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The TSCF (Tertiary Students’ Christian Fellowship) has a long history in New Zealand, beginning in 1930 with the evangelistic campaign in New Zealand universities and schools of Dr. Howard Guinness.
As a result of Guinness’ visit Evangelical Unions began in the four university colleges (Otago, Auckland, Canterbury and Victoria).
The movement that inspired this development in New Zealand was Britain’s Inter-Varsity Fellowship, which had developed out of a widespread breakaway movement from the more theologically liberal Student Christian Movement.
The basic concept of the Evangelicals Unions was of student-led groups, faithfully witnessing to the biblical gospel in the secular university context. The EUs emphasised knowing and understanding the Bible, individual and group prayer, and Christian discipleship.
Evangelical Unions had a strict doctrinal basis, insisting on the inspiration and authority of the Bible and on substitutionary atonement as the biblical meaning of the Cross.
The Evangelical Unions and the IVF reflected a moderate, thoughtful conservative evangelicalism, in the British tradition. They had no connection with the narrower, more militant American movement known as “fundamentalism”.
The Evangelical Unions worked in partnership with a strong Christian movement in the secondary schools, the “Crusader” movement - now known as “Scripture Union in Schools”. Ex-Crusaders usually joined the EU when they went on to university.
In 1936 the Inter-Varsity Fellowship (NZ) was formed, with local Evangelical Unions affiliated. One of the key contributions of the IVF (NZ) was large annual conferences, bringing together evangelical students from across the country and from many different church backgrounds and denominations.
The Evangelical Unions and IVF became very significant as standard bearers for New Zealand evangelical Christianity, and were key factors in the post-war renaissance of evangelicalism. The publications of the (British) Inter-Varsity Press played an important part in that.
In the early days the Evangelical Unions had been considerably smaller in numbers than the more liberal SCM groups. But by the late 1950s the EUs had clearly eclipsed the SCM. By the 1960s and 70s some of the EUs had several hundred members.
In the post-war era EUs were established in a large number of tertiary institutions, including Massey, Waikato and several teachers’ colleges. There were also Theological Students’ Fellowships, and a Nurses’ Christian Fellowship.
After graduating, considerable numbers of students evangelised or discipled by the Evangelical Unions moved into the professions, including medicine, engineering, church ministry, teaching and academia. Many EU graduates also became missionaries.
Some EU/IVF graduates joined the Graduate Christian Fellowship, which encouraged graduates in their witness for Christ within their chosen vocations.
From the 1960s, a growing number of international students were studying in New Zealand. As a result many Overseas Christian Fellowship groups were formed. These groups have become increasingly important in the life of the TSCF.
In the 1970s most Evangelical Unions renamed themselves Christians Fellowships, and in 1973 the IVF renamed itself the Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship. In the same period they also began to show concern for the social implications of the Gospel.
The TSCF is affiliated with the world-wide International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES).
By the 1990s, most TSCF groups were struggling in the face of growing religious pluralism and secularism in New Zealand society, and were also perhaps weakened by a proliferation of Christian groups on university campuses.
In recent years the TSCF has worked hard to re-establish its witness, and along with other Christian movements the TSCF groups continues to offer its particular ethos of student-led evangelism and Christian discipleship.
Dr Stuart Lange is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Theology at Laidlaw College, where he teaches courses on the history of Christianity