“It's been amazing to be part of the CU this year, especially as a fresher,
they've helped me to speak to people more about my faith and help me grow in my faith,
they've been there for me through good and bad times, and I'm so glad I joined.”

- Michael Baines

“Joining a CU at the start of coming to university was a completely unique experience, that equipped me with people to talk to during this transition, while also coming together to seek God, removing that feeling of loneliness at the start and placing me into a community to build and encourage me. As soon as I entered, I was immediately accepted and welcomed, and encouraged to get involved in the fantastic meetings throughout the week. These meetings have been amazing, just to meet up with people I would not have otherwise talked to, who all have a passion for God and loving others, which is clear as soon as you enter the room, and it is a great experience to constantly be challenged and connect each week with these people who are all at different stages in university and their life!”

- Chris Jones

“Coming to the UK as a fresher was a new exciting experience and meeting some Christian freshers was a good steady footing for my first year. I met some great people and developed some good relationships based on the gospel and life in general. This propelled a greater insight into Uni life. With so many distractions it's easy to fall into trouble. Thank God I had a good bunch to rely on.”

- Puwayi Chiutsi

“Being an international student, the thought of moving to a new continent and to start all over, not knowing what to expect was very intimidating. Coming across the CU facebook page and people associated with it was a blessing. I would like to mention that the very first friend I made overseas was a CU committee member on facebook, for which I'm still grateful. I would never imagine myself this far if not for joining CU, where you find people with different journeys leading to the same ultimate destination that is Jesus. Attending CU Monday meetings and prayer meetings on Wednesdays helped me grow, mature and know that you're not alone, but you have friends in Christ who have your back. Attending Quench on Fridays, giving free donuts and water to drunk and helpless people was completely a new thing for me, to learn to be bold and unashamed of Christ, but share God's love and acceptance on a whole new level. Through it all, God has equipped me with more in His amazing, unfailing grace by being part of CU.”

- Glady Jennifer

“The CU has played a huge part in my first year at Portsmouth. It was such a friendly and welcoming group of people to join in my first few weeks as a fresher and its been a great place to make new friends and more importantly grow in faith ever since. The Monday night meetings are a perfect mix of prayer, worship and relevant biblical teaching from some really interesting and engaging speakers and there's always the opportunity to hang out and socialise together at the pub afterwoods. There are also loads of opportunities to put your faith into practice and serve other members of the uni community through regular events like Quench and text a toastie.”

- Paul Lewis

“The Christian Union (CU) was the first society that I encountered when I first came to Portsmouth, and I was so encouraged by how welcoming and encouraging everyone was. I loved the amount of information that they provided in freshers’ week about the local churches, and how with many consistent events around the start of term it was easier for a new student like me to settle in and get involved. The worship, prayer, and equipping for evangelism is wonderful in the Monday evening meetings, and the other events that run throughout the week like the prayer meeting and Quench really bring students together so that they seem more like family. Now two years later, being a part of the CU has given me more opportunities to evangelise with things like Text-A-Toastie and Events Week, than I ever had before joining, as well as so many fun memories with amazing people. Whether it’s a BBQ on the common, a carol service before the Christmas break, or simply spending time at the pub after the Monday meeting, the CU continues to live out its mission of giving every student an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus and I’m so happy to be a part of it.”

- Madeleine Hagan

“I love being part of the Christian Union. It was lovely to come to uni and have the CU as a ready-made family to join. It's a really supportive environment. I've found that Quench is a great way to share the good news about Jesus and I've had some really interesting conversations with people. I also love the weekly prayer meetings as everyone is really encouraging.”

- Jess Chick

“It’s a great way to get closer to God while at Uni and a great way to know more of your brothers and sisters in Christ. It has been a lot of fun since I joined the CU, every Monday meeting, going to the pub afterwards, the Big Weekend Away in Winchester…”

- Henry Leung

“CU is a great community where we come together to celebrate our religion. I would strongly suggest joining as it helped me make friends outside of my course who have a similar interest to me. The meetings are great and helping at events such as Text-A-Toastie makes you feel part of the university community.”

