s Word re–orders my priorities and strengthens my faith, my humility, and my love for others.\u201d
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It appears that Rocio\u2019s conviction \u2013 \u201cif we have a personal and communal commitment to Scripture, the gospel will inevitably permeate all our conversations at university\u201d \u2013 has been successfully passed on to a new generation of student leaders in Honduras. Let\u2019s pray for them as they see, share, and show the relevance of God\u2019s Word.
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Pray
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Give thanks for the \u201cchanged perspectives\u201d and \u201cre-ordered priorities\u201d among CCUH student leaders. Pray for Natalia, Brizeli, Carlos, and all who were inspired by the training \u2013 that their enthusiasm for the Word will fuel relevant outreach and authentic witness.
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Pray for a delegation of CCUH student leaders who will further their training at \u201cFirm, Connected, and Real\u201d, a subregional IFES gathering in Mexico (21-31 July). Pray that the cross-cultural interactions, exchange of ideas, and biblical teaching will enrich their ministry.
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Pray for CCUH\u2019s retreat for graduates \u2013 \u201cBound in Love\u201d (24-25 May). Ask that these young professionals will return strengthened in their witness and committed in their support for the movement.
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"content_text": "Rocio has a strong conviction about the Bible. And she loves passing it on to students. As a staff worker for CCUH, the IFES national movement in Honduras, she\u2019s helping them see how Scripture illuminates their contemporary challenges and university context. \n\n\n\nEarlier this year, at \u2018The University: My Mission Field\u2019 \u2013 a national training event for around 30 student leaders \u2013 Rocio and fellow staff worker Suany led a workshop on creative evangelism. Their purpose was clear: \n\n\n\n\u201cWe wanted to remind students of the power of God\u2019s Word in evangelism and how it guides us when we face all the issues being discussed in university hallways.\u201d \n\n\n\nA Relevant Word for Campus \n\n\n\nBefore the session, they\u2019d surveyed students and discovered that common conversation topics on campus were sexuality, self-esteem, politics, creation care, and mental health. At the workshop, they worked through the six steps in the IFES resource Exploring the Word and the World. Rocio explains, \u201cWe reflected on how contemporary issues can become a gateway for people to encounter the Lord in the Scriptures.\u201d \n\n\n\nStudents then picked one of the themes and prepared a creative way to share what they\u2019d learned with non-Christians. But this was no academic exercise. As part of the training, one day was set aside for outreach on a local campus so that students could practise what they\u2019d learned. \n\n\n\nNatalia, a law student in Tegucigalpa, said: \n\n\n\n\u201cMy perspective changed. I learned to identify the issues in my university community and to reach out according to that reality. I was also struck by the fact that we must be an adequate expression of what we\u2019re preaching.\u201d \n\n\n\nA Relevant Life on Campus \n\n\n\nThe importance of both speaking and living the gospel was reinforced by daily Bible studies in Acts. Reflecting on what she\u2019d learned, another law student Brizeli commented, \u201cUniversity is an opportunity to reflect God’s values in all my actions, decisions, and conversations \u2013 to be his witness, showing his love and sharing the hope of the gospel.\u201d \n\n\n\nCarlos, a computing student in Yoro, put it this way: \n\n\n\n\u201cIt’s not just about offering the gospel. It\u2019s about knowing it, living it, and making it a habit in every context, no matter how difficult it may seem. I realized that dwelling in God\u2019s Word re–orders my priorities and strengthens my faith, my humility, and my love for others.\u201d \n\n\n\nIt appears that Rocio\u2019s conviction \u2013 \u201cif we have a personal and communal commitment to Scripture, the gospel will inevitably permeate all our conversations at university\u201d \u2013 has been successfully passed on to a new generation of student leaders in Honduras. Let\u2019s pray for them as they see, share, and show the relevance of God\u2019s Word. \n\n\n\nPray \n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for the \u201cchanged perspectives\u201d and \u201cre-ordered priorities\u201d among CCUH student leaders. Pray for Natalia, Brizeli, Carlos, and all who were inspired by the training \u2013 that their enthusiasm for the Word will fuel relevant outreach and authentic witness. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for a delegation of CCUH student leaders who will further their training at \u201cFirm, Connected, and Real\u201d, a subregional IFES gathering in Mexico (21-31 July). Pray that the cross-cultural interactions, exchange of ideas, and biblical teaching will enrich their ministry. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for CCUH\u2019s retreat for graduates \u2013 \u201cBound in Love\u201d (24-25 May). Ask that these young professionals will return strengthened in their witness and committed in their support for the movement. \n\nThe post Passing on a Passion appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2025-04-29T08:00:00+01:00",
"date_modified": "2025-05-21T10:59:28+01:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "Roja Jacob",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/roja-jacob/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/270fe6ae830fb4ad45dd518c8013666f.jpg?ver=1760274904"
}
],
"author": {
"name": "Roja Jacob",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/roja-jacob/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/270fe6ae830fb4ad45dd518c8013666f.jpg?ver=1760274904"
},
"image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/mission-day-SUGGESTED-BANNER-IMAGE.jpg"
},
{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=43273",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/pathways-to-justice-and-peace-2/",
"title": "Pathways to Justice and Peace\u00a0\u00a0",
"content_html": "
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How do you respond to violence and injustice in your society? As a Christian, does faith shape your thinking and spur you to action?
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These are foundational questions in an IFES Logos and Cosmos Initiative (LCI) project initiated by Dr Sandra M\u00e1rquez Olvera. The project collaborates with national movements in Latin America, equipping students to biblically reflect on their views and grow as peacebuilders through grassroots activity.
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Facing Insecurity
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Sandra\u2019s project started in 2022 as her pragmatic response to the prevalence of injustice in Mexico. She notes:
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\u201cIn many Latin American countries, especially in urban areas, citizens live with a permanent feeling of insecurity. Crime, corruption, and gender-based violence are daily realities. And Mexico\u2019s \u2018war on drugs\u2019 has meant thousands have been subject to \u2018enforced disappearance\u2019.\u201d
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Her project facilitates practical initiatives that serve communities experiencing such issues.
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In 2023, students and LCI Catalysts Areli Cortez and Remy Oc\u00f3n joined Sandra\u2019s project. They now partner with IFES movements in Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Colombia \u2013 some of Latin America\u2019s lowest ranking countries on the Global Peace Index.
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Promoting Justice
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Last year, one practical service initiative in Mexico offered support to a collective of families whose relatives had forcibly disappeared. Since most of the collective\u2019s physical and emotional energy is used to search for loved ones, a group from Compa spent four days helping them improve their office space.
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Fifteen students, two graduates, and three staff workers cleared weeds, created a garden, and painted walls. In the process, they got to know these victims of injustice and hear their stories. Later, they shared Christmas food together and helped place photos with information about the missing persons on a memorial in the city square.
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Believing in Peace
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With the latest phase of the LCI project now underway, Sandra, Areli, and Remy are facilitating online \u2018Reflection Spaces\u2019 for 16 participants from the four national movements. Their Perspectives for Peacebuilding course is introducing the cohort to the theology of justice and peace in the context of Latin America\u2019s social situation. This \u2018holistic mission\u2019 framework enables participants to see service and peacemaking as part of Jesus\u2019 call to be salt and light.
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Areli Canul, a COMPA Mexico graduate participant, is looking forward to turning her reflection into action:
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\u201cI really hope to be able to walk just a little bit of the path they\u2019ve shared with us \u2013 to continue the legacy and serve the Lord, showing that the Scriptures call us not to be passive and indifferent to suffering and injustice\u201d.
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New Pathways Ahead
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Community action initiatives will again partner with civil society organizations. The first initiative is set to start in Mexico in the second week of December, with others in Ecuador, Colombia, and El Salvador to follow in January.\u00a0\u00a0
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Throughout, the three women will interview key actors and log student responses so that they can document each country\u2019s approach to Christian social responsibility. Their findings will be written up as an academic article and inform an action plan for the four student movements.
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It\u2019s hoped that this LCI project will help embed peace and justice initiatives into regular ministry \u2013 shaping thought and spurring action.
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Pray
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Give thanks for the theological reflection and action facilitated by Sandra, Areli, and Remy in COMPA Mexico, MUC El Salvador, CECE Ecuador, and UCU Colombia. Praise God that students have grown in faith and that communities have been touched.
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Pray for the movements as they finalise plans for their practical initiatives \u2013 for grace and favour with the partner organisations and the communities they\u2019ll serve.
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Pray that a practical concern for peace and justice will be integral to Christian witness in these movements and in all IFES movements.
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See Sandra speak about her passion for connecting the Word with the world in this LCI video.
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Perspectives on Justice and Peace from Latin America, a booklet that was distributed at Sandra\u2019s 2023 World Assembly seminar on this topic, is available online in Spanish and in Portuguese.
