Tag Archives: student ministry

Art & Word: A Creative Dialogue

Since 2016, CECE Ecuador has been looking for ways of intentionally promoting spaces and processes to create a dialogue between faith and art. These spaces have happened at national camps, Student Formación events and as an integral part of the Bible study resources that are used every semester on campus. The main goal is to establish a dialogue between a passage of Scripture and visual art, so that God’s Word becomes more real and changes students’ lives. This can happen by creating their own art as a response to the text or reflecting on someone else’s work of art. We noticed that it was important, and that many students needed this dialogue and to incorporate faith and art into their lives. We also realised that, for some people, visual elements are key when they engage with Scripture, as well as reading the text out loud.

We also aim to offer training in art and faith, to reflect God’s character as Creator and to place our art in God’s great story and the reconciliation of all of creation.

During the pandemic we organised several workshops and presented an online exhibition created by students, on a dialogue with Deuteronomy. Other workshops that we organised included themes such as the art of creating, artist’s vocation, justice and art, and a celebration of Advent by integrating elements of art and liturgy.

We also want to pique people’s curiosity and encourage conversations with students who are not Christians. We want to use art to create spaces where you can engage with the gospel, not only by hearing but also seeing. It has been great to see artists of different abilities taking part in this dialogue, and to see the impact it has had on their lives as a result of the dialogue between Scripture and their art.

Here are two examples of visual art created as a dialogue between two passages of Scripture in Acts and Deuteronomy. We are also giving you the link to our website (in Spanish), where you can learn more about this creative process with a theological approach, from the point of view of university students.

Artist: Kerly Cando

Title: La Verdadera Iglesia (The True Church)

Bible passage in the dialogue: Acts 10, during CECE’s National Camp in March 2021

Link: here

Artwork made by the students, presenting Jesus at the table with many people dressed in local cultural costumes, with children, and a person in a wheelchair

Artist: Juan Esteban Vásquez

Title: Tierra de Todos (Everyone’s Land)

Bible passage in the dialogue: Deuteronomy 23, after the Student Formación Event in September 2020

Link: here

Image with a black background, with points of light drawing: a starry sky, the silhouette of a woman, on the left some things thrown away, on the ground, and on the right the image of the interior of a temple

Ruth Tobar, Pastoral staff worker and member of the CECE Faith & Art Dialogue Team.

Experiencing Transformation

written by Daniel, a student from Timor Leste

How can we change our old ways of living to that of new ways? Our efforts will not be sufficient to defeat darkness. Even more so if we have memories that will not let us go until we die. I struggled with such memories that haunted me.

As I witnessed fellow friends deciding to follow God fully, I also felt inspired to do so. At the same time, I felt an inner hunger and emptiness; I felt like I was about to drown. One night, I began to desire reading the Word of God. As I walked down the street that night, I reached a crossroad, and I turned in the direction of a staff’s house. I asked him if we can study the Word together and he gladly accepted. Our journey of studying the whole of Luke’s Gospel took us around five months.

Throughout the study I was inspired by the character of Jesus and how people’s lives were changed after encountering him. I saw how Jesus restores dignity in people – like when he healed the blind. I also saw how these people were truly moved by what Jesus did to them. What made a strong impression on me is that Jesus came from above to live a simple life among others. He did not choose to live like a performing magician. I learned that the key to transformation in my life is to have FAITH in Jesus.

Reading Luke’s gospel changed my way of thinking. I understood that life is not just about knowing God in our head but also knowing him in our heart. I learned to open up my life for Jesus to fill me and shine his light in me. I also began to realize that it would be unfair to keep quiet about what the Holy Spirit had done in me.

I started to notice friends around me with the same hunger to read the Word; the topic of life and God kept popping up in our conversations and on social media. So we gladly decided to form a small Bible study group. I have seen changes in my friends – they have new values in life and see life differently than they did in their old ways of living.