- Lucy Clark

“Attending the Christian Union this year has been an incredible experience for me. I have loved the sense of unity and have enjoyed becoming a part of this big family. Over the course of this year, I have been able to form really close friendships through going to events such as The Big Weekend Away and attending Monday meetings. Forming these friendships has been such a massive part of my year because it has allowed me to encourage and pray for my friends and vice versa. The Christian Union has been one of the main reasons why I’ve had such an amazing year and why I can now call Portsmouth my home.”

- Abigail Abraham

“Being in the Christian Union over the last two years has been incredible. It has brought lifelong friends into my life and has given me an awesome gateway to reach out to other students. At university being a Christian and living for Jesus can be tough at times and it can sometimes feel like you're alone in your faith. Church and the Christian Union interlink in helping encourage and support one another, lifting each other up and allowing God to strengthen us. If you're looking for ways to be more active in your faith, evangelism is something that the Christian Union does regularly – we hold events that you can invite your coursemates, housemates and friends to. One of my favourite events that is held weekly is Quench, giving out doughnuts and water to those out clubbing, most people know about Quench and sometimes students want to have deep conversations and other times they will be appreciative of the kind gesture. Either way students are responding and it's wonderful to be a part of that!”

- Rosalind Bootle

“I’ve been a member of the CU for the past three years, and through it I’ve found both friendship and encouragement for living as a Christian at uni. Being a part of the CU provides you with an on-campus family, and allows you to evangelise to other students in ways and places that a church can’t. I particularly enjoyed taking part in Quench during the week, as it enabled me to grow as an evangelist in a fun and active way, and our Monday meetings, as they allowed me to worship, learn and grow with some of my closest friends. My advice to any fresher would be to get involved with as much as you can, especially in your first year. University gives you access to huge group of people, and it so important that members of the CU are living for Jesus together on campus.”

- Euan McLachlan

“I could say a lot about the journey the CU has been on the past few years, or I could mention how I’ve loved big events. There’s lots I’ve learnt that I could pass on. But most of all, I’ve been in awe of the CU members. Sacrificing their time, giving to the CU, often without seeking recognition. Whether that’s serving mince pies at the carol service, hosting guests at Events Week, buying books for events, staying up late to deliver the last toasties. Those things have eternal significance. Why? Although they’re not seeking a reward, they’re doing it to give people a chance to hear about Jesus. Monday meetings reflect God’s wisdom. You have a bunch of people from all kinds of church backgrounds and cultures, worshipping the same God and hearing his word. Because we’re all different, there’ll always be something different to what you’re used to. But that’s how we learn about God’s wisdom in the wider church! God chooses to use students on busy courses, who aren’t professionals, to put on a meeting where we meet with him in worship, pray for big things, and get equipped for mission. Doesn’t that show God’s greatness in using weak people like us? Events Week was just phenomenal. Just seeing people come to hear about Jesus and ask their questions because they had seen a flyer earlier that day was incredible. I realised that there are so many people with genuine questions who haven’t had the opportunity to really ask them or hear about who Jesus is. My advice to freshers would be to forget all your expectations of what CU is going to be like and to look past all the surface things, like the style of music or your first impressions. The most important thing is to ask, “What is the CU here for?” Ask that question, and get on board with the mission. Make sure you genuinely catch the vision. Then everything else makes sense. What helped me was finding out who UCCF is, discovering their history with CUs, and wanting to be a part of that history in the making!”

- Fearghal Kelly

“I would say there is no better way to start your week than joining in with a community and family of vibrant loving people on a Monday night. They love Jesus and they love people. I felt so welcome and free amongst everyone because of people’s openness, humility and genuineness of character. I have enjoyed the times of worship and the music is stuck in my head and it's renewing my mind. I receive a lot of comfort from the compassionate prayer for one another and my faith is exercised when we pray for the nations of the world. What I appreciate the most is the excellent time keeping as in our meetings, they start and finish on time. What has captured me the most is the vision and mission of CU, “presenting an opportunity for all students to hear and respond to the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” My major concern when I came to the UK was finding a good church I could be part of, and CU can help you with that. It's good to see people from different churches unite, with one purpose: to love our neighbours. Text-A-Toastie and Quench are other exciting outreach activities that I have attended. Giving out doughnuts and meeting with new people, life is good. Sadly I only managed to bring along one person to CU and that person in turn has brought their friend. There's much to say but I will close with this, there is nothing better than having Africans, Americans, Asians, Brits and Europeans under one roof. CU has helped me grow and share my faith.”