\n",
"content_text": "How do you respond to violence and injustice in your society? As a Christian, does faith shape your thinking and spur you to action? \n\n\n\nThese are foundational questions in an IFES Logos and Cosmos Initiative (LCI) project initiated by Dr Sandra M\u00e1rquez Olvera. The project collaborates with national movements in Latin America, equipping students to biblically reflect on their views and grow as peacebuilders through grassroots activity. \n\n\n\nFacing Insecurity \n\n\n\nSandra\u2019s project started in 2022 as her pragmatic response to the prevalence of injustice in Mexico. She notes: \n\n\n\n\u201cIn many Latin American countries, especially in urban areas, citizens live with a permanent feeling of insecurity. Crime, corruption, and gender-based violence are daily realities. And Mexico\u2019s \u2018war on drugs\u2019 has meant thousands have been subject to \u2018enforced disappearance\u2019.\u201d \n\n\n\nHer project facilitates practical initiatives that serve communities experiencing such issues. \n\n\n\nIn 2023, students and LCI Catalysts Areli Cortez and Remy Oc\u00f3n joined Sandra\u2019s project. They now partner with IFES movements in Mexico, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Colombia \u2013 some of Latin America\u2019s lowest ranking countries on the Global Peace Index. \n\n\n\nPromoting Justice \n\n\n\nLast year, one practical service initiative in Mexico offered support to a collective of families whose relatives had forcibly disappeared. Since most of the collective\u2019s physical and emotional energy is used to search for loved ones, a group from Compa spent four days helping them improve their office space. \n\n\n\nFifteen students, two graduates, and three staff workers cleared weeds, created a garden, and painted walls. In the process, they got to know these victims of injustice and hear their stories. Later, they shared Christmas food together and helped place photos with information about the missing persons on a memorial in the city square. \n\n\n\nBelieving in Peace \n\n\n\nWith the latest phase of the LCI project now underway, Sandra, Areli, and Remy are facilitating online \u2018Reflection Spaces\u2019 for 16 participants from the four national movements. Their Perspectives for Peacebuilding course is introducing the cohort to the theology of justice and peace in the context of Latin America\u2019s social situation. This \u2018holistic mission\u2019 framework enables participants to see service and peacemaking as part of Jesus\u2019 call to be salt and light. \n\n\n\nAreli Canul, a COMPA Mexico graduate participant, is looking forward to turning her reflection into action: \n\n\n\n\u201cI really hope to be able to walk just a little bit of the path they\u2019ve shared with us \u2013 to continue the legacy and serve the Lord, showing that the Scriptures call us not to be passive and indifferent to suffering and injustice\u201d. \n\n\n\nNew Pathways Ahead \n\n\n\nCommunity action initiatives will again partner with civil society organizations. The first initiative is set to start in Mexico in the second week of December, with others in Ecuador, Colombia, and El Salvador to follow in January.\u00a0\u00a0\n\n\n\nThroughout, the three women will interview key actors and log student responses so that they can document each country\u2019s approach to Christian social responsibility. Their findings will be written up as an academic article and inform an action plan for the four student movements. \n\n\n\nIt\u2019s hoped that this LCI project will help embed peace and justice initiatives into regular ministry \u2013 shaping thought and spurring action. \n\n\n\nPray \n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for the theological reflection and action facilitated by Sandra, Areli, and Remy in COMPA Mexico, MUC El Salvador, CECE Ecuador, and UCU Colombia. Praise God that students have grown in faith and that communities have been touched. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray for the movements as they finalise plans for their practical initiatives \u2013 for grace and favour with the partner organisations and the communities they\u2019ll serve. \n\n\n\n\n\nPray that a practical concern for peace and justice will be integral to Christian witness in these movements and in all IFES movements. \n\n\n\n\nSee Sandra speak about her passion for connecting the Word with the world in this LCI video. \n\n\n\nPerspectives on Justice and Peace from Latin America, a booklet that was distributed at Sandra\u2019s 2023 World Assembly seminar on this topic, is available online in Spanish and in Portuguese. \nThe post Pathways to Justice and Peace\u00a0\u00a0 appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2024-11-12T11:28:00+00:00",
"date_modified": "2025-01-15T15:37:32+00:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "Bryn Rickards",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/bryn-rickards/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/8672abde7ce0c7ed71f1b1cc3ec261a2.jpg?ver=1760274006"
}
],
"author": {
"name": "Bryn Rickards",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/bryn-rickards/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/8672abde7ce0c7ed71f1b1cc3ec261a2.jpg?ver=1760274006"
},
"image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/For-banner.jpeg"
},
{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=41649",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/the-power-of-a-gentle-invite/",
"title": "The power of a gentle invite",
"content_html": "
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Nattanaelys and Josu\u00e9 were quite similar, but they were also worlds apart \u2013 until a gentle invitation from Nattanaelys led to a powerful change in Josu\u00e9.
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Common Experiences
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Nattanaelys and Josu\u00e9 both experienced huge losses at a young age. When Josu\u00e9 was four years old, his parents divorced, with his mother leaving to rebuild her life elsewhere; when Nattanaelys was nine, her father was murdered.
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As they finished school, both had high hopes for their university studies, but neither were able to enrol on the course they desired. Instead, they ended up studying physiotherapy at the Sim\u00f3n Rodr\u00edguez Experimental University in Marig\u00fcitar.
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Different Outlooks
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Despite these difficult shared experiences, they had vastly different perspectives on life.
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Nattanaelys had a family who loved the Lord. Growing up as part of an evangelical church, she was shaped by biblical teaching. Through an aunt, she was introduced from an early age to MUEVE, the IFES movement in Venezuela. All this gave her a sense of purpose:
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\u201cDue to the situation in the country, I couldn\u2019t study the career I really wanted. But my objective at university was still clear: to present the hope of Jesus to my classmates.\u201d
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Josu\u00e9 entered university in a wholly different state of mind. While growing up with his grandparents, he started to do everything alone. He had some good friends, but gradually he became emotionally detached. Many labelled him as \u201ccold and distant\u201d \u2013 and he started to believe it.
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\u201cI pursued intellect to compensate for the emptiness that tormented me. But I knew what was going on inside: I didn’t know what love was. I didn’t even have a concept of what it was.\u201d
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A Gentle Invitation with a Powerful Effect
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As nothing more than classmates, Nattanaelys had no idea what Josu\u00e9 was going through. Nevertheless, true to her purpose, she decided to invite him to a MUEVE event. He recalls:
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\u201cI didn\u2019t even know her name, but she came over to me. Very subtly, and with a touch of embarrassment, she asked me if I wanted to take part. When I agreed, I was shocked to hear that the event was called \u2018Crazy things of Love\u2019.\u201d
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Intrigued by what he heard that day, Josu\u00e9 continued to attend MUEVE Bible studies, prayer spaces, and events. Then, he was ready:
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\u201cI took the step of giving my life to the One who is the source of inexhaustible love.\u201d
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Nattanaelys concludes: \u201cI\u2019m so grateful \u2013 through that MUEVE event, Josu\u00e9 is today my brother in faith and friend.\u201d
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Pray
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Give thanks for the way God used Nattanaelys\u2019s gentle yet courageous invitation to draw Josu\u00e9 into \u201cinexhaustible love\u201d. Ask that all students in MUEVE will share her commitment, reach out to their classmates, and see God at work.
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Both Nattanaelys and Josu\u00e9 were selected to participate in an IFES subregional gathering, offering fellowship and training for students from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Sadly, due to ongoing political issues, they couldn\u2019t attend. Please pray for a swift and peaceful resolution.
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Moreover, Joel, MUEVE General Secretary says: \u201cdue to our economic crisis, many family members, friends, mission partners and students have left the country, leading to a reduction in our student groups.\u201d Let\u2019s pray that the Lord will strengthen those who remain and raise up new student leaders through the national camp on 7-8 September.
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Discover more about student ministry in this Caribbean subregion of Latin America with IFES Coordinator Gisela Mu\u00f1oz in this Voices of IFES podcast.
\n",
"content_text": "Nattanaelys and Josu\u00e9 were quite similar, but they were also worlds apart \u2013 until a gentle invitation from Nattanaelys led to a powerful change in Josu\u00e9. \n\n\n\nCommon Experiences \n\n\n\nNattanaelys and Josu\u00e9 both experienced huge losses at a young age. When Josu\u00e9 was four years old, his parents divorced, with his mother leaving to rebuild her life elsewhere; when Nattanaelys was nine, her father was murdered. \n\n\n\nAs they finished school, both had high hopes for their university studies, but neither were able to enrol on the course they desired. Instead, they ended up studying physiotherapy at the Sim\u00f3n Rodr\u00edguez Experimental University in Marig\u00fcitar. \n\n\n\nDifferent Outlooks \n\n\n\nDespite these difficult shared experiences, they had vastly different perspectives on life. \n\n\n\nNattanaelys had a family who loved the Lord. Growing up as part of an evangelical church, she was shaped by biblical teaching. Through an aunt, she was introduced from an early age to MUEVE, the IFES movement in Venezuela. All this gave her a sense of purpose: \n\n\n\n\n\u201cDue to the situation in the country, I couldn\u2019t study the career I really wanted. But my objective at university was still clear: to present the hope of Jesus to my classmates.\u201d \n\n\n\n\nJosu\u00e9 entered university in a wholly different state of mind. While growing up with his grandparents, he started to do everything alone. He had some good friends, but gradually he became emotionally detached. Many labelled him as \u201ccold and distant\u201d \u2013 and he started to believe it. \n\n\n\n\n\u201cI pursued intellect to compensate for the emptiness that tormented me. But I knew what was going on inside: I didn’t know what love was. I didn’t even have a concept of what it was.\u201d \n\n\n\n\nA Gentle Invitation with a Powerful Effect \n\n\n\nAs nothing more than classmates, Nattanaelys had no idea what Josu\u00e9 was going through. Nevertheless, true to her purpose, she decided to invite him to a MUEVE event. He recalls: \n\n\n\n\n\u201cI didn\u2019t even know her name, but she came over to me. Very subtly, and with a touch of embarrassment, she asked me if I wanted to take part. When I agreed, I was shocked to hear that the event was called \u2018Crazy things of Love\u2019.\u201d \n\n\n\n\nIntrigued by what he heard that day, Josu\u00e9 continued to attend MUEVE Bible studies, prayer spaces, and events. Then, he was ready: \n\n\n\n\n\u201cI took the step of giving my life to the One who is the source of inexhaustible love.\u201d \n\n\n\n\nNattanaelys concludes: \u201cI\u2019m so grateful \u2013 through that MUEVE event, Josu\u00e9 is today my brother in faith and friend.\u201d \n\n\n\nPray \n\n\n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for the way God used Nattanaelys\u2019s gentle yet courageous invitation to draw Josu\u00e9 into \u201cinexhaustible love\u201d. Ask that all students in MUEVE will share her commitment, reach out to their classmates, and see God at work. \n\n\n\n\n\nBoth Nattanaelys and Josu\u00e9 were selected to participate in an IFES subregional gathering, offering fellowship and training for students from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Sadly, due to ongoing political issues, they couldn\u2019t attend. Please pray for a swift and peaceful resolution. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMoreover, Joel, MUEVE General Secretary says: \u201cdue to our economic crisis, many family members, friends, mission partners and students have left the country, leading to a reduction in our student groups.\u201d Let\u2019s pray that the Lord will strengthen those who remain and raise up new student leaders through the national camp on 7-8 September. \n\n\n\n\nDiscover more about student ministry in this Caribbean subregion of Latin America with IFES Coordinator Gisela Mu\u00f1oz in this Voices of IFES podcast. \nThe post The power of a gentle invite appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2024-09-03T08:00:00+01:00",
"date_modified": "2024-09-15T21:19:59+01:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "Vahan Rickards",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/rickardsvahangmail-com/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/ccabac07acfefd2444f42fa9613b6e47.jpg?ver=1760274904"
}
],
"author": {
"name": "Vahan Rickards",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/rickardsvahangmail-com/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/ccabac07acfefd2444f42fa9613b6e47.jpg?ver=1760274904"
},
"image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Copy-of-Venezuela-PL-1.png"
},
{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=35720",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/taking-tea-into-the-backyard/",
"title": "Taking tea into the backyard",
"content_html": "
\n
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\u201cYes, we must! I know loads of students on campus; we must start something there!\u201d
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Emanuel gave his heartfelt response to a question he\u2019d just been asked: could student ministry be launched on his campus in Paysand\u00fa, Uruguay?
