Around lunch time yesterday I was walking into the food hall at the University of Sydney Cumberland Campus, looking for a bite to eat and a chance to catch my breath after a series of back to back meetings with students on campus. Together we’d been reading the bible, praying, and thinking about living faithfully and creatively for Jesus. One student was wrestling with the concept that “all God’s promises are ‘Yes’ in Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:20) and what this might mean for studying the Old Testament. Another was about to lead his first Bible study and we worked hard to understand how we might teach Romans 2 to others (“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else”). There’s nothing quite like the little lightbulb that clicks on when someone understands God’s word in a new way. I’ll never get tired of seeing that happen. But it can definitely make you hungry…

In case you hadn’t caught up with the news. I’m in ministry with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) at the University of Sydney Cumberland Campus. The Christian students on the campus have formed a fellowship called Evangelical Christian Union (ECU) which enables us to train and encourage each other and reach out to students on campus who are yet to give Jesus their loyalty. ‘Cumbo’ is a campus dedicated entirely to Health Sciences. People here are really nice, helpful types, but that can sometimes make them blind to the reality that God is more interested in our response to Jesus than our general niceness. I work primarily with the guys on campus, encouraging them to be a godly influence among friends and families and to begin shouldering the responsibility of christian leadership.

I’m writing you this email because I need your help to keep doing this ministry.

Why do I need your help?
AFES ministry among the students can’t be funded by the students themselves: they simply don’t have the financial capacity. But, pound-for-pound, I think University campus ministry is the most strategic and effective place for transforming people’s lives with God’s word. Through University students we impact and transform workplaces, Churches, and whole countries. I’m not making this stuff up, the history of university student ministry over the past 150 years demonstrates this time after time. The bottom line then is that we need graduates, friends, family members, and any Christian that has benefited from student ministry to carry the cost. It’s a ‘pay-it-forward’ situation. The benefit you’ve received for free in the past, now needs to be transferred to others. It’s ‘gospel-nomics’.

The AFES has already started paying for me to be on the campus, but in order to do that, they’ve had to temporarily transfer support from other people’s resources. If I’m unable to find a team of people to partner with me, then they’ll have to stop paying for me to work at Cumbo. Sadly, the ministry won’t happen.

But it’s more than just keeping me on my feet and on the campus: when I’m struggling with the hard-heartedness of students toward the gospel, or I’m worn out from wrestling with young people in the scripture, it makes such a difference to know that there’s a team of people around the country (and the world) who think this ministry matters. It’s an indescribable encouragement knowing that I’m not alone in this ministry, that others are willing to shoulder a sacrifice to make it happen. And that encourages me to keep leaning on the Lord for his strength.

How much do I need?
In order for the AFES to keep me alive, functioning, and on campus, we require roughly 50 people to commit to giving $20 a fortnight for two years. It might be the case that you can afford more than that. Fantastic! It will be a challenge finding 50 people, and if you can contribute more, you’ll help to make up the difference. However, it might be the case that $20 is beyond your capacity. Well, it costs me about $1 per week to do the photocopying for one of our lunch time Bible studies. With that dollar, an hour, and an open Bible, we can make an incredible impact on the lives of students. As we study Romans this semester, these young men are being challenged and shaped in ways that will not only equip them to live for Christ on campus, but will train them for mature and godly leadership at church. Further down the track, this time of studying God’s word will equip them to be better fathers and husbands; make them a blessing to their workplaces; set them on course to take the gospel to the far corners of the globe, and, under God, preserve them for eternal life. Sometimes I’m in awe with what we can do with a lunchtime, a bible, and a dollar. So, pray and consider how you can help, it’s a great investment.

How do you respond?
The AFES have created an online form for anyone considering financially supporting our ministry. It enables you to securely donate and also to indicate an ongoing financial commitment. I’ve included a link to the online form below. I’m also really hoping that you’ll be active in prayer for our ministry, so I’ve created a different online form for anyone who’d like to receive regular updates about life and ministry at Cumbo. Sorry that I haven’t been able to combine the process. I hope you’ll find the time to click both links.

I hate asking people for money, most people in our society find talking about personal finances pretty uncomfortable, but for this ministry to keep being viable it’s going to require some sacrificial living by a whole group of friends. The message of Jesus’ reign will impact and transform the lives of the students at Cumberland in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine, but it’s going to cost us. All I can do is point to Jesus, follow him, and promise you it’ll be worth it.

In love,
Dan Anderson

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