Kickstarting the Year!

It's been a while since I last updated you, but we can definitely say that the university year is now well underway. For most students, it is their seconde week, with most of their tutorials starting this week.

Just being at the Inveresk campus this week I continue to have an optimistic view of student presence increasing. The library is close to bursting at its seams with more faculties having moved over to the new campus. Here is a photo from around lunchtime, as some start to make use of the main walkway to sit and socialise. Others are moving to and from their classes. Activity often dwindles later in the semester but let's hope this sticks around for a bit longer!

Main walkway at Inveresk

The new year has also opened another building connected to one of the arts studios. It includes a large multi-purpose space. Instantly it gives me ideas of how we might be able to use it for some events later in the year, like our Meet Jesus mission.

Multi-purpose space

Lecture theatre

Kickstart Discussion Groups

Kickstart is a key day we run before the semester begins. It has the aim of connecting new students, providing Bible teaching, and sharing our vision and purpose for the group.

This is the second year we have run it and it seems to resonate well with many of the students. Of the 14 who showed up on the day, 4 were new and most of them have also come to other events recently. Spending a whole day together speeds up the time it takes to build good relationships and sets us up well for the rest of the semester.

C&S Day Stall

Clubs and Societies Day this year was a mixed bag but somewhat promising. While we got fewer contacts than normal, I was pleased with how the student union (TUSA) organised the event. The staff were very responsive and attentive during the day. Realising they planned too big, they shrunk the size of the event and moved us and others closer to the action, rather than way off in the distance where we were initially placed. It was also encouraging to see the TUSA Northern President being freed up to visit each stall, introduce herself and check we know how they can assist us. This makes societies feel supported and heard and should be a normal practice. A good example of servant-hearted leadership. You can't serve anyone if you don't know who they are.

To start the semester we have also had our first Fellowship Dinner and Monday Muster. Overall through these contact points, we have connected with around 10 new students. We pray most of them will quickly find themselves attending Bible Groups each week.

Over the summer it has been wonderful visiting many of your churches and sharing more widely of the work that God has been doing. Last year I mentioned that I was intending to increase my time to 2.5 days a week. By God's grace, he has provided through your generosity. It has been a blessing not to have to worry about finding extra financial support and can spend more time on the ground preparing for the semester.