RICHARD Cunningham, National Director of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF) has decided to step down after two decades leading the charity which supports Christian Unions on campuses across Great Britain.
Since 2004, when Richard was appointed, the evangelistic movement of students has seen remarkable growth, supported by a field staff that has increased 42%, with now over 100 CU annual events weeks on campuses, carol services attracting tens of thousands of not yet Christians, and over 20,000 CU leaders now having attended the annual ‘Forum’ gathering, for which the UCCF Trustees thank God for his grace and provision.
In 2009, when Word Alive parted from Spring Harvest, Richard cast the vision and secured speakers and financial backers to enable the successful launch of (New) Word Alive. Since then, over 66,000 Christians have benefitted from the annual event.
Richard also led the charity’s funding challenge to buy Blue Boar House in Oxford city centre as the fellowship’s HQ. Key apologists, evangelists and major donors passing through the world-heritage city have been drawn into BBH and have helped stimulate strategic ministry. One such visit conceived the ‘Uncover’ series, resulting in half a million gospels being used by CUs and the translation of ‘Uncover’ gospels into 28 languages for 30 sister International Fellowship of Evangelical Student movements.
Behind the evangelistic focus of UCCF, multiple initiatives Richard devised and spearheaded have led to a rapid growth in discipleship ministry. Hundreds of gifted students have been trained to handle the Bible confidently and compellingly in evangelistic settings, resulting in over 300 of those students who came through ‘Biblical Evangelism’ conferences moving into full-time Christian ministry in the UK and overseas.
Since 2004, the cultural landscape of university campuses has changed dramatically. UCCF has increasingly been called upon to equip Christian students and staff to think biblically and strategically, with New Atheism, the corrosive ‘identity politics’ and the resulting chilling of free speech becoming a constant mission backdrop. On behalf of UCCF, Richard wrote a submission to the ‘Parliamentary Joint Committee on Free Speech in Universities’, and subsequently raised matters directly with Prime Minister Theresa May. His deep conviction that the gospel is true, relevant and beautiful, and must be applied to all of life, continues to permeate the many training and evangelistic programmes of UCCF.
Over the past 15 months, UCCF has come through a challenging time after concerns were publicly raised about some employment policies and practices. Following a detailed, independent investigation, the Trustees issued a full public apology to anyone whose experiences fell short of what should rightly be expected of a Christian organisation. They accepted the investigator’s recommendations in full, and immediately began to implement them. Full details are available on the UCCF website.
Richard said: “It has been an immense privilege to lead UCCF over these past 20 years, and I am so grateful to staff and supporters without whom our CUs would not be adequately resourced. The witness of university CUs – students reaching students for Christ – is as vital today as it has ever been and deserves wide support from across the church.
“I cannot pretend that this year has not put a huge strain on me and my family and, after prayerful reflection, I am making this my last academic year at UCCF. Announcing my departure this early gives the Trustees sufficient time to identify and appoint a new CEO to be in place before August. Please join me in praying for the Trustees as they begin this process.”
Simon Day, Chair of the UCCF Trustees added: “The Trustees, staff and CUs thank God for blessing the work amongst students through Richard and under his leadership. His vision and commitment to students has led to a wealth of new initiatives and resources in the past two decades. We are profoundly grateful to Richard for all that he has given, and we wish him well in whatever God calls him to next.
“Advertising for his successor starts immediately, as we seek to create the largest pool of possible applicants. We ask for the prayers of all CUs, partner churches and supporters as we earnestly seek God’s person to become the new CEO.”
● For more information about UCCF’s ministry supporting CUs, visit www.uccf.org