\n
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The IFES movement in Uruguay, Comunidad B\u00edblica Universitaria (CBU), has worked for many years in the capital Montevideo, where most students attend university. Traditionally, the country\u2019s economy, politics, and education have centred on the city \u2013 so much so that one lecturer has described the country as \u201cthe port (Montevideo) and its backyard\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0
\n
\n\n
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In the last decade, however, new institutions have been established in the \u201cbackyard\u201d, including satellite campuses of the state university. So, staff and students in CBU began praying for a student witness there, seeking the Lord for a way in.\u00a0
\n
\n\n
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Then, three years ago, CBU General Secretary Jorge Berm\u00fadez received a message. He didn\u2019t know the sender, Santiago, an academic coordinator at a technical college (UTEC) in the western interior city of Fray Bentos. Apparently, he\u2019d heard Jorge speak at a church a few years ago and was inspired about the need for student ministry. Could CBU come to UTEC?
\n
\n\n
\n
Then, more good news: Antonella, a social worker Jorge knew, arranged a meeting for him with her church pastor in Paysand\u00fa, about 125km north of Fray Bentos. On hearing about CBU, the pastor (a former high school teacher) was keen to see ministry start at institutions there and reached out to two other churches.
\n
\n\n
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Through these Spirit-led connections, CBU staff and students visited Fray Bentos and Paysand\u00fa in recent months to lead two workshops: \u201cBuilding bridges\u201d (relational evangelism) and \u201cBible detectives\u201d (inductive Bible studies). Local students are now equipped \u2013 including enthusiastic Emanuel. He was able to attend the CBU national camp in March, when he declared his \u201cyes, we must!\u201d.
\n
\n\n
\n
To see this passion spread further among students, the CBU team hopes to collaborate with local churches on a two-day retreat in the area in May. They also plan to engage students in running The Mark Drama in September. In the meantime, the newly equipped students will take their first steps in launching small groups on campus.
\n
\n\n
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In CBU, such groups have a special name: Mateada Biblica. It conveys the friendly atmosphere of sitting around to drink mate (a traditional South American herbal tea) and chat together \u2013 in this case, about the Bible.
\n
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So, let\u2019s thank God for these opportunities in Uruguay and pray for CBU students as they share tea (and Jesus) in their backyard:
\n
\n\n
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Give thanks for the way God worked through Santiago and Antonella to enable CBU to train up students in Fray Bentos and Paysand\u00fa \u2013 and for the good relations with local churches. Ask that these will continue and deepen.
\n
\n\n
\n
Pray for Emanuel and the other students who received CBU training \u2013 that they will step out in faith, start groups, and see God at work. And ask that the planned retreat and Mark Drama outreach will inspire and engage more students.
\n
\n\n
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Pray that God will stir up many supporters, staff, and students to take part in this year\u2019s IFES Global Giving Day: Into all the World (17 April), raising funds for initiatives like this to plant new groups around the world.
\n",
"content_text": "\u201cYes, we must! I know loads of students on campus; we must start something there!\u201d \n\n\n\n\nEmanuel gave his heartfelt response to a question he\u2019d just been asked: could student ministry be launched on his campus in Paysand\u00fa, Uruguay? \n\n\n\nThe IFES movement in Uruguay, Comunidad B\u00edblica Universitaria (CBU), has worked for many years in the capital Montevideo, where most students attend university. Traditionally, the country\u2019s economy, politics, and education have centred on the city \u2013 so much so that one lecturer has described the country as \u201cthe port (Montevideo) and its backyard\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\n\n\n\nIn the last decade, however, new institutions have been established in the \u201cbackyard\u201d, including satellite campuses of the state university. So, staff and students in CBU began praying for a student witness there, seeking the Lord for a way in.\u00a0\n\n\n\nThen, three years ago, CBU General Secretary Jorge Berm\u00fadez received a message. He didn\u2019t know the sender, Santiago, an academic coordinator at a technical college (UTEC) in the western interior city of Fray Bentos. Apparently, he\u2019d heard Jorge speak at a church a few years ago and was inspired about the need for student ministry. Could CBU come to UTEC? \n\n\n\nThen, more good news: Antonella, a social worker Jorge knew, arranged a meeting for him with her church pastor in Paysand\u00fa, about 125km north of Fray Bentos. On hearing about CBU, the pastor (a former high school teacher) was keen to see ministry start at institutions there and reached out to two other churches. \n\n\n\nThrough these Spirit-led connections, CBU staff and students visited Fray Bentos and Paysand\u00fa in recent months to lead two workshops: \u201cBuilding bridges\u201d (relational evangelism) and \u201cBible detectives\u201d (inductive Bible studies). Local students are now equipped \u2013 including enthusiastic Emanuel. He was able to attend the CBU national camp in March, when he declared his \u201cyes, we must!\u201d. \n\n\n\nTo see this passion spread further among students, the CBU team hopes to collaborate with local churches on a two-day retreat in the area in May. They also plan to engage students in running The Mark Drama in September. In the meantime, the newly equipped students will take their first steps in launching small groups on campus. \n\n\n\nIn CBU, such groups have a special name: Mateada Biblica. It conveys the friendly atmosphere of sitting around to drink mate (a traditional South American herbal tea) and chat together \u2013 in this case, about the Bible. \n\n\n\nSo, let\u2019s thank God for these opportunities in Uruguay and pray for CBU students as they share tea (and Jesus) in their backyard: \n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for the way God worked through Santiago and Antonella to enable CBU to train up students in Fray Bentos and Paysand\u00fa \u2013 and for the good relations with local churches. Ask that these will continue and deepen. \n\n\n\nPray for Emanuel and the other students who received CBU training \u2013 that they will step out in faith, start groups, and see God at work. And ask that the planned retreat and Mark Drama outreach will inspire and engage more students. \n\n\n\nPray that God will stir up many supporters, staff, and students to take part in this year\u2019s IFES Global Giving Day: Into all the World (17 April), raising funds for initiatives like this to plant new groups around the world. \n\nThe post Taking tea into the backyard appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2024-04-16T05:54:00+01:00",
"date_modified": "2024-05-10T09:59:56+01:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604"
}
],
"author": {
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604"
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"image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Untitled-design-15.png"
},
{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=31535",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/hopeful-actions-in-a-vulnerable-place/",
"title": "Hopeful actions in a vulnerable place\u202f",
"content_html": "
\n
In an unimposing church building in the middle of Guatemala City, thirty-two people have gathered \u2013 university students, professionals, and church members. They are concerned about the environmental crisis. What hope is there? They have come to hear speakers share insights from science, theology, and indigenous knowledge. What difference can they make?
\n
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It\u2019s a pressing question. Guatemala is cited as one of ten countries most vulnerable to the effects of global heating. In the last few years, climate chaos has caused droughts, floods, and landslides. It has increased food and water insecurity in a country already suffering from deforestation and pollution.
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But what can a student do? Is there any hope?
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“There is much to be done, but there is hope.”
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“As difficult as it may seem, I believe there is hope for our relationship with the environment, if we begin to recognize our deep-rooted mistakes.”
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\n\n
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This is what participants concluded at the end of the event organised by Venuz P\u00e9rez L\u00f3pez as part of her Logos and Cosmos Initiative (LCI) project. The LCI is an outworking of IFES\u2019 global vision to support and shape students who will impact all of society for the glory of Christ. It equips young Christian academics to lead projects that spark curiosity and wonder about God\u2019s Word and God\u2019s world, and the relationship between theology and the sciences.
\n
\n\n
\n
This is exactly what Venuz was achieving in that room. Her seminar, entitled Uniting knowledge: a reflection on the environmental crisis through the lenses of science, ecotheology and indigenous peoples, brought together different perspectives \u2013 igniting hope and inspiring practical solutions. Discussion around climate change has often been confined to scientific knowledge. But Venuz believes there is more \u2013 and that we can wisely use science in the pursuit of justice for God\u2019s kingdom.
\n
\n\n
\n
Venuz, who recently completed her master\u2019s degree in integrated water management, has been working closely with the IFES national movement, Grupo Evang\u00e9lico Universitario de Guatemala (GEU), introducing students to her multi-disciplinary approach. The seminar she organised at Casa Horeb Church included students from GEU regional groups (Huehuetenango, Chiquimula, Guatemala, and Solol\u00e1). But it also attracted non-Christian students, providing a forum in which everyone could see the relevance of faith to all areas of life.
\n
\n\n
\n
Venuz continues the work of her LCI project through a virtual course she designed and runs called With Science and Faith for the Environment. \u201cThe objective is that participants recognize God as creator and strengthen their connection with creation so they can contribute to environmental solutions on their campuses, both short and long term,\u201d she explains. With fifteen students from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and Chile taking part, it will inspire action across Latin America.
\n
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There is hope. Students can make a difference.
\n
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Pray for Venuz and students in Guatemala:
\n
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Give thanks for Venuz and her husband Johnny, who has also planned and implemented an environmental LCI project. Pray their faith and work will continue to ignite hope and inspire action.
\n
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Pray for the student movement GEU: it is raising awareness about creation care with workshops and a practical guide, which is now included in the training plan for all new student leaders.
\n
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Pray that non-Christians will be touched by the faith and action of their Christian peers and want to find out more about Jesus and the hope he brings.
\n
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\n\n
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Watch a video of Venuz and her husband Johnny explaining their LCI projects here. View a summary of the seminar at Casa Horeb Church on the GEU YouTube channel here.
