AFES Partnership Letter
Dear Partners in the Gospel,
I would like to invite you to consider partnering in the great commission to make disciples of all nations and to teach them in the ways of Jesus.
You may have already heard about what has been happening with the University Fellowship of Christians at UTAS in Launceston, but if not, I would like to share a bit about the ministry and what God has done through it since it started 6 years ago.
What is AFES?
The Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students is a national movement that,
In prayerful dependence on God, AFES proclaims Jesus Christ at university to present everyone mature in Him, by building student groups that evangelise, encourage, train and send.
Since its roots in 1930, it has grown to serve students in over 60 campuses around Australia to achieve this mission. Each student group is supported by staff workers who seek to guide, train, disciple, and encourage students to grow in their own faith and be ready for evangelism on campus.
What does that look like in Launceston?
The campus in Newnham although quite large spanning nearly a kilometre in length, is actually quite a small university, student-population-wise. The environment is usually fairly quiet during the day as students come in for tutorials and workshops while doing lectures online. UTAS attracts many international students who are often living in on-campus accommodation.
Currently, there is a transition in moving the whole university closer to the city at Inveresk. The plan is to have the final building finished and staff and students relocated by 2024.
In Launceston, we call the group Uni Fellowship, named after the group in Hobart. It is still quite a young ministry and has grown and adapted during the unpredictable past few years. This has also been overseen by a variety of different people over this time.
At the moment there are roughly about 12 keen students who meet together regularly, through weekly Bible groups, Monday nights for training and prayer, as well as social gatherings throughout the semester.
Due to our local distinctiveness, most of our evangelism efforts are done relationally, by encouraging the students to invite their friends and classmates to read the gospel of Mark with them. We also hold stalls and outreach events to connect with the wider university community.
Although this year has been another challenging year of rebuilding our community in a semi-online environment, by God’s grace we have seen one international student come to faith! There are also two others who are currently seeking Jesus. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ as saviour and Lord to them soon.
My role with AFES
Over the past two years during my MTS apprenticeship, I have had the privilege to help oversee the group 1 day a week as part of my training supported by The Branch Christian Church. This has been both a blessing for me in gaining more experience in ministry and also for the students to help them continue to meet together around the Bible and to keep a focus on evangelism.
Much of my time so far has been spent meeting with the student leaders, organising training and meeting one-to-one with a few of the students.
Although very grateful, I have always found the single day each week that I have been given to support this work somewhat limiting and only just enough to keep the group going. I am hoping that doubling my time on campus will provide greater support for the students to grow the ministry by spending more time discipling individuals and providing relevant training to equip them to confidently share the gospel with their friends and classmates.
I know university was a significant time for me as a Christian when I was a student. Being part of the Christian student group, put me in a community that encouraged me to grow in my relationship with God through the Bible and prayer but also finding joy to share the hope of the gospel with those who have not met Jesus yet.
This is the same hope I have for the students, that while they study and prepare themselves for the future, they will first seek to glorify God with the life they have been given. It is also the mission of AFES, that they will be equipped and trained to serve him, as they are sent out to wherever he leads them after Uni.
How can you partner in God’s work at UTAS?
To allow AFES student groups like Uni Fellowship to keep growing and expanding in their reach of making Christ known to the university, prayer and financial support are needed.
I would like to invite you to please prayerfully consider if you would be able to generously make a regular pledge of $25/$50/$100/$200 per month or another amount as you feel led. One-off contributions are also very welcome.
You can do this through the AFES donation portal at support.afes.org.au and then by searching for my name.
If now isn't a good time for you to support me in this way, please consider subscribing to my prayer newsletter at cameronclifford.com/partner so you can continue to pray for me and the university ministry. It is only through your prayers and God's grace that he continues to carry out his good will in these students' lives.
Please also reach out to me if you have any questions or want to hear more about the ministry. I’m always more than happy to meet for coffee or organise a phone call to chat about it.
Yours in Christ’s service,
Cameron Clifford