“But what I didn’t expect was how much I would be poured into from God through our main speaker for the winter conference, through connection times with students, and through workshops that I helped lead,” she reveals.
“It was very encouraging, and God really blessed me with how much I was serving, but I was still poured into over the five days.”

Ashley, who hails from Minnesota in the US, believes going away on a conference allowed her to connect with students on a deeper level than during campus outreach events. “The messages in the seminars and workshops were all God and Bible-centred and it was a great time connecting with students who you already knew before, but so many other new people as well. Having that time and space to rest, reflect and connect with other people makes it really special.”

A sign of how precious the time was for students was that they already organised a reunion a few weeks after the conference, she says. “It was really cool after our main speaker gave a talk on identity in Christ. I looked around the room, saw students, and was able to chat with a student after the talk about our identity in Christ and how that’s such good news that we have this firm foundation and security that we don’t have to try to people-please or try to get our identity from other people, relationships, our jobs, our futures, our dreams, our hopes,” she says.

“In Christ, we have this firm security that surpasses everything. Because of our identity in Christ, we are able to live from love and not for it. So everything that we do is not trying to earn God’s love. It’s not trying to earn other love. It’s coming from a place of love. And the security that love will never leave us as children of God. That was a great thing to be reminded of.”

After the talk, Ashley was alarmed to see that a student sitting next to her had tears in her eyes. “I was like, ‘Oh no, is she okay?’ Then I realised she was overwhelmed with peace from a deeper understanding of God’s love for her, that she didn’t have to try to get that from anywhere else, but she already really has it in Christ.”

As she heard students’ stories, Ashley realised what a privilege and honour it was to have God move through her to encourage or serve another student.“ Freedom is the main word that I took out of the conference. There’s freedom in surrendering to God. The world might say the opposite, but we live in an upside-down kingdom.”

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What do you study Lauren, and why?

I study Secondary Education, majoring in HPE and Maths. I want to be a teacher so I can work with students in reaching their full, and often untapped potential. I had many teachers throughout my own schooling that inspired me, and I’d love to inspire the next generation.

You spent your summer in Japan on Mission Megumi. Why, and what were some of the highlights? 

I went on mission to Japan because, last year, I felt the Lord was calling me out of my comfort zone. Going to Japan was exactly that, I didn’t know much about the language, culture, or people. 

On arrival, I quickly fell in love with Japan, the university students we met were so wonderful and the Power to Change Team there were so welcoming. I certainly grew in my trust and reliance on God in the outreach space

What are some principles of leadership that inspire you? 

I think the key principles for me are grace, love and fun. They’re super applicable for daily life, often reorienting me back to the mindset of, ‘What would Jesus do?’ 

What are you trusting God for this year? 

I am trusting in God’s strength. I very easily slip into doing everything myself, and not always asking for help.  This year I am leaning into weakness, simply so that there is less of me and more of God in the way I do life, throughout the highs, lows and challenges. 

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How do we remain steadfast and have peace when the world is changing so fast? How do we avoid yielding in the face of mounting pressure? 

These are just some of the questions explored in Power to Change’s (PTC) 2023 Winter Conference. Held in three states, Winter Conference was a time of Bible teaching, practical training, and plenty of fun with people from different campuses.

One of the returning students, Jun, said the week helped him gain the skills and Biblical understanding necessary for sharing his faith. 

“It centres on the big questions of why we need to share our faith and disciple people and why it is important to multiply ourselves as disciples,” he explained.

The community aspect of the conference is also extremely valuable. For many students, the conference is the first time they experience gospel-centred community.

And many students come back to Winter Conference year after year—a testament to the impact of the event. 

Jess—who returned this year—says it was a “wonderful opportunity to mentor people younger than me and teach them how to share their faith.” 

Clarice says that coming back to Winter Conference helped her to surrender everything to God. “I also feel challenged to be more disciplined in reading my Bible so I can learn more about God’s character.”

We’re grateful that learning in community, in such an intense environment, can supercharge spiritual growth. 

With all of these testimonies, it is no wonder that ‘impactful’ is the best word to describe the Winter Conference.  In our next story we’ll hear from Ethan as he realises the importance of allowing the Holy Spirit to empower him in his daily life.

We are so thankful for another successful conference, and for your part in allowing it to happen!