\n",
"content_text": "In an unimposing church building in the middle of Guatemala City, thirty-two people have gathered \u2013 university students, professionals, and church members. They are concerned about the environmental crisis. What hope is there? They have come to hear speakers share insights from science, theology, and indigenous knowledge. What difference can they make? \n\n\n\nIt\u2019s a pressing question. Guatemala is cited as one of ten countries most vulnerable to the effects of global heating. In the last few years, climate chaos has caused droughts, floods, and landslides. It has increased food and water insecurity in a country already suffering from deforestation and pollution. \n\n\n\nBut what can a student do? Is there any hope? \n\n\n\n\n“There is much to be done, but there is hope.” \n\n\n\n\n\n“As difficult as it may seem, I believe there is hope for our relationship with the environment, if we begin to recognize our deep-rooted mistakes.” \n\n\n\n\nThis is what participants concluded at the end of the event organised by Venuz P\u00e9rez L\u00f3pez as part of her Logos and Cosmos Initiative (LCI) project. The LCI is an outworking of IFES\u2019 global vision to support and shape students who will impact all of society for the glory of Christ. It equips young Christian academics to lead projects that spark curiosity and wonder about God\u2019s Word and God\u2019s world, and the relationship between theology and the sciences. \n\n\n\nThis is exactly what Venuz was achieving in that room. Her seminar, entitled Uniting knowledge: a reflection on the environmental crisis through the lenses of science, ecotheology and indigenous peoples, brought together different perspectives \u2013 igniting hope and inspiring practical solutions. Discussion around climate change has often been confined to scientific knowledge. But Venuz believes there is more \u2013 and that we can wisely use science in the pursuit of justice for God\u2019s kingdom. \n\n\n\nVenuz, who recently completed her master\u2019s degree in integrated water management, has been working closely with the IFES national movement, Grupo Evang\u00e9lico Universitario de Guatemala (GEU), introducing students to her multi-disciplinary approach. The seminar she organised at Casa Horeb Church included students from GEU regional groups (Huehuetenango, Chiquimula, Guatemala, and Solol\u00e1). But it also attracted non-Christian students, providing a forum in which everyone could see the relevance of faith to all areas of life. \n\n\n\nVenuz continues the work of her LCI project through a virtual course she designed and runs called With Science and Faith for the Environment. \u201cThe objective is that participants recognize God as creator and strengthen their connection with creation so they can contribute to environmental solutions on their campuses, both short and long term,\u201d she explains. With fifteen students from Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, and Chile taking part, it will inspire action across Latin America. \n\n\n\nThere is hope. Students can make a difference. \n\n\n\nPray for Venuz and students in Guatemala: \n\n\n\n\nGive thanks for Venuz and her husband Johnny, who has also planned and implemented an environmental LCI project. Pray their faith and work will continue to ignite hope and inspire action. \n\n\n\nPray for the student movement GEU: it is raising awareness about creation care with workshops and a practical guide, which is now included in the training plan for all new student leaders. \n\n\n\nPray that non-Christians will be touched by the faith and action of their Christian peers and want to find out more about Jesus and the hope he brings. \n\n\n\n\nWatch a video of Venuz and her husband Johnny explaining their LCI projects here. View a summary of the seminar at Casa Horeb Church on the GEU YouTube channel here. \nThe post Hopeful actions in a vulnerable place\u202f appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2023-11-28T04:41:00+00:00",
"date_modified": "2023-11-24T16:47:59+00:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604"
}
],
"author": {
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604"
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"image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Guatemala-LCI-event-5-church-1-scaled.jpg"
},
{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=24902",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/natalie-steps-forward/",
"title": "Natalie steps forward",
"content_html": "
\n
Word spread fast about the new cell group started by Natalie Jord\u00e1n in her faculty at the University of Panama, but not everyone was supportive. Nevertheless, Natalie was confident of God\u2019s continued provision and presence. \u201cEven though we sometimes fear what the future brings, God is present as a firm rock,\u201d she says.
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Last year, Natalie, a student leader with CEC Panama, set up the student group in the Faculty of Architecture and Design to provide a meeting space for fellowship, worship, and Bible study.
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\u201cIt was challenging because there hadn\u2019t been a Christian student group in the faculty for the last few decades, so there were many professors and administrators who were unaware of CEC and what we do,\u201d explains Natalie.
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In addition, when more students heard about the group, Natalie learned how sceptical and atheistic mindsets can be a stumbling block. Even among the Christian students, there were not many willing to help lead the group. On top of this, the staff worker left at the end of 2022 and a replacement has not yet been found.
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But the Lord provided committed believers from other faculties who have stepped up to help lead. And because her group is one of only two cell groups at her university\u2019s central campus, it draws students from several different faculties.
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\u201cThe Lord has provided everything we need over the years,\u201d shared Natalie. \u201cEven to see just one person interested in knowing more about Jesus shows how he is using us to impact the university. In the end, everything comes from him; we do what we do because of him and for him.\u201d
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After the challenges of setting up her group, Natalie is looking forward to learning from other members of the IFES fellowship this August at World Assembly. There she will join approximately 1,000 students, graduates, faculty, staff, board members, and supporters from around the globe as they meet in Indonesia for IFES\u2019 quadrennial conference. They will experience teaching, study, worship, the arts, and fellowship, all focused on the theme of being resilient witnesses in the university and beyond.
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\u201cI am looking forward to meeting some of my brothers and sisters in faith from other parts of the world, especially those who may be experiencing persecution,\u201d says Natalie. \u201cI feel that this may help fuel my passion and efforts to share Jesus among my peers and encourage me to take of advantage of the opportunities I have in Panama to do so freely.\u201d
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\u201cI also hope to receive training in sharing the gospel effectively with any type of person I encounter at the university \u2013 something I often feel I lack.\u201d
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Trusting in the Lord\u2019s provision and the generosity of our supporters, IFES will provide scholarships for many attendees like Natalie at World Assembly 2023. These scholarships will ensure that World Assembly has a truly global voice, regardless of financial barriers. With this support, scholarship recipients can connect with the global fellowship, share their experiences, ideas, and testimonies at this transformative event, and return home freshly inspired and equipped to face the challenges of their context with increased resilience.
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Please pray with us for Natalie and for World Assembly:
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Pray for student leaders like Natalie in CEC Panama, that they would be guided by the Lord\u2019s wisdom and filled with courage to do his will in the university.
Pray for CEC Panama, that God would provide the right people and resources needed to continue his work. Pray especially for a new staff worker and for the training of new staff.
Pray that the Lord would use World Assembly 2023 to strengthen faithful, resilient witnesses of Jesus Christ, in the university, and beyond.
Pray that the Lord of the nations would provide the funds needed for World Assembly scholarships.
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If you want to help leaders like Natalie share their experiences and be better equipped at World Assembly, now\u2019s your chance. We\u2019re seeking to raise USD 37,500 for World Assembly scholarships over this year\u2019s Global Giving Day. You can donate here, learn more here, and follow the campaign on Facebook and Instagram for updates and more stories from scholarship applicants.
\n",
"content_text": "Word spread fast about the new cell group started by Natalie Jord\u00e1n in her faculty at the University of Panama, but not everyone was supportive. Nevertheless, Natalie was confident of God\u2019s continued provision and presence. \u201cEven though we sometimes fear what the future brings, God is present as a firm rock,\u201d she says.\n\n\n\nLast year, Natalie, a student leader with CEC Panama, set up the student group in the Faculty of Architecture and Design to provide a meeting space for fellowship, worship, and Bible study.\n\n\n\n\u201cIt was challenging because there hadn\u2019t been a Christian student group in the faculty for the last few decades, so there were many professors and administrators who were unaware of CEC and what we do,\u201d explains Natalie.\n\n\n\nIn addition, when more students heard about the group, Natalie learned how sceptical and atheistic mindsets can be a stumbling block. Even among the Christian students, there were not many willing to help lead the group. On top of this, the staff worker left at the end of 2022 and a replacement has not yet been found.\n\n\n\nBut the Lord provided committed believers from other faculties who have stepped up to help lead. And because her group is one of only two cell groups at her university\u2019s central campus, it draws students from several different faculties. \n\n\n\n\u201cThe Lord has provided everything we need over the years,\u201d shared Natalie. \u201cEven to see just one person interested in knowing more about Jesus shows how he is using us to impact the university. In the end, everything comes from him; we do what we do because of him and for him.\u201d\n\n\n\nAfter the challenges of setting up her group, Natalie is looking forward to learning from other members of the IFES fellowship this August at World Assembly. There she will join approximately 1,000 students, graduates, faculty, staff, board members, and supporters from around the globe as they meet in Indonesia for IFES\u2019 quadrennial conference. They will experience teaching, study, worship, the arts, and fellowship, all focused on the theme of being resilient witnesses in the university and beyond.\n\n\n\n\u201cI am looking forward to meeting some of my brothers and sisters in faith from other parts of the world, especially those who may be experiencing persecution,\u201d says Natalie. \u201cI feel that this may help fuel my passion and efforts to share Jesus among my peers and encourage me to take of advantage of the opportunities I have in Panama to do so freely.\u201d\n\n\n\n\u201cI also hope to receive training in sharing the gospel effectively with any type of person I encounter at the university \u2013 something I often feel I lack.\u201d \n\n\n\nTrusting in the Lord\u2019s provision and the generosity of our supporters, IFES will provide scholarships for many attendees like Natalie at World Assembly 2023. These scholarships will ensure that World Assembly has a truly global voice, regardless of financial barriers. With this support, scholarship recipients can connect with the global fellowship, share their experiences, ideas, and testimonies at this transformative event, and return home freshly inspired and equipped to face the challenges of their context with increased resilience. \n\n\n\nPlease pray with us for Natalie and for World Assembly:\n\n\n\nPray for student leaders like Natalie in CEC Panama, that they would be guided by the Lord\u2019s wisdom and filled with courage to do his will in the university.Pray for CEC Panama, that God would provide the right people and resources needed to continue his work. Pray especially for a new staff worker and for the training of new staff.Pray that the Lord would use World Assembly 2023 to strengthen faithful, resilient witnesses of Jesus Christ, in the university, and beyond. Pray that the Lord of the nations would provide the funds needed for World Assembly scholarships.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIf you want to help leaders like Natalie share their experiences and be better equipped at World Assembly, now\u2019s your chance. We\u2019re seeking to raise USD 37,500 for World Assembly scholarships over this year\u2019s Global Giving Day. You can donate here, learn more here, and follow the campaign on Facebook and Instagram for updates and more stories from scholarship applicants.\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\nThe post Natalie steps forward appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2023-04-18T07:26:00+01:00",
"date_modified": "2023-05-02T16:24:35+01:00",
"authors": [
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"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=conexion&p=20619",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/blog/creation-care-and-climate-crisis/",
"title": "Creation Care and Climate Crisis",
"content_html": "
\n
The United Nations annual conference on climate change, COP27, came and went this November. Hosted in Egypt, it was shrouded in controversy about human rights and overshadowed by other major political events. Its main achievement was a significant breakthrough for developing countries with the establishment of the loss and damage fund.
\n
\n\n
\n
The messiness of COP27 is the latest evidence that, when it comes to facing down the existential and catastrophic probabilities of the climate crisis, all of us keep getting it wrong. We can feel paralysed facing the huge scale of the problem. Equally, we often feel that climate change is somebody else\u2019s problem, and that it can be somebody else\u2019s priority. More immediately urgent demands and purposes loom large. But this short-sighted, individualistic approach isn\u2019t good enough. As Christians, we need to ask what God has to say about it.
