Here at Bristol University’s Christian Union, we absolutely love to tell people about Jesus and what he’s done for us. One of the ways we do this is by running a Christianity Explored meetup each term. It’s an informal gathering over a few weeks where we’ll be looking at an eyewitness account of Jesus’s life, discuss it together over some drinks and snacks and think together about what the implications of it are for us today. Whether you can make all of the weeks or only one, we promise it’ll be worth it.
If you are a Christian, Christianity Explored is a fantastic way to introduce your non-Christian friends to the faith. Do consider signing up with them to go through the course together.
If you want to find out more, send us a message here or email Josh at bristolcufollowup@gmail.com
What is club loving about?
Members of the Bristol University Christian Union go onto the streets of Bristol in the late night/early morning so that students might know the love of Jesus Christ. We want to tell people about the choice Jesus offers so that they might consider it for themselves. We have gathered some resources below for more information about what we believe and who Jesus is.
Real love, transformed by what Jesus has done for us, is not only about telling people about their need for a saviour but is also about sharing our lives (1 Thessalonians 2:8). That’s why we are happy to offer hot chocolate, biscuits and water to club-goers or people out in the streets whatever the time of day, as well as any practical help.
Why do we do it?
We want to talk to people about Jesus, offer prayer and answer questions about Christianity, but we know this doesn’t only happen in a traditional church setting!
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NIV)
Because we know of Jesus’s love and sacrifice for us, we want to share some of that unconditional, incomparable love with people who might not otherwise stumble into it.
Maggie's Testimony
“I arrived in Bristol in 2015 as an atheist from a family of non-Christians. I was out one night and ended up in a conversation with Charlie from the CL team about Christianity when I said it was a nice idea but definitely not for me. I remember stifling a laugh when she said something about letting Jesus into my life, I thought it was the weirdest thing I’d ever heard...!
“I met the Club Loving team again later, and Charlie invited me to go to church with her after I said I'd been drawn to read an extract from the Bible. The church was really welcoming and I loved it. After a while, I realised that my whole worldview had changed. Nothing anyone said or did affected that - I absolutely believe that God opened my eyes. Suddenly my old atheist arguments just didn’t resonate with me anymore - my heart changed and I was convinced that Jesus is who He says He is.
“I was baptised in October 2016, and since then my faith has grown immensely. Finding spiritual fulfilment and trusting in Jesus has changed my life forever. I was plagued by self-hatred and depression and tried to seek the answer in all the wrong places - it was in the midst of this that God reached out to me through the Club Loving team. Now, I continue to learn more about Him every day, those problems that used to haunt me have been lifted, and I am filled with hope.”
get in contact
Sometimes we base ourselves outside Beacon House on the Triangle, sometimes we end up near SWX in the City Centre.
From 1am - 4am we will be on the streets in groups of 3 or 4, talking to people or offering drinks.
If you’ve met one of our teams on a night out and want to get in touch, do drop one of us an email at bristolcufollowup@gmail.com!
More resources
Want to check out Christianity? Here are some links to help get you started:
Wherever you are from, you are so welcome at Bristol and at the Christian Union. We would love to get to know you and help you settle in and feel comfortable in the UK.
If you are a Christian coming from overseas, BUCU is very much for you! It is a great place to get to know Christians from all different backgrounds and denominations and to be encouraged to share your faith with your friends.
If you’re not a Christian, we would love to meet you too! We are so excited that Christianity is for absolutely everyone and is bigger than any cultural or language difference (Matthew 28:18-19).
We help out at BISC (Bristol International Student Centre), which is a fantastic way to meet new people from all over the world. BISC organise loads of events and trips, such as visits to famous UK landmarks. It’s an organisation run by local people who help students get information and advice about Bristol and the UK.
If you’d like any more information about what goes on, or just to say hello, please contact us and we’d love to meet you! Email Nonna at bristolcuinternational@gmail.com.
Thank you for joining us for ‘Hope Explored’ with Rico Tice! The talks are available to watch here:
What now?
We’d love to hear your thoughts about these evenings as it will give us a chance to improve things. We would also love to hear from you if you are interested in learning more about Christianity.
Perhaps you started this week as a non-believer and now stand convicted! Or, maybe your questions weren’t picked and you are more confused than ever. Either way, we warmly invite you to Christianity Explored, a series of informal, guided discussions that go into further detail about the good news of Jesus. Christianity Explored is highly recommended as a follow up to Missions Week and will take place weekly in March, on Zoom.
If you recently became a Christian, congratulations! Do share your story with a Christian friend; the Bible teaches us not to be alone in our faith but to always encourage and serve one another, building up the Church as the Body of Christ. Consult Local Churches to find a Bristolian church. We would also love to hear from you, so send us a message any time.
Our mission as a Christian Union is to give students at Bristol the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus Christ.
One of the main ways we seek to do this is through our themed Missions Weeks, which run biannually in November and February. BUCU Missions Weeks are packed with talks and informal events which aim to explore the message of Christianity and share what life as a Christian looks like.
These events are all completely non-committal and anyone is welcome to as little or as many as they are interested in. We love meeting people and especially welcome challenges and questions about what we believe.
During Missions Week we run lunchbars on/near to campus, providing free sandwiches and hosting a short Biblical talk from a guest speaker with time for questions.
In years past, our evening programmes have boasted a variety of events from cheese-and-wine to acoustic music to comedy nights. These are often given alongside personal interviews with Christians and give a little insight into what it means to be a Christian.
If you want to understand more about Missions Weeks, email Charlie at bristolcumissions@gmail.com or send a message here.
Autumn 2020
