At the Bristol Uni Christian Union it was customary for members to head off to the pub or to simply head back home after a Thursday night meeting. However, one student, Elijah, felt compelled to find a space to keep worshipping together with those that wanted to. They settled on going back to some Uni Halls of Residence to just worship in someoneâs flat. What better way to both seek God together, and at the same time to be a presence in the Halls and invite the Spirit to come in that place? They were just hungry for more of God and to have all that he wanted to give them. So they set about worshipping together in Halls, every Thursday night after their CU meeting.
One Thursday, one of the students thought theyâd invite their flatmate Alex* along to join them for their in-Halls worship session, even though Alex wasnât a Christian. A few of them had been inviting him to stuff and trying to get him along to church but heâd been hesitant to come. The idea of some strange Christians singing songs to Jesus in a flat in their Uni Halls though, seemed too interesting an opportunity to pass up. Curious to see what he might find, Alex tentatively came along.
Something happened as they worshipped. Alexâs friends still arenât exactly sure what happened, but just being in that space of worship suddenly seemed to make him far more open. The CU weekend away was happening the very next day and they thought they might as well invite Alex along - not particularly hopeful considering his track record and the very short notice, but he said yes! After the weekend, he decided to try church and is still going regularly. Heâs still on a journey of faith and wouldnât necessarily call himself a Christian yet - but it has been amazing the new openness in him since that point. Elijah and his mates didnât know what would become of their worship night in Halls, they just did what they felt led by the Spirit to do and discovered that worship changes things.
It can be easy to say peopleâs ânoâ for them, to assume that because theyâve said ânoâ to something before that theyâll say ânoâ to something else, especially something supposedly âmore Christianâ like a worship night. Perhaps the next time will be a âyesâ, we never know! This generation is spiritually curious and just waiting to be invited, even to the âweird Christian stuffâ like worship nights - they want to know what real Christianity looks like. What could you invite the people you know along to? Could you invite them to a worship night where they might encounter the presence of God? You never know, they might say yes!
*(name changed to protect identity)