\n
\n\n
\n
Engaging in climate issues could seem like a side project for IFES student movements, with a potentially dangerous distractive power from the urgency of the gospel. Particularly when our ministries encounter obstacles, putting effort and energy into this issue feels not only irrelevant, but irresponsible. How can we engage purposefully without feeling as though we are deviating to a different calling?
\n
\n\n
\n
The gospel is not a magic pill
\n
\n\n
\n
If engaging in climate issues feels like a deviation of focus, we haven\u2019t understood that this gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is bigger and fuller than we think. Our message is not a spiritual formula, or a magic pill that we want students to swallow. It is a call to realign with the truth about God, ourselves, and our world. It is a miraculous invitation to know the person, Jesus, who famously, \u201cturns the world upside down\u201d (Acts 17:6). When students are set free by saving grace, transformed in their standing before God, this renewal overflows into every area of life, including our characters, families, and ambitions. Jesus refuses to be boxed. If we make him Lord, the implications make themselves known. No reality is left untouched.
\n
\n\n
\n
In IFES, we strive to honour this in our commitment to equip students to participate fully in that vast cultural frontier: the university. Engaging the university is a core IFES value and the name of one of our Global Resource Ministries, which aim to provide various kinds of support to the national movements. We encourage students not to live in a kind of \u201choly huddle\u201d but bring their faith to the issues in the world around them. \u201cThriving in Whole-Life Commitment\u201d is one of the four priorities in the IFES strategic plan, and our vision is to see transformed students impact society for the glory of Christ. Across all disciplines, climate issues are an increasingly important part of that.
\n
\n\n
\n
Crucially, they are also integrated with some of the other existential problems that IFES students encounter academically and personally. The climate crisis is also a health crisis, as stakeholders globally are beginning to recognise. It is indivisible from problems of civic oppression and geopolitics, and it is, of course, already devastating the world\u2019s poorest people.
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A matter of witness, discipleship, and obedience
\n
\n\n
\n
As we strive to be salt and light (Matthew 15:13-16), a global movement of students who claim to follow Jesus, we cannot ignore the real impact on real people. We must also understand the injustice that the global North has perpetuated. Christians in the USA, the UK, and the European Union, in nations with the greatest cumulative culpability for ecological damage and carbon dioxide emissions, who are facing minimal consequences, cannot dismiss climate justice as too far away and too big. On current trends, parts of Africa and South Asia will become entirely unliveable in the coming decades due to climate change. We\u2019re a global student movement, and we\u2019re part of a global church. Our Biblical mandate is to care for all people, to champion justice, and to remember the suffering of brothers and sisters in Christ (Hebrews 13:3).
\n
\n\n
\n
This is also a matter of witness. Peter Harris, founder of A Rocha International, a network of Christian organisations dedicated to the conservation of nature, writes that inA Rocha\u2019s early days \u201cit was alarming to find not only that there were very few Christians working in environmental organisations, but that the typical narrative was that Christian thinking and practice were the prime culprits for environmental degradation.\u201d Harris was told by a prominent conservation leader that \u201cevangelical theology and unrestrained corporate behaviour were the two greatest threats to global biodiversity, and they frequently overlapped in the person of their leaders”.
\n
\n\n
\n
This embarrassing reputation, arising from an unbiblical neglect and exploitation of the natural world, needs to be relegated to the past, particularly in order to reach a student generation very aware of the climate crisis. A holistic methodology of engaging meaningfully both with Scripture and the issues in the university will equip students to reject both corporate greed and environmental apathy in their own decision-making, letting the gospel inform their approach to their careers, the natural world, and their accountability as global citizens.
\n
\n\n
\n
Recently the student group in Bratislava from VBH, the IFES movement in Slovakia, took to the streets in partnership with World Cleanup Day, a secular global initiative which began in Estonia. After cleaning in the streets, they held an event to discuss the signature of God in creation that we see in our surroundings. The idea was to help students praise God for his handiwork and honour him by caring for it. \u201cWe feel very strongly that God gave us the responsibility of being stewards on this earth,\u201d says Dominika, VBH staff worker. \u201cWe see how we have failed in this task.\u201d Repenting of our own selfish, careless exploitation, we can sing with the Psalmist \u201cthe earth is the Lord\u2019s, and everything in it\u201d (Psalm 24:1).
\n
\n\n
\n
\u201cAcknowledge him in all your ways\u201d (Proverbs 3:6)
The global nature of our fellowship makes the question of long-distance travel inevitably difficult. The pandemic made that all too evident, proving that we can function online yet making us feel the emotional and spiritual lack of real connection. There are important individual judgements to be made, and of course, alternatives are not always available. It is nevertheless refreshing to make good choices like this when opportunities come.
Guatemala is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. The premise of Johnny\u2019s project is that bringing into conversation Guatemalan students from different disciplines who know their theology will generate powerful solutions. Developing resources from these discussions can also help the efforts multiply. \u201cThe environmental crisis requires the involvement of different types of people, including academics from different disciplines, politicians, religious figures and citizens\u201d, says Johnny. \u201cThis is difficult to achieve in society, but a strength in IFES movements.\u201d
\n
\n\n
\n
Similarly, having founded Another Sound of Africa University, architect Johnny Ngunza is leading a project which takes a more focused approach to the same themes. His work tackles soil erosion in his city of Beni, a problem which not only hinders urban economic development, but leads to pollution, soil degradation, and habitat loss.
\n
\n\n
\n
Together with GBU students, Johnny is testing bioclimatic architecture and new construction, as well as ecological techniques. Workshops, conferences and training foster integration of theology with environmental questions. \u201cIn this development phase\u201d, says Johnny, \u201cthe floor is given to the students as they materialise the ideas they conceived during the innovation workshops. It is a joy for me to see them take ownership of the project and build on Biblical and scientific foundations to make concrete proposals.\u201d
\n
\n\n
\n\n
\n\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\n\n
\n
The gospel for a creation subject to frustration (Romans 8:20)
\n
\n\n
\n
As Johnny\u2019s project perfectly demonstrates, environmental issues are indivisible from economic problems, and both must be considered in order to witness with impact in our society.
\n
\n\n
\n
There is more to be done to improve our response to climate change, and a splintered, single-minded approach won\u2019t work. The Bible doesn\u2019t treat Jesus in that way. In Romans 8, Paul explains the incredible idea that the entire creation is redeemed through Christ; it is through Christ\u2019s victory that \u201cthe creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God\u201d (Romans 8:21).
\n
\n\n
\n
The story God tells is so much greater than our little purposes. In Colossians 1:16 we read that all things are created through and for the Son of God. A view of redemption which includes the very world we inhabit will not only motivate us to care about preserving what God has made for himself, but will give us deeper understanding of the gospel we present to students. Creation care is not a deviation from our purposes. It is an expansion of our knowledge of God and the depth of glory in which he calls us to join him.
\n",
"content_text": "The United Nations annual conference on climate change, COP27, came and went this November. Hosted in Egypt, it was shrouded in controversy about human rights and overshadowed by other major political events. Its main achievement was a significant breakthrough for developing countries with the establishment of the loss and damage fund. \n\n\n\nThe messiness of COP27 is the latest evidence that, when it comes to facing down the existential and catastrophic probabilities of the climate crisis, all of us keep getting it wrong. We can feel paralysed facing the huge scale of the problem. Equally, we often feel that climate change is somebody else\u2019s problem, and that it can be somebody else\u2019s priority. More immediately urgent demands and purposes loom large. But this short-sighted, individualistic approach isn\u2019t good enough. As Christians, we need to ask what God has to say about it. \n\n\n\nEngaging in climate issues could seem like a side project for IFES student movements, with a potentially dangerous distractive power from the urgency of the gospel. Particularly when our ministries encounter obstacles, putting effort and energy into this issue feels not only irrelevant, but irresponsible. How can we engage purposefully without feeling as though we are deviating to a different calling? \n\n\n\nThe gospel is not a magic pill \n\n\n\nIf engaging in climate issues feels like a deviation of focus, we haven\u2019t understood that this gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is bigger and fuller than we think. Our message is not a spiritual formula, or a magic pill that we want students to swallow. It is a call to realign with the truth about God, ourselves, and our world. It is a miraculous invitation to know the person, Jesus, who famously, \u201cturns the world upside down\u201d (Acts 17:6). When students are set free by saving grace, transformed in their standing before God, this renewal overflows into every area of life, including our characters, families, and ambitions. Jesus refuses to be boxed. If we make him Lord, the implications make themselves known. No reality is left untouched. \n\n\n\nIn IFES, we strive to honour this in our commitment to equip students to participate fully in that vast cultural frontier: the university. Engaging the university is a core IFES value and the name of one of our Global Resource Ministries, which aim to provide various kinds of support to the national movements. We encourage students not to live in a kind of \u201choly huddle\u201d but bring their faith to the issues in the world around them. \u201cThriving in Whole-Life Commitment\u201d is one of the four priorities in the IFES strategic plan, and our vision is to see transformed students impact society for the glory of Christ. Across all disciplines, climate issues are an increasingly important part of that. \n\n\n\nCrucially, they are also integrated with some of the other existential problems that IFES students encounter academically and personally. The climate crisis is also a health crisis, as stakeholders globally are beginning to recognise. It is indivisible from problems of civic oppression and geopolitics, and it is, of course, already devastating the world\u2019s poorest people. \n\n\n\nA matter of witness, discipleship, and obedience \n\n\n\nAs we strive to be salt and light (Matthew 15:13-16), a global movement of students who claim to follow Jesus, we cannot ignore the real impact on real people. We must also understand the injustice that the global North has perpetuated. Christians in the USA, the UK, and the European Union, in nations with the greatest cumulative culpability for ecological damage and carbon dioxide emissions, who are facing minimal consequences, cannot dismiss climate justice as too far away and too big. On current trends, parts of Africa and South Asia will become entirely unliveable in the coming decades due to climate change. We\u2019re a global student movement, and we\u2019re part of a global church. Our Biblical mandate is to care for all people, to champion justice, and to remember the suffering of brothers and sisters in Christ (Hebrews 13:3). \n\n\n\nThis is also a matter of witness. Peter Harris, founder of A Rocha International, a network of Christian organisations dedicated to the conservation of nature, writes that in A Rocha\u2019s early days \u201cit was alarming to find not only that there were very few Christians working in environmental organisations, but that the typical narrative was that Christian thinking and practice were the prime culprits for environmental degradation.\u201d Harris was told by a prominent conservation leader that \u201cevangelical theology and unrestrained corporate behaviour were the two greatest threats to global biodiversity, and they frequently overlapped in the person of their leaders”. \n\n\n\nThis embarrassing reputation, arising from an unbiblical neglect and exploitation of the natural world, needs to be relegated to the past, particularly in order to reach a student generation very aware of the climate crisis. A holistic methodology of engaging meaningfully both with Scripture and the issues in the university will equip students to reject both corporate greed and environmental apathy in their own decision-making, letting the gospel inform their approach to their careers, the natural world, and their accountability as global citizens. \n\n\n\nRecently the student group in Bratislava from VBH, the IFES movement in Slovakia, took to the streets in partnership with World Cleanup Day, a secular global initiative which began in Estonia. After cleaning in the streets, they held an event to discuss the signature of God in creation that we see in our surroundings. The idea was to help students praise God for his handiwork and honour him by caring for it. \u201cWe feel very strongly that God gave us the responsibility of being stewards on this earth,\u201d says Dominika, VBH staff worker. \u201cWe see how we have failed in this task.