Students share their experiences of what first drew them to become Christians and speak about a “noticeable” increase in faith among Generation Z, in this week’s national online service.
The service, for the Third Sunday of Easter, comes from Christ Church, Winchester and is led by the parish’s student ministry team which works with those studying at University of Winchester, Winchester School of Art and local colleges.
Students lead the musical worship, readings and prayers. Two of them – university students Tegan Pinchess and Gus Griffin – also tell their own stories of coming to faith.
For both of them invitations by friends were the first step on a journey. For Tegan, it was a conversation with a friend at brunch which sparked her curiosity and led to her first attending a service. Gus had invited to church before by a friend, but it was when he needed to call in to borrow a camera for a university project that he first ventured in.
“The first couple of times I came back just because I wanted to chat to the people – like it was a nice place to be,” Gus explains.
“And from that community I noticed Jesus in them and that’s what I really wanted at the end of it.”
Tegan agrees: “I started noticing that they had something that I didn’t and it’s why I started I started going to the Alpha course started learning all about Jesus and who he was and what it meant for me.”
Both speak about how coming to faith has brought them peace in difficult times.
Gus explains how he had previously struggled with his poor mental health.
“Looking back at it now, I see Jesus in those moments, but now I interact with Jesus in those moments,” he says.
“He’s actively helping me through those things now.”
Tegan speaks of the death of her mother since she became a Christian.
“I think that is where I’ve known Jesus’s love the strongest – in my grief.
“I think grief is really dark and I don’t know if I would have been able to do it without Jesus. I think he’s been by strength through that and also my comfort.
“And I think people can see it within you, right? Like they see, wow, you have this sort of peace or joy that, is almost unreasonable, like that you couldn’t have from anything but Jesus.”
Both also speak about their own sense of growing interest in faith in their generation.
“I have noticed since being in a church myself lots more people joining that have never even heard the name of Jesus or don’t know much about him and seeing other people come to him is just so exciting,” says Tegan.
Gus adds: “The amount of people each year has definitely been increasing. It’s noticeable each time the new year comes up it’s ‘oh we’ve got even more people now’ it’s just so encouraging and it’s really interesting to see those different levels of faith.”