As I know Christ more, Jesus is helping to sort through the baggage that I accumulated from my past by sweeping them under the carpet. It is a sweet and painful experience. Although it is a painful, I know Christ is with me and this process is necessary to live a righteous life. It is like an ongoing work in progress with Jesus until the day I meet him. I call this process: “transformation is not just about change but construction”.

testimony translated from Tetun language

The Bible and Mental Health

Imagine your friend tells you that she wants to kill herself, tonight. Imagine the despair you can see in her eyes. It’s clear: she no longer wants to live. Silence fills the room. What do you say? What can you do?

New Zealand has a very high youth suicide rate. It is twice as high as that of the United States, and five times higher than that of Britain. For many students, the above is not a hypothetical scenario but a real conversation they have had.

This reality became apparent as I trained students in evangelism last year. While we went through the content of the gospel and how we can share it, their insecurity in relating to friends living with depression and anxiety became apparent. They saw the importance of coming alongside them in their suffering, but was the gospel what they now needed? How could it be good news to them?

I realized that there were two needs. Firstly, students need to develop a ‘Christian lens’ from the Bible through which to see mental illnesses. Secondly, students also need to understand what anxiety and depression is and looks like. This will enable them to better love and share the gospel with those around them, to the glory of God. So the training event ‘The Bible and Mental Health’ was birthed.

Tim Capill, a pastor in Christchurch, came and gave us a biblical overview on the origin and solution to our suffering. Based on Psalm 139, he also spoke on six truths we can hold on to about God whilst we suffer. It was a brilliant talk that provided a solid biblical framework on suffering and, in particular, how we can trust God through depression and anxiety.

Dana Lee – a Christian psychologist specializing in youth and trauma also came and ran two seminars focusing on what clinical depression and anxiety look like. We practised in pairs with scenarios focusing particularly on our listening skills.

It was an event with a great turn out: over 50 students came to be equipped. As the organizer, I am encouraged to see that these students now have a better understanding and more compassion for those suffering with depression and anxiety. They have also become more confident that the deepest need of these friends is the same as that of anyone of us: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Candy Grice, staff worker with TSCF New Zealand
CandyG@tscf.org.nz

Book recommendation (by Sabine Kalthoff, IFES Secretary for Scripture Engagement): Mark Meynell, When Darkness seems my Closest Friend – Reflections on life and ministry with depression. The honest account of a personal journey with very helpful general reflections. A worthwhile read.

A Valuable Training and Mission Resource

“The Word Among Us” is a very valuable resource that we have used as part of our training for new student leaders in Jalisco. This booklet has helped students to have stronger convictions regarding Scripture and to love the Bible more. It has also encouraged and challenged them to live out their faith according to Scripture, and it has encouraged them to trust in the power and impact of God’s Word.

Isaac was one of the first students who started to explore the six main aspects of Scripture Engagement that we find in this resource. As a result, I could see how Isaac would reflect more in depth about his personal life and his relationship with God’s Word, and in a natural way he could see the relevance and importance of doing mission at university. He also felt more confident and motivated to do it.

The questions on page 27 of “The Word Among Us” also helped us to invite new students to our Bible studies on campus. We ask them if they are fine with us asking them a few questions, and when they say yes we start by asking, “Have you had any contact with the Bible?”. If so, “where and when?”. Many people say yes, but when we ask a few more questions they end up realising that they actually know very little about the Bible, and when they acknowledge this they are open to learning more about it. At this point we invite them to the Bible study on campus. Many people agree to come and others say they might come sometime.

This is how we met Monica, a biology student. She agreed to come to our Bible study after we interviewed her using the questions on page 27. That day we looked at Mark 2:13-17, which is about how Jesus calls Levi. Monica was very enthusiastic and took part in the session. She went home happy and came back the following week. She started attending regularly throughout the whole semester and we have been able to get to know her better over this time.

It is our responsibility as staff workers to equip students to carry out our mission and help them to engage with Scripture. This is why we use this valuable resource, “The Word Among Us”, when we equip new student leaders.