\u201d Repenting of our own selfish, careless exploitation, we can sing with the Psalmist \u201cthe earth is the Lord\u2019s, and everything in it\u201d (Psalm 24:1). \n\n\n\n\u201cAcknowledge him in all your ways\u201d (Proverbs 3:6) \n\n\n\nAt World Assembly in August 2023, we will give time to discuss the climate crisis. The speakers will be Ed Brown, Catalyst for Creation Care for the Lausanne Movement, and Founding Director of American environmental initiative Care of Creation, and Denise Thompson, Director of Black Scholars and Professionals for InterVarsity, the movement in the USA. We look forward to exploring the question with so many nations represented in person. \n\n\n\nAt the grassroots level, students and staff are integrating creation care into their activities. GBU, the movement in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), recently held a climate conference, discussing nuances of the \u201cdominion\u201d concept from Genesis 1. Louise is a staff worker from Ichtus, the Dutch-speaking movement in Belgium, who felt uncomfortable with the level of air travel that her work required. \u201cI made the choice to step up my game. By flying I would be doing the one thing I really didn\u2019t want to,\u201d she says. With the blessing of the movement, she took two days to travel to the recent FEUER gathering in Greece by train instead. \n\n\n\nThe global nature of our fellowship makes the question of long-distance travel inevitably difficult. The pandemic made that all too evident, proving that we can function online yet making us feel the emotional and spiritual lack of real connection. There are important individual judgements to be made, and of course, alternatives are not always available. It is nevertheless refreshing to make good choices like this when opportunities come. \n\n\n\nElsewhere in IFES, some are prioritising the integration of climate issues into student ministry even more deliberately. Two of the catalysts from Engaging the University\u2019s Logos and Cosmos Initiative (LCI) are tackling questions of climate: Johnny Ngunza from GBU DRC, and Johnny Patal, from GEU, the movement in Guatemala.\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGuatemala is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change. The premise of Johnny\u2019s project is that bringing into conversation Guatemalan students from different disciplines who know their theology will generate powerful solutions. Developing resources from these discussions can also help the efforts multiply. \u201cThe environmental crisis requires the involvement of different types of people, including academics from different disciplines, politicians, religious figures and citizens\u201d, says Johnny. \u201cThis is difficult to achieve in society, but a strength in IFES movements.\u201d \n\n\n\nSimilarly, having founded Another Sound of Africa University, architect Johnny Ngunza is leading a project which takes a more focused approach to the same themes. His work tackles soil erosion in his city of Beni, a problem which not only hinders urban economic development, but leads to pollution, soil degradation, and habitat loss. \n\n\n\nTogether with GBU students, Johnny is testing bioclimatic architecture and new construction, as well as ecological techniques. Workshops, conferences and training foster integration of theology with environmental questions. \u201cIn this development phase\u201d, says Johnny, \u201cthe floor is given to the students as they materialise the ideas they conceived during the innovation workshops. It is a joy for me to see them take ownership of the project and build on Biblical and scientific foundations to make concrete proposals.\u201d \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe gospel for a creation subject to frustration (Romans 8:20) \n\n\n\nAs Johnny\u2019s project perfectly demonstrates, environmental issues are indivisible from economic problems, and both must be considered in order to witness with impact in our society. \n\n\n\nThere is more to be done to improve our response to climate change, and a splintered, single-minded approach won\u2019t work. The Bible doesn\u2019t treat Jesus in that way. In Romans 8, Paul explains the incredible idea that the entire creation is redeemed through Christ; it is through Christ\u2019s victory that \u201cthe creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God\u201d (Romans 8:21). \n\n\n\nThe story God tells is so much greater than our little purposes. In Colossians 1:16 we read that all things are created through and for the Son of God. A view of redemption which includes the very world we inhabit will not only motivate us to care about preserving what God has made for himself, but will give us deeper understanding of the gospel we present to students. Creation care is not a deviation from our purposes. It is an expansion of our knowledge of God and the depth of glory in which he calls us to join him. \nThe post Creation Care and Climate Crisis appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2022-12-08T09:48:51+00:00",
"date_modified": "2023-03-02T20:07:36+00:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "Tim.Boland",
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{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=19459",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/from-beggar-to-beggar/",
"title": "From Beggar to Beggar",
"content_html": "
\n
\u201cEvangelism is simply one beggar telling another where he found his bread.\u201d
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\n\n
\n
That quote is a favourite of Daniela, a nursing student at UNAN, Managua and leader in CECNIC, the IFES student movement in Nicaragua. It\u2019s work that she treasures, and below, she explains some aspects that she holds especially dear. In this edition of Prayerline, let\u2019s pray with her that students in Nicaragua would come to Christ, and that God would equip CECNIC evangelists to share with their fellow students \u201cthe light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:4).
\n
\n\n
\n
\u201cEngaging hearts that Christ himself formed with tact and affability is a gift\u201d, says Daniela. \u201cYou must remember that each person you speak to is valuable in the eyes of Jesus. Praying with students helps us remember our identity as salt and light wherever we go, especially in the university, where we spend much of our time.\u2019\u2019 Accordingly, she encourages those in her movement to \u2018\u2019take the opportunity to reflect grace, love, and mercy.\u201d
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On Daniela\u2019s campus, CECNIC has created \u201cevangelism spaces\u201d which have been well received by their fellow students. While CECNIC members who volunteer in these spaces have a message to offer, theirs are not the only voices being heard. Rather, participants are invited to share something of themselves with the student evangelists. The evangelism spaces thus provide an opportunity for the evangelists to really listen to and understand the students who come and share something of themselves. \u201cI love that we meet a wide variety of people and really get to know them\u201d, reflects Daniela. \u201cWe talk about where they\u2019re from and what they\u2019re studying. We listen to them talk about their experiences over the semester, like which classes have been the most difficult, and we laugh together.\u201d
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\n\n
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So these evangelism spaces aren\u2019t only about having a message to tell. Their most compelling function is to help establish student to student dialogues. \u201cI identify with people\u201d, explains Daniela. The stories she hears echo her own student experiences. \u2018\u2019It’s wonderful to be able to understand them, venture to share those feelings with them, and tell them that the Father accompanies them on this beautiful, tired trip through university.\u201d Speaking this truth also serves as a reminder for Daniela. \u2018\u2019I pray for and with them, then ask what they\u2019d like us to keep in our prayers.\u2019\u2019 And when they say goodbye, Daniela is encouraged to see \u2018\u2019a smile on their face as they say thank you.\u201d
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Daniela doesn’t forget the people she meets. Along with the other students in her group, she prays for what they\u2019ve asked for, \u201cremembering that the Lord knows their lives, and that the names on paper are not just names\u201d; they are \u2018\u2019people who need to be strengthened through hugs in the form of prayers.\u201d
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Let\u2019s pray for Daniela, the student evangelism spaces at UNAN, and for CECNIC:
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\n\n
\n
Pray for each of the students who have shared their struggles and requests with Daniela and the rest of the team. Pray that through the faithful witness of their love, they would come to know Jesus for themselves, and \u201ccast all their anxieties on him because he cares\u201d for them (1 Peter 5:7).
Pray that the Holy Spirit would sustain and strengthen Daniela and other CECNIC students as they seek to reach broken lives by witnessing to the truth and light of the gospel.
Pray that God would continue to raise up godly student leaders and communities in Nicaragua, who can live for him at university and beyond.
\n",
"content_text": "\u201cEvangelism is simply one beggar telling another where he found his bread.\u201d \n\n\n\nThat quote is a favourite of Daniela, a nursing student at UNAN, Managua and leader in CECNIC, the IFES student movement in Nicaragua. It\u2019s work that she treasures, and below, she explains some aspects that she holds especially dear. In this edition of Prayerline, let\u2019s pray with her that students in Nicaragua would come to Christ, and that God would equip CECNIC evangelists to share with their fellow students \u201cthe light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:4). \n\n\n\n\u201cEngaging hearts that Christ himself formed with tact and affability is a gift\u201d, says Daniela. \u201cYou must remember that each person you speak to is valuable in the eyes of Jesus. Praying with students helps us remember our identity as salt and light wherever we go, especially in the university, where we spend much of our time.\u2019\u2019 Accordingly, she encourages those in her movement to \u2018\u2019take the opportunity to reflect grace, love, and mercy.\u201d \n\n\n\nOn Daniela\u2019s campus, CECNIC has created \u201cevangelism spaces\u201d which have been well received by their fellow students. While CECNIC members who volunteer in these spaces have a message to offer, theirs are not the only voices being heard. Rather, participants are invited to share something of themselves with the student evangelists. The evangelism spaces thus provide an opportunity for the evangelists to really listen to and understand the students who come and share something of themselves. \u201cI love that we meet a wide variety of people and really get to know them\u201d, reflects Daniela. \u201cWe talk about where they\u2019re from and what they\u2019re studying. We listen to them talk about their experiences over the semester, like which classes have been the most difficult, and we laugh together.\u201d \n\n\n\nSo these evangelism spaces aren\u2019t only about having a message to tell. Their most compelling function is to help establish student to student dialogues. \u201cI identify with people\u201d, explains Daniela. The stories she hears echo her own student experiences. \u2018\u2019It’s wonderful to be able to understand them, venture to share those feelings with them, and tell them that the Father accompanies them on this beautiful, tired trip through university.\u201d Speaking this truth also serves as a reminder for Daniela. \u2018\u2019I pray for and with them, then ask what they\u2019d like us to keep in our prayers.\u2019\u2019 And when they say goodbye, Daniela is encouraged to see \u2018\u2019a smile on their face as they say thank you.\u201d \n\n\n\nDaniela doesn’t forget the people she meets. Along with the other students in her group, she prays for what they\u2019ve asked for, \u201cremembering that the Lord knows their lives, and that the names on paper are not just names\u201d; they are \u2018\u2019people who need to be strengthened through hugs in the form of prayers.\u201d \n\n\n\nLet\u2019s pray for Daniela, the student evangelism spaces at UNAN, and for CECNIC: \n\n\n\nPray for each of the students who have shared their struggles and requests with Daniela and the rest of the team. Pray that through the faithful witness of their love, they would come to know Jesus for themselves, and \u201ccast all their anxieties on him because he cares\u201d for them (1 Peter 5:7). Pray that the Holy Spirit would sustain and strengthen Daniela and other CECNIC students as they seek to reach broken lives by witnessing to the truth and light of the gospel. Pray that God would continue to raise up godly student leaders and communities in Nicaragua, who can live for him at university and beyond. \nThe post From Beggar to Beggar appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2022-08-30T05:10:00+01:00",
"date_modified": "2024-08-13T15:07:42+01:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "Tim.Boland",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/tim-boland/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/2021787e4b2a866a6efcc474e3c84514.jpg?ver=1760274904"
}
],
"author": {
"name": "Tim.Boland",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/tim-boland/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/2021787e4b2a866a6efcc474e3c84514.jpg?ver=1760274904"
},
"image": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Nic-15.jpg"
},
{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=conexion&p=18402",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/blog/hope-exhaustion-and-mental-health/",
"title": "Hope, Exhaustion and Mental Health\u00a0",
"content_html": "
\n
Endless online meetings spent huddled around dark, over-familiar desk spaces became the sum of our experience. As the pandemic has worn on, students have become more and more burnt out.
