Reaching Students for Christ he akonga ki nga akonga hei ara whakawhiti mo te Karaiti

IFES World Assembly Report

Wow, how do I sum up the 2011 IFES World Assembly? What an amazing experience: seeing and meeting the global family of which TSCF is a part – and it really is a family. About 750 delegates representing 120 countries travelled to Krakow, Poland; 150 of which were students, the highest number ever. Five staff (Nigel Pollock, Val Goold, Jane Pelz, Andy Shudall, and Tim Hodge) and three students (Michael Misomphane, Josh Irving and I) represented NZ. Unfortunately, many delegates from Francophone African countries had trouble getting visas and were unable to attend, so a collection was taken to fund a conference especially for them.

Conducted in English, French and Spanish, the theme of World Assembly was 'Jesus Christ: Lord of the Universe, Lord of the University'. This was introduced in a skit by an amazingly talented drama troupe on the first night, who continued to give moving, dramatic portrayals of various topics throughout the conference.

For the first time ever, a pre-conference student gathering was organised by a 12-person student committee representing each region of IFES, giving us preparation time for running our Student Day later in the Assembly. 12 student teams presented their experience of a topic they face in their university, such as: being a real Christian in a 'Christian' country, factors that cause Christian students to lose their faith, sharing the gospel in a hostile or persecuting environment, worldview challenges, and Christian students' understanding of homosexuality. We discovered that despite our differences, we face many of the same challenges in presenting the gospel to our friends.

Our very own Andy Shudall presented part of a session on social media, challenging us to be at its forefront in presenting the gospel. More than this, I was also challenged about how social media is going to change our world, in much same way as the printing press did. Presented by highly-educated Christians at the head of their fields, the economic justice session challenged us to think biblically about economics – not from a financial perspective, but from a relationship perspective. How does our use of money build relationships? Is the concept of private ownership biblical? Is it right to charge interest on loans?

A common sentiment was that World Assembly was like heaven will be, with so many different countries, cultures and languages, bonded together in Jesus Christ. Sitting at dinner, you would find yourself chatting with the General Secretary of a large student movement, or with a sole student leader of a very small movement. Everyone had a unique and interesting story to tell about the challenges and joys of student ministry. We welcomed three new movements to IFES: Antigua & Barbuda, Slovenia and Bosnia & Herzegovina. It was a great joy to see a representative from the Serbian movement pray for the Bosnian General Secretary – there really are no barriers in Christ!

It was a great pleasure for the South Pacific region to see the induction of our own Chris Collins as Chairman of the IFES International Executive Committee for the next four years. We celebrated his induction with a haka led by Val and Josh – laughter from an audience unfamiliar with the haka was balanced by brothers and sisters from Australia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Tonga joining us.

The Poland ChSA team did a phenomenal job of presenting a world class conference. They expressed many times how just ten years ago it would have been unthinkable for World Assembly to be held in Poland, still struggling to recover from the fall of the Iron Curtain. Many of us had the opportunity to tour the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. There is not much one can say to communicate the horror of this place. The photographs, gas chambers and piles of belongings left behind are almost too much to take in while you are there, but in retrospect it is harrowing and something I know I will carry for the rest of my life.

Attending World Assembly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience – so often I wished all my fellow NZ students could be there to see this global movement of which TSCF is a part. It was immensely encouraging and enriching to meet so many committed Christians who care about engaging their universities with the gospel.

Posted by Charlotte Kirby on 03/11/2011