Sharing God’s love with international freshers

Update #27 for September from the Mahabba Network

The latest figures show there are almost 500,000 international students in the UK and September is the month when many first-year students make their way to university and encounter Britain for the first time. And many of those arriving are Muslim. Psalm 96:3 encourages us ‘Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples!’

Mahabba is committed to equipping Christians to love all Muslims in every sphere of society. We want to support Christian Unions, who are looking for ways to engage with these students, even with COVID restrictions in place.

As a network, we’ve been using our growing presence on Instagram to connect with Christian Unions. Recently we asked a few of them how we can be praying for them this month, and this is what they’ve said:

Please pray that international students will feel calm in the face of COVID fears.

Please pray for those who are isolating. We want to deliver isolation boxes to those affected by travel regulations. Pray it all goes smoothly and we can make this meaningful contact.⁠⁠

Please pray we will spot the opportunities that God provides to engage and welcome international freshers.

Pray that we will have confidence to share our faith and show God’s love.

Pray for us as we look for new ways to engage with international students throughout the year, where we haven’t before.

And we’d like to add one final prayer request…

…that as these students share the good news of Jesus at university, their eyes will be open to a lifelong call to share God’s love with grace and truth. And that even after they graduate they will continue to share the gospel with love and understanding.

Will you join us to pray for Christian Unions as they faithfully serve international students?

If you’d like to learn more about sharing your faith with Muslims, then have a look at the new quick guide on the website. It’s full of info and handy hints on how to get started. Pass it on to any Christian students you know, and let them know you’re praying for them.