Vision conference and prayer meeting

Thank you for your prayers. God has been doing amazing things in the OICCU recently and here are the big two:

Firstly, the Vision conference went really well. Julian Hardyman did some excellent talks on Jeremiah, there were some thought-provoking seminars, and it was a great time to meet together, get to know one another and praise God together. It was a delight to see so many people excited and enthusiastic about the coming year, and I thank God for them.

Secondly, this morning we had our first prayer meeting of term. OICCU prayer meetings have normally been quite badly attended - last term the average was about 12 per meeting with some meetings having as little as 4. So you can imagine our reaction when 70 people showed up at 8am this morning! It was a wonderfully encouraging time to commit