\n
\n\n
\n
In Brazil, this became a big problem. When state governments began to introduce restrictions in March 2020, along with much of the rest of the world, students were at first eager to engage online. They soon found, however, when remote classes became the order of the day, that they had no healthy routine. Universities struggled to put together schedules, which became chaotic and, in some cases, didn\u2019t stop to give more than one week of holiday in the year.
\n
\n\n
\n
ABUB, the student movement in Brazil, did a lot of creative work in those months to keep students engaged and functioning. By the end of 2020, students were tired, and mentally and emotionally many were struggling. They were fighting, nonetheless. When a vaccine was approved in January 2021, students were full of hope, expecting to go back to in-person life soon. As it turned out, the vaccine wasn\u2019t available to students for eight long months. Many have now endured unbroken online study since March 2020. It\u2019s difficult to keep going when life seems so difficult, and there\u2019s no end in sight.
\n
\n\n
\n
Student Mental Health and ABUB
\n
\n\n
\n
ABUB has been engaging with student mental health in Brazil for a long time. In 1997, a university in Vi\u00e7osa, Mina Gerais, found a high rate of depression and suicidal tendencies among its students. Students from ABUB and the Evangelical Centre of Missions organised the first Hope Week in 1998. Since then this event has occurred biannually and has spread to several other universities. Students organise workshops, talks, debates, and Bible studies. They use art to engage with topics like racism, sustainability, social responsibility, and politics \u2013 but with a primary focus on mental health and the hope of Christ. The event went ahead online in 2021.
\n
\n\n
\n
Before the pandemic, ABUB students were also instrumental in helping their universities put together the official programs for the national annual suicide prevention campaign in Brazil, Yellow September. Staff worker Jessica reports that in 2019 contributing to this was one of the most popular student activities. Jessica points out that when all the ABUB students were surveyed in 2019 for the issues that were causing the most problems in their groups, \u2018the great majority answered with depression and mental health.\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
2021 research has found that 43% of students in Brazil thought about giving up their studies during the pandemic; 28% of male students and 40% of female students said their emotional state was \u2018bad\u2019 or \u2018horrible\u2019, 61% of young people aged 15-29 said that they suffer from anxiety, directly or indirectly because of the pandemic, 51% said they suffer from exhaustion, and 10% say the pandemic caused them to consider suicide.
\n
\n\n
\n
Be still and know that I am God
\n
\n\n
\n
By the beginning of 2021, staff were realising that the students really were burnt out. Not many groups had managed to renew their leadership in 2021, so many students had been in leadership for two years. They were feeling responsibility to stay in post, knowing that the pandemic had ensured that if they stepped down there would be no one to replace them. Whenever someone would muster an attempt to reinvigorate the student groups with a fresh initiative, explains Jessica, \u2018every new idea sounded like a weight on their shoulders.\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
Pablo, a staff worker in ABUB\u2019s East region, decided that their approach needed to change. He began to think of an expression that he had heard at a workshop in the IFES Southern Cone sub-regional training, something to the effect that \u2018a leader needs to lead people into the rhythm of life that God has established, and needs to know when to lead them to rest.\u2019 They would forget about new activities \u2013 and not ask the students for more enthusiasm. Instead, they would meet the students where they were. Before the pandemic, the student group would sometimes use the lectio divina method of reading the Bible \u2013 an approach that emphasises slow contemplation, rumination and prayer over analysis and exegesis. Jessica explains that while the Catholic and monastic associations of lectio divina mean that many evangelical churches in Brazil don\u2019t frame the concept in this way, she has found that students like it. Pablo explains that he uses the term \u2018prayerful Bible reading\u2019, which \u2018explains more easily what we were proposing\u2019.
\n
\n\n
\n
Lectio divina was potentially a great answer\u2013 but how to repackage it for the pandemic? More online meetings and labour-intensive initiatives weren\u2019t working, but Pablo and friend of ABUB Liz decided that to meet the moment they would produce lectio divina Bible studies as podcasts. Being able to listen in their own time, students could be given a tool to help them rest, refocus and be refreshed in Scripture. As Pablo puts it, \u2018the main point was to allow a period of rest from online activities without giving up spiritual growth\u2019 – and even that such a rest was essential to students\u2019 spiritual growth. Jessica remembers that the first episode made her break down in tears. \u2018I realised that I hadn\u2019t been resting at all on God myself.\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
Maria is a student who shares:
\n
\n\n
\n
\u2018Last year, students\u2019 hearts were all experiencing the same feeling of physical and mental exhaustion, dismay, and, even though we had all adapted to living online, there was always that feeling that something was missing. The podcast helped to bring reflections to the hearts who were really in need of rest. Students have said that it has really helped them. It gave us the perspective to remember that not everything is lost, but actually under God\u2019s control.
\n
\n\n
\n
\u2018After two years of remote classes, students can find hope by trusting that Jesus Christ is enough to help us continue walking on. Even if our eyes cannot see that. God continues to work in us. We have hope in using the skills God has given us to fulfil what he has called us to. The task of reaching every student for Jesus Christ needs to be fulfilled by those who are available, so may it be through us!\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
Burnout, Mental Health and the Gospel
\n
\n\n
\n
Mental health parallels physical health; one might have a chronic or severe mental health disorder just as one might have a chronic physical problem. Mental health problems can arise from specific life events, in the same way that accidents create physical injuries. And our physical health can fluctuate in all kinds of ways \u2013 often in relation to our lifestyle and environment. So too can mental health. Just as by not sleeping or eating enough you could exacerbate an existing health problem, create new ones, or simply start to feel unwell, mental health problems can arise when we are mentally and emotionally exhausted, lose perspective and become very stressed.
\n
\n\n
\n
The World Health Organisation defines mental health not merely as an absence of mental disorder, but \u2018a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.\u2019 Christians adjust this paradigm into what we know of the truths of Scripture \u2013 we don’t make seeking good mental health our gospel, nor do we over-spiritualise and neglect psychological and physiological factors. Many faithful and mature Christians still struggle with lifelong mental health issues. But as Christians we have additional resources to live with them. We have an ultimate security, an ultimate hope, an ultimate strength, and ultimate joy at our disposal. And when students burn out, from overworking, pandemics, or whatever else is thrown at them, leaving the new ideas and the initiatives behind and simply resting in what we already have in Christ is a powerful way to move forward and give God the glory.
\n
\n\n
\n
The over-brimming, peaceful-flourishing maximum capacity of supreme mental health is waiting for us in glory. As hymnwriter Augustus Toplady wrote, the \u2018glorified spirits in heaven\u2019 are \u2018more happy, but not more secure\u2019 than those still in this world. Jessica concurs, pointing out that \u2018when you have eternal hope, your focus changes. The question is, how can we put down roots into eternal life now?\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
You can listen to ABUB\u2019s (Portuguese) lectio divina podcasts here.
