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CHRISTIAN LIFE
PEOPLE IN RUCU
There are a great number of opportunities for people to be involved in the running of RUCU. Whilst we realise we live and stand by the grace of God alone, he uses people in order to make himself known. It is encouraging to see students willing to get stuck-in in aiming to fulfil the vision of RUCU and without these people RUCU would cease to exist. And what a privilege it is that we can serve the creator of the universe in this way.
The main areas of involvement in RUCU are:
Evangelism Team
Cell leaders (in halls)
Publicity Team
International Team
Worship Teams
WHY DO EVANGELISM?
Christians are called to tell everyone about the good news we have in Jesus Christ. As a CU we are desperate to tell as many people we can about Jesus. Why do we do it? Well...
1. For God's glory (Revelation 4:11, Isaiah 43:6-7)
We want to tell people about Jesus so they praise God, giving him glory for what he has done.
2. To fulfil God’s will (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Peter 3:9)
Jesus commands us to go and tell people in every nation about him.
3. Out of love for non-Christians (Mark 10:21, 1 Thessalonians 2:8)
When we recognise how amazing God’s grace is towards us, we want others to know about it too. We don’t want anyone to miss out on the most astounding of all gifts. We want to explain to others what we believe because we know it to be true.
As a CU we want to be active in Evangelism, telling other students of the amazing truth we know and hope they can have in Jesus Christ. We want them to be able to know God's love for themselves and the new life they can have through Jesus Christ.
CHURCHES- WHY?
Christian Union is a mission team on campus, it is there to reach out to the places where church can’t so easily reach. It is important to remember that CU is definitely not a church or a substitute for church. Therefore, it is imperative that students go to church whilst at university. How amazing it is that God puts us in a church community to worship him together, to get support and discipleship in becoming more like Jesus, to spend time together and to work together in making Jesus known (amongst other things). Every Christian has a part to play in this exciting prospect (body of Christ), which is a very different role to what CU does. It has to be said that if you were to choose between Church and CU you should choose Church every time. However, why would you not want to get involved in making disciples of Jesus Christ at Reading University as well? It is so encouraging that we are able to do this and it is an opportunity not to be missed.
CHURCHES IN READING
There are many good churches in Reading that are worth visiting. As a CU we have particular links with 6 of these, who advise us and who have students in attendance year upon year. Below are the 6 with a link to their websites for you to look into yourselves:
Carey Baptist Church - careybaptistchurch.org.uk
Reading Family Church - readingfamilychurch.org.uk
Wycliffe Baptist Church - wycliffe-church.org.uk
Greyfriars Church - greyfriars.org.uk
St Saviours Christian Centre - stsaviourscc.org
Reading Vineyard - readingvineyard.org.uk
At the beginning of each academic year there is a ‘church search’ for new students to be able to travel to any of these churches for the first few weeks. This provides a good opportunity to locate the churches and obviously to experience them and is a useful resource for freshers in particular. These first few weeks make it easier for students to be able to settle into a church.
THE UNIVERSITY OF READING CHAPLAINCY
The Chaplains are a friendly team of men and women who offer help and support to students, staff and visitors to the University, whatever their beliefs.
If you need to talk to someone the chaplains are always available also if you are looking for a place of worship, they can share details and will be happy to put you in touch with a local contact.
THE UNIVERSITY OF READING CHAPLAINCY [EXTERNAL SITE]
There are also other more specific roles not mentioned here but it goes to show the value of people at RUCU. If anyone is willing to serve in any of these ways you can send an email to cu@rdg.ac.uk to find out more.