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“Mentally unhealthy is the new normal” – Jerusha Karraker, Campus Ministry

Dealing with mental health is an everyday occurrence for students, says Jerusha Karraker, who works with the Power to Change Campus Ministry.

“I think Gen Z is really asking a lot of good questions like, ‘Does Jesus care about this?’”, she says. “Young people want to know if Christianity has an answer for the things they’re really concerned about, or struggling with and facing”.

With the ongoing impacts of Covid, Power to Change’s campus ministry is increasingly addressing questions about how Jesus is relevant to people’s mental health.

A four-week study created by Cru called Mental Health and Jesus has been a useful way of engaging with young people. It has many tips and information from counsellors and therapists. The tips include advice on how to deal with anxiety, having healthy ways to cope with life, and inviting people to consider turning to Jesus in their anxiety and uncertainty. Other handy tools the study looks at are breath work and meditation.

The team is going to start doing the study with a couple of different girls on campus and have them invite their friends.

It’s encouraging that our students are willing to invite their friends, and we love hearing about what happens when they do.

One girl invited her friend, Rachel, to a Bible study. Rachel has struggled with the tension of wanting to be accepted by people around her and also knowing that God accepts her fully. 

“I thought my friends saw Christianity as this uncool, strict, religion,” she said. “I didn’t know where to start in sharing my faith because I feared that they would reject me because of things I’d say.”

Then Rachel bumped into a high school friend who asked if she would like to come to a Bible study. What she remembers is feeling comfortable, heard and accepted without having to do anything to prove herself or fit in.

“I would share my thoughts and could see that everyone was genuinely trying to hear and understand what I was saying”, Rachel said. 

Encouraged by their warmth, Rachel explained that, “No one was trying to outdo the other with trying to give the best answer. It was something I hadn’t experienced within a university setting before.”

Rachel then met more familiar faces from her high school who were part of Power to Change. “This really encouraged me as God showed me how they were boldly living out their faith on campus”, she eagerly said. “They weren’t trying to fit in with the university culture. Instead, they considered where they were as an opportunity to serve and honour God in their courses and on campus. 

As a result, Rachel was comforted that she was not alone. She added that, “What I appreciated even more, however, was the encouragement that they would give one another in these moments, to look to God and trust in Him.”

Rachel wants to encourage everyone who reads her testimony. 

She wants people to think about how they have grown or still may be growing over the duration of their study, praise God for it and continue to see their time at uni as an opportunity to serve and glorify God!

The post Does Jesus care about my mental health? appeared first on Power to Change.

This semester, Macquarie did something quite different from the other universities. We are in the middle of Kickstart, a week for first-year and international students. O Week, with all the clubs and stalls, begins the following week. 

I think Kickstart is great for new students because it has a clearer focus. It shows students what is where and gives them tips on university life.

There is so much energy around campus at the moment! New students are looking forward to making friends and connecting with each other. For instance, yesterday I was talking to one student when another came over to get a pack. They ended up introducing themselves to each other and had a great conversation. It was wonderful to see.

A great aspect of Kickstart is that local churches donate ‘care packs’ for us to hand out to new students that we connect with. The care packs contain packets of chips, flyers about Power to Change and details of upcoming activities. There is also a QR code if students want to get in contact. 

The churches supplied 225 care packs. But they were so popular that, on the first morning, we’d given away half the packs and 100 students had contacted us. I called the churches and they supplied another 180 packs overnight. 

The week is also packed with other events. On Wednesday nights we have Bible study, which is geared toward both Christians and those who are seeking. On Thursday we are holding our first Worship and Prayer Evening for Power to Change students and their friends, to sing and pray together. Depending on how that goes, it will hopefully become a regular thing.

One event that has been going for a number of years is our Monday Family Dinner. We’re so grateful for all the help we receive from churches for this. Some of the Asian “aunties” from local churches love to cook for us. (On Tuesdays we have a lunch with more food prepared by the aunties. They’re amazing!)

Family Dinner is for all students, from different backgrounds, and is like a home away from home. Our aim is to create a community that helps the students feel that this is home. Usually, we also try to get one Christian to share their testimony. 

The students love Family Dinner. Some who don‘t have faith in Christ keep coming, even during exam time. They say, “this is my home”, and they keep coming even when they are busy.

I am really excited for this coming year, and look forward to seeing how God will use myself and the team for His glory.

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