Rosa Angélica Ramírez Blanco
Staff worker in Jalisco
Compañerismo estudiantil

A Message of Transformation

My name is O.F.S. and I’m a Bible group coordinator in Nicaragua. 2018 and 2019 have been crucial years of change and surprises for me, my country and our student movement. What has happened in Nicaragua over the past two years? In April 2018 students marched to protest the lack of measures to deal with forest fires in an important reserve in our country. A few days later, a law to reform the public health service came out, which affected minority groups, and hundreds of people took to the streets to demand justice. What followed were days of violence, death and repression by the government. Since these events, human rights organisations have reported many deaths, people have been exiled and hundreds of others have disappeared.

Universities were closed for eight months, the country came to a standstill, people became desperate and in our groups many were asking questions – how can we offer hope in our context? And how can we continue the student work if the universities are closed?

I returned home feeling anxious, looking for answers and facing the challenge of continuing our mission; so I decided to meet up with some friends and young people from church and read the Bible together. This gave us strength and meaning in the midst of so much pain and suffering. We used the booklet called “The Word Among Us” and tools like “Writing a Psalm”. It was a liberating experience and our spirituality was really challenged. We were sorry we weren’t engaging with our community because the situation was so delicate, and we felt powerless because we weren’t helping our neighbours enough. As we tried to express our whirlwind of thoughts and examine them in the light of Scripture, we felt peace as we poured out our hearts to God and to one other. This helped us to experience a kind of faith that we should put into action thanks to Scripture engagement, and it showed us how prayer also calls you into action.

I was in exile. But I returned to my country because I want to be salt and light in this moment in time and because I believe that if we change the university we’ll change Nicaragua and we’ll change the world, because we should continue to proclaim the prophetic message of our God of true PEACE, JUSTICE AND LOVE. I realised that where there was a student, there was student work to be done. Our movement continues to embrace this belief, the call to be defenders of justice and ambassadors of faith. This is our commitment and it is only through Jesus Christ that we can change our reality and our country.

We cling with all our hearts to the redeeming hope that we find in Jesus!

At the table

There have been a number of ‘wow’ moments that have dramatically changed my life, especially regarding the way I view God and ministry. One such moment was the 2007 IFES World Assembly in Canada. The Bible expositions from the Gospel of Luke by Peter Kuzmic (Croatia), Jacques Buchhold (France) and Ziel Machado (Brazil) were soul-searching and very challenging. Ziel Machado’s first exposition stood out for me and at the same time took a strong grip on my heart. I could not let go of it until I put it into practice. Ziel Machado reflected on where ministry is done: the table as a place of acceptance, community and kindness; contrasting it to the desk, a place of business, achievements and success.

It was so challenging to me personally as I reflected on how I was involved in ministry. Was I doing it at the table or from my desk? At that time, I had served for four years as staff worker in my national movement, the Student Christian Organization of Malawi (SCOM). At that point, ten more years of service were ahead of me. God spoke to me so clearly that student ministry was to be done at the table, where students should feel welcomed, where they could be built into strong communities of believers, and as a way to take Christ to their universities. This changed how I was involved in student ministry. I took this Word from God in a literal way and opened my home to students, transforming the table of my home into a place of ministry. Countless students have eaten at this table: it became a place of discipleship and evangelism to so many young people.

At my home’s table, students who were struggling academically got confidence and performed better. Around it, Christ revealed Himself to many students and gave them a purpose for living. At this table, broken relationships have been restored. It was at that table where students have found life partners. Gathered around the table, students have learnt from Christ. At my family table, students have seen the frailty of our humanity and the sufficiency of God’s grace through interacting with my wife, our son, and myself, engaging with God’s Word and allowing it to bring amazing fruits in our lives. The Word of God must always be allowed to move from the head to the heart, then to the hands and feet: that is when we experience genuine transformation.

Duncan Chiyani, EPSA Associate Regional Secretary for Southern Africa