\n",
"content_text": "Endless online meetings spent huddled around dark, over-familiar desk spaces became the sum of our experience. As the pandemic has worn on, students have become more and more burnt out. \n\n\n\nIn Brazil, this became a big problem. When state governments began to introduce restrictions in March 2020, along with much of the rest of the world, students were at first eager to engage online. They soon found, however, when remote classes became the order of the day, that they had no healthy routine. Universities struggled to put together schedules, which became chaotic and, in some cases, didn\u2019t stop to give more than one week of holiday in the year. \n\n\n\nABUB, the student movement in Brazil, did a lot of creative work in those months to keep students engaged and functioning. By the end of 2020, students were tired, and mentally and emotionally many were struggling. They were fighting, nonetheless. When a vaccine was approved in January 2021, students were full of hope, expecting to go back to in-person life soon. As it turned out, the vaccine wasn\u2019t available to students for eight long months. Many have now endured unbroken online study since March 2020. It\u2019s difficult to keep going when life seems so difficult, and there\u2019s no end in sight. \n\n\n\nStudent Mental Health and ABUB \n\n\n\nABUB has been engaging with student mental health in Brazil for a long time. In 1997, a university in Vi\u00e7osa, Mina Gerais, found a high rate of depression and suicidal tendencies among its students. Students from ABUB and the Evangelical Centre of Missions organised the first Hope Week in 1998. Since then this event has occurred biannually and has spread to several other universities. Students organise workshops, talks, debates, and Bible studies. They use art to engage with topics like racism, sustainability, social responsibility, and politics \u2013 but with a primary focus on mental health and the hope of Christ. The event went ahead online in 2021. \n\n\n\nBefore the pandemic, ABUB students were also instrumental in helping their universities put together the official programs for the national annual suicide prevention campaign in Brazil, Yellow September. Staff worker Jessica reports that in 2019 contributing to this was one of the most popular student activities. Jessica points out that when all the ABUB students were surveyed in 2019 for the issues that were causing the most problems in their groups, \u2018the great majority answered with depression and mental health.\u2019 \n\n\n\n2021 research has found that 43% of students in Brazil thought about giving up their studies during the pandemic; 28% of male students and 40% of female students said their emotional state was \u2018bad\u2019 or \u2018horrible\u2019, 61% of young people aged 15-29 said that they suffer from anxiety, directly or indirectly because of the pandemic, 51% said they suffer from exhaustion, and 10% say the pandemic caused them to consider suicide. \n\n\n\nBe still and know that I am God \n\n\n\nBy the beginning of 2021, staff were realising that the students really were burnt out. Not many groups had managed to renew their leadership in 2021, so many students had been in leadership for two years. They were feeling responsibility to stay in post, knowing that the pandemic had ensured that if they stepped down there would be no one to replace them. Whenever someone would muster an attempt to reinvigorate the student groups with a fresh initiative, explains Jessica, \u2018every new idea sounded like a weight on their shoulders.\u2019 \n\n\n\nPablo, a staff worker in ABUB\u2019s East region, decided that their approach needed to change. He began to think of an expression that he had heard at a workshop in the IFES Southern Cone sub-regional training, something to the effect that \u2018a leader needs to lead people into the rhythm of life that God has established, and needs to know when to lead them to rest.\u2019 They would forget about new activities \u2013 and not ask the students for more enthusiasm. Instead, they would meet the students where they were. Before the pandemic, the student group would sometimes use the lectio divina method of reading the Bible \u2013 an approach that emphasises slow contemplation, rumination and prayer over analysis and exegesis. Jessica explains that while the Catholic and monastic associations of lectio divina mean that many evangelical churches in Brazil don\u2019t frame the concept in this way, she has found that students like it. Pablo explains that he uses the term \u2018prayerful Bible reading\u2019, which \u2018explains more easily what we were proposing\u2019. \n\n\n\nLectio divina was potentially a great answer\u2013 but how to repackage it for the pandemic? More online meetings and labour-intensive initiatives weren\u2019t working, but Pablo and friend of ABUB Liz decided that to meet the moment they would produce lectio divina Bible studies as podcasts. Being able to listen in their own time, students could be given a tool to help them rest, refocus and be refreshed in Scripture. As Pablo puts it, \u2018the main point was to allow a period of rest from online activities without giving up spiritual growth\u2019 – and even that such a rest was essential to students\u2019 spiritual growth. Jessica remembers that the first episode made her break down in tears. \u2018I realised that I hadn\u2019t been resting at all on God myself.\u2019 \n\n\n\nMaria is a student who shares: \n\n\n\n\u2018Last year, students\u2019 hearts were all experiencing the same feeling of physical and mental exhaustion, dismay, and, even though we had all adapted to living online, there was always that feeling that something was missing. The podcast helped to bring reflections to the hearts who were really in need of rest. Students have said that it has really helped them. It gave us the perspective to remember that not everything is lost, but actually under God\u2019s control. \n\n\n\n\u2018After two years of remote classes, students can find hope by trusting that Jesus Christ is enough to help us continue walking on. Even if our eyes cannot see that. God continues to work in us. We have hope in using the skills God has given us to fulfil what he has called us to. The task of reaching every student for Jesus Christ needs to be fulfilled by those who are available, so may it be through us!\u2019 \n\n\n\nBurnout, Mental Health and the Gospel \n\n\n\nMental health parallels physical health; one might have a chronic or severe mental health disorder just as one might have a chronic physical problem. Mental health problems can arise from specific life events, in the same way that accidents create physical injuries. And our physical health can fluctuate in all kinds of ways \u2013 often in relation to our lifestyle and environment. So too can mental health. Just as by not sleeping or eating enough you could exacerbate an existing health problem, create new ones, or simply start to feel unwell, mental health problems can arise when we are mentally and emotionally exhausted, lose perspective and become very stressed. \n\n\n\nThe World Health Organisation defines mental health not merely as an absence of mental disorder, but \u2018a state of well-being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.\u2019 Christians adjust this paradigm into what we know of the truths of Scripture \u2013 we don’t make seeking good mental health our gospel, nor do we over-spiritualise and neglect psychological and physiological factors. Many faithful and mature Christians still struggle with lifelong mental health issues. But as Christians we have additional resources to live with them. We have an ultimate security, an ultimate hope, an ultimate strength, and ultimate joy at our disposal. And when students burn out, from overworking, pandemics, or whatever else is thrown at them, leaving the new ideas and the initiatives behind and simply resting in what we already have in Christ is a powerful way to move forward and give God the glory. \n\n\n\nThe over-brimming, peaceful-flourishing maximum capacity of supreme mental health is waiting for us in glory. As hymnwriter Augustus Toplady wrote, the \u2018glorified spirits in heaven\u2019 are \u2018more happy, but not more secure\u2019 than those still in this world. Jessica concurs, pointing out that \u2018when you have eternal hope, your focus changes. The question is, how can we put down roots into eternal life now?\u2019 \n\n\n\nYou can listen to ABUB\u2019s (Portuguese) lectio divina podcasts here. \nThe post Hope, Exhaustion and Mental Health\u00a0 appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2022-03-24T06:28:00+00:00",
"date_modified": "2022-03-23T15:42:56+00:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604"
}
],
"author": {
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
"avatar": "https://ifesworld.org/wp-content/litespeed/avatar/3021a3e3433971d777b4933267a9b6db.jpg?ver=1760286604"
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{
"id": "https://ifesworld.org/?post_type=prayerline&p=18106",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/prayerline/because-he-first-loved-us-visiting-a-childrens-home/",
"title": "Because he first loved us: visiting a children\u2019s home",
"content_html": "
\n
Koinonia, the student movement in Cuba, have been demonstrating the love of Jesus to a broken world.
\n
\n\n
\n
Gretel is a student leader in the city of Sancti Sp\u00edritus. Her student group found an opportunity to reach out to a local children\u2019s home. The students wanted to show God\u2019s love to the 20 children living there, all between the ages of 4 and 12, who had no parents to care for them. But it was the first time they had done anything like this.
\n
\n\n
\n
While the idea felt \u2018super crazy,\u2019 Gretel explains how the Lord opened the doors for them. \u2018In the middle of the pandemic,\u2019 she reflects, \u2018I don\u2019t know how, but we had the same feeling. We wanted to show the love that God has for people. This idea couldn\u2019t have come at a better time, when grief from the pandemic was at its peak, and many people were going through real storms.\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
The students decided to bring some toys and gifts for the children. They also put on a play for them, exploring the theme of Christian love.
\n
\n\n
\n
Gretel testifies to a real feeling that God was with them and working through them in the lives of the children. She shares that \u2018there was not a single day, not a single hour, not a single minute, not even a second that we did not see the mighty hand of our Father in heaven. It wasn\u2019t as easy as it may seem. But for God nothing is impossible. We knocked on the doors and they opened wide. Students who planned, coordinated, prayed, and put everything into the Lord\u2019s hands from a distance were a blessing to beautiful children who have not had the opportunity to know the gospel, in a place where affection, joy, and genuine love is always welcome.
\n
\n\n
\n
\u2018We were blessed, too. I know I speak for everyone; there is no explanation for what we experienced. That fullness that we felt. God is good! And God wants us to demonstrate his love to others, just as he has demonstrated it to us. Do not hesitate to do crazy things for the kingdom of God. God will support those blessed and glorious adventures. You will see that he not only accepts you unconditionally, but he accepts others \u2013 just as we saw it.\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
Gretel signs off with a prayer and a challenge; \u2018May we be Christ\u2019s adventurers!\u2019
\n
\n\n
\n
Pray for Koinonia in Cuba:
\n
\n\n
\n
Pray that the students in Sancti Sp\u00edritus will be able to continue building relationships with the children they met; and that these relationships will impact the children. Pray that it will point them to Jesus, and they will be adopted into sonship (Ephesians 1:5), children of God, co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).
Pray that Koinonia students will continue to demonstrate God\u2019s love to those around them throughout their lives.
Pray for Koinonia to continue to grow and flourish, even in the difficult times caused by the pandemic.
\n",
"content_text": "Koinonia, the student movement in Cuba, have been demonstrating the love of Jesus to a broken world. \n\n\n\nGretel is a student leader in the city of Sancti Sp\u00edritus. Her student group found an opportunity to reach out to a local children\u2019s home. The students wanted to show God\u2019s love to the 20 children living there, all between the ages of 4 and 12, who had no parents to care for them. But it was the first time they had done anything like this. \n\n\n\nWhile the idea felt \u2018super crazy,\u2019 Gretel explains how the Lord opened the doors for them. \u2018In the middle of the pandemic,\u2019 she reflects, \u2018I don\u2019t know how, but we had the same feeling. We wanted to show the love that God has for people. This idea couldn\u2019t have come at a better time, when grief from the pandemic was at its peak, and many people were going through real storms.\u2019 \n\n\n\nThe students decided to bring some toys and gifts for the children. They also put on a play for them, exploring the theme of Christian love. \n\n\n\nGretel testifies to a real feeling that God was with them and working through them in the lives of the children. She shares that \u2018there was not a single day, not a single hour, not a single minute, not even a second that we did not see the mighty hand of our Father in heaven. It wasn\u2019t as easy as it may seem. But for God nothing is impossible. We knocked on the doors and they opened wide. Students who planned, coordinated, prayed, and put everything into the Lord\u2019s hands from a distance were a blessing to beautiful children who have not had the opportunity to know the gospel, in a place where affection, joy, and genuine love is always welcome. \n\n\n\n\u2018We were blessed, too. I know I speak for everyone; there is no explanation for what we experienced. That fullness that we felt. God is good! And God wants us to demonstrate his love to others, just as he has demonstrated it to us. Do not hesitate to do crazy things for the kingdom of God. God will support those blessed and glorious adventures. You will see that he not only accepts you unconditionally, but he accepts others \u2013 just as we saw it.\u2019 \n\n\n\nGretel signs off with a prayer and a challenge; \u2018May we be Christ\u2019s adventurers!\u2019 \n\n\n\nPray for Koinonia in Cuba: \n\n\n\nPray that the students in Sancti Sp\u00edritus will be able to continue building relationships with the children they met; and that these relationships will impact the children. Pray that it will point them to Jesus, and they will be adopted into sonship (Ephesians 1:5), children of God, co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). Pray that Koinonia students will continue to demonstrate God\u2019s love to those around them throughout their lives. Pray for Koinonia to continue to grow and flourish, even in the difficult times caused by the pandemic. \nThe post Because he first loved us: visiting a children\u2019s home appeared first on IFES.",
"date_published": "2022-03-01T06:23:00+00:00",
"date_modified": "2022-03-08T10:34:33+00:00",
"authors": [
{
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
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"author": {
"name": "admin",
"url": "https://ifesworld.org/en/author/admin/",
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