Hi friend!

Whoop Whoop The Loop is back again!!

So much has been happening even in the last six weeks, from National Conference to the huge preparation and hard work gone into welcoming our new students into uni for this next semester, orientation events, and Jesus Weeks!

[ NATIONAL CONFERENCE ]

This year's conference was my first time and it was a terrific experience in learning more about Jesus. The studies and the talks opened my eyes and challenged the way I live my life as a Christian student at university. I also had fun catching up with old friends and making new ones. It was such an encouragement for me to see fellow students who are so dedicated to their groups and so passionate about Christ!
[Ryan Santoso – Wellington ICF.. the Auckland burger man..]

The conference was amazing! It reassured me of the confident hope we have in Jesus! It also helped me grasp a deeper understanding of how loving, powerful and personal our God is. How He loves, interacts and engages with His creation - which is ultimately revealed in Jesus Christ. What do I walk away with? Feeling more equipped, enthusiastic and passionate to share the good news of Jesus Christ and how it engages all aspects of our lives! [Michael Misomphane – AUT]

I've found conferences a great time to be encouraged by excellent speakers and to share ideas with other students, and this conference was no different. I finished conference feeling tired but also excited about the opportunities to share the gospel over the rest of my time at university.
[Pauline Smith - Canterbury CU]

You can read Andy Shudall’s (Head of Training) and Annaliese Johnston’s (Auckland EU) reflections on conference on the TSCF website.

Roger Carswell, amongst the many great speakers we had at Conference, delivered an amazing talk on how we might better share Jesus with others. He encouraged us to be creative when sharing about God, to use our talents and gifts, to learn how to TALK and engage in conversation, and to learn how to listen!

[ O-WEEKS ]

Lots of us have been busy welcoming new students to our campuses, and using the opportunity to invite them along to our groups to discover more about Jesus.

Here’s a couple of stories from Dunedin OCF and Vic CU:

We kicked semester 2 off with the International Dinner. Finding enough food to feed approximately 70 people is always an adventure! The dinner was well attended and we were able to have decent conversations with people. Some dinner attendees have started coming along to our weekly meetings - and that has made us very happy indeed. Besides that, it was really nice to see all the OCFers just pitching in, talking to people and helping out in various ways. [Hsiu Tan Ping – Dunedin OCF]

Orientation for Vic CU was small this semester, with our stall for the week being our only event. We had limited resources and helpers, and our minds were mostly on our large group meetings instead! God, however, worked his wonders regardless of our small efforts - bringing new people to our first meeting, from nowhere! People at very different spiritual stages were able to come together to eat dinner, and study God's Word. We were encouraged that some people who don't yet know Jesus came along, they’re interested in discovering more about Jesus for themselves through the Bible, and they’ve continued to come along over the past few weeks! [Mel Mylvaganam – Vic CU]

[ JESUS WEEKS ]

Hot on the heels of O Week, some campus groups followed on with a ‘Jesus Week’. Praise God for these opportunities to share Jesus with people on our campus.

Jesus Week hit Grafton for the first time in the history of Auckland Uni's medical school. Jesus said to 'take up your cross and follow Me,' and it was a literal reality for us when 70 odd medical, pharmacy and nursing students wore ribbon crosses that week. The focus of the posters addressed the four essentials of every human being, and how all those needs are personified in the very being of Jesus. The week's final event was a lunchtime talk, where Sandy (a current lecturer) shared on how having a relationship with God has shaped her approach with patients. It was also the first time NU had a joint event with the Christian Medical Fellowship, and we had an awesome turnout. Though it was a small-scale project, we have every reason to praise God for the opportunities to sow seeds and for the coming harvest. [Shi Ern Goh – Nurses United]

[ COMING UP ]

Catalyst and Student Leadership Conference are on the horizon! It’s never too early to start encouraging others to be blessed from these events and start saving for them!!

3-5 September: Catalyst Conference is for postgraduate students and graduates of any age, who want to better equip themselves for being a Christian in the workplace; there are 19 specialist workshops with leading industry professionals talking about their faith and how it relates to their work. You can find out more here.

16-22 November: Student Leadership Conference is to encourage a new wave of Christian thinking that applies the Bible to the whole of life and helps people work out what it means to live and speak for Jesus in their university, workplace, home, community, and leisure! There are five tracks including two for undergraduates students, one for postgraduate students with Dr Paul Gould from the US speaking, a track for graduates, and a track for medics run by Christian Medical Fellowship. Watch out for the rego details that will be out soon!

[AND FINALLY...]

Val's Research Project: 'Thinking about Leadership'
Val says, ‘They say that a picture says a thousand words. To save you the time of writing a thousand words of wisdom about leadership I would like to give you the opportunity to try and say something that is important to you about leadership through image. Your perspective would be invaluable!’ We’d encourage you to use this opportunity to think about leadership, and to contribute to Val’s project. Contact Val for more info: val@tscf.org.nz - do it now as Val would like submissions by 31 August!

Keep up to date with juicy TSCF happenings – and please forward this to all your friends – so that they can sign up to be kept in The Loop too.