- Collins Chitiyo

“I first joined UPCU in September 2011, and I could not have asked for a better society to join. UPCU for me was not just a gathering of Christians, or even a community, rather by the end of my first semester it was a family. The group was tremendously welcoming, taking the time to get to know me, offering to pray for me to be a light for Christ and to grow as a disciple as I entered this new chapter of my life, and became such dear friends to me. I have seen many a committee come and go; at present I am old-old-old-old-committee, some of the students refer to me as Gandalf, some have even joked that they will club together and buy me a walking frame (I am in my mid-20s and starting to grey, I think there is still a little bit of time before I become decrepit). Over the last five years UPCU has put on many events on top of the weekly Monday meetings, and every year numerous students have heard the Gospel for the first time, and have had their questions about Christianity answered. There has been phenomenal growth in UPCU and we have seen a number of people give their lives to Jesus, for which all there is to say is Praise the Lord. My prayer with each new academic year is for further growth and for God to continue to use our outreach to bring people to him.”

- Pete Kirkpatrick

“My name is Caleb, I’ve been part of Portsmouth CU for the last year. Being part of the CU isn’t just a meeting on a Monday, in fact towards the end of my first year I haven’t been good at turning up to those (with exams and coursework pressures). CU is an accepting community which runs loads of different events and activities. It’s a place to make friends and meet other like-minded individuals. As a mature student it can be hard to relate to some of my younger peers, but at CU I feel not just accepted, but as a valued member (or a working cog) in a community. Some of the events the CU puts on are amazing – Text-A-Tostie and Events Week are good examples. I found the Events Week really good – I had two guys from Cambridge come and stay in my room for the week (complete strangers, but became good friends). However, the CU has many energetic people, for some of us this can be quite overwhelming. I found I was so warmly welcomed I recoiled slightly, but this soon subsided. Get involved in CU; it’s great fun and the talks are really insightful and helpful.”

- Caleb Gee

“I would say that over the last few years the CU has really helped me to grow in my walk with God in terms of personal evangelism. I have grown in confidence about how to share the Gospel with my coursemates. The CU is great because there are so many people who are in the same position as you and can support you in your journey through university. I really loved all of the events the CU held like Text-A-Toastie and the lunch bars, they were just great for me and for other students to hear more about Jesus. I would say for anyone thinking of going to CU, do it, it's where I found my uni family and grew in my walk with God! A final bit of advice: just be yourself, that's all you need to be. I learnt quite quickly when coming to uni that people don’t want you to pretend to be something you’re not, just be who you are!”

- Rachel Surtees

“I only started going to CU during my third year of uni. My housemates at the time brought me along and it was really nice to see some faces that I hadn't seen in a while. I kept coming back as it was a great way to relax after a stressful Monday, to worship God and spend time with some friends. CU eventually became like another family to me and I'm so thankful for the friendly and supportive people that go there. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get involved with the CU and I would highly recommend going along! My advice for freshers would be to fully trust in God in all your situations. Make time for him. He will always provide and he blesses us with this community for support.”

- Rhiannon Grinter

“University in general has been the best experience for me. Being part of Pompey CU has really shaped me as a person and I've really grown in my faith journey with Jesus. CU is full of wonderful, loving people who welcome you with open arms. Without the CU I would not have made the lifelong friendships I have and I would not be where I am in my walk with Jesus. I have grown in confidence and I have been able to step out in faith because of how the CU has shaped me as a person. CU events are amazing and are such an incredible way of being able to serve God and further his kingdom. These events allow you to share your love for God with others and provide opportunities for others to know God. Text-a-Toastie is one of my favourite events that the CU puts on. It gives you a chance to serve alongside your friends, tell non-believers about Jesus and just have fun! What more could you want? Being in final year can be so stressful at times but being part of the CU has really helped in terms of prayer, having friends support you and just being able to take time out to go along to CU and to just focus on God. Some advice for freshers: PLEASE get stuck into CU! It will be one of the best decisions you make whilst at university! Not only will you make friends, have a good laugh and just be able to be yourself, but you will have some of the best experiences that will stick with you forever. The people at CU become like your family and they will such a support to you but ultimately they will be there to pray for you and encourage you to put your trust in Jesus when you really need to. Putting your trust in Jesus is the best thing you could ever choose to do!”

- Sarah Bullock