As the Church in the UK continues to haemorrhage students and young adults it is time to take a fresh look at the five biggest battlegrounds that contest their faith. If we can identify the battles and prescribe both preventative and remedial action to the massive cultural challenges, rather than just surviving these years we can sow new seeds of revival for the coming decade.

Summer is nearly over and with the start of term just over a month away, it's time to start thinking about freshers again. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

We have had hundreds of Freshers registering to be a part of this year's Studentlinkup.  They will be coming to a uni near you this Autumn and if you are a Fusion Connection church you can contact them now.

Watch this short video from Miriam Swaffield. It is a poem about starting university.

UCAS, clearing, university, places available, stress, hopes, uncertainty, fear. These are all words that are being used a lot in homes around the UK. There is a great deal of confusion about university places. More young people have attained the required grades than the number of places. By some margin in fact. Click here for more info...

Let's stand and pray with the individuals and families who are affected by this difficult situation. There is already a considerable amount of stress anyway at such an important life transition.

It may be helpful to remember that Jesus is in the tough stuff with us and he is waiting for us on the other side too. He knows where we will be in the autumn and he knows who we will be doing that with. Keep focused on Him, the Good Shepherd, during times of uncertainty as there is no safer place to focus.

Tearfund’s Emerging Generation Team is mega excited about this year’s Journey!  Its going to be an action packed few days, filled with worship, teaching, ministry, stories, seminars, discussions, time for chilling out and meeting new people… and all of it with the aim of catching more of God’s heart for justice, allowing him to inspire and equip us to make a real difference in this world.  With guests including Andy Flannagan, 24-7’s Andy Freeman and more… we’re set for the ride of our lives, so don’t miss out!

We work relationally at every level of the Fusion network. It is our belief that to outwork the purposes of Fusion we will need a network of individuals and churches that are connected on a heart-level. 

Chloe will be blogging for us every now and then in the weeks before she starts university.  We hope that  her experiences/thoughts/excitments/fears as she prepares for uni will help others in the same position!

The steady fragmentation of the community and breakdown of the family has had its effect on university culture. 

Here are three steps that will ensure you are sending the school leavers in your church to university well prepared for the life they are about to go into.