Are we looking to welcome all the students to our towns or just hoping a few Christian ones join our church?

In the autumn, over 100,000 students will descend on Manchester for freshers week. In Portsmouth, it will be 21,000 and in Swansea it will be 14,000. How many students will arrive in your town? 

About a third of these students will be arriving as freshers - new to your town. They will be settling in your location for about three years and very quickly it will become home to them. 

Imagine if all the churches near your university responded to this influx of young people by overtly welcoming them. What would that look like? How could it be done? Banners across the roads saying “The church welcomes students!”? A massive welcome beach party for freshers? Host a freshers ball in the cathedral? Who knows what it could look like if we begin to dream big?

Let’s broaden our vision to see all the students. Students are just people. There are thousands of people arriving in your city! Sure, some of them will be Christians and might join your church. Some of them might not be Christians and might meet Jesus through your welcome. And some of them might not become a Christian or join your church but will always remember the welcome they received from an inclusive, generous and kind church. 

The church leaders in any location are the spiritual guardians and key holders in that place. Let’s step up and be door holders to the city and welcomers to the Kingdom. 

Read the 5 awkward truths for church leaders

Truth 1 - You don't invest enough in reaching students

Truth 2 - You think students are too young for "proper" leadership

Truth 3 - You are only interested in Christian students, not all students

Truth 4. Your students need to be in and leading non-Christian societies

Truth 5. Everything is better when students are discipled in the local church

These blogs are generalisations. The truths I have stated might not be true in your church. My objective is to provoke and inspire rather than accuse or discourage. Apologies if I haven’t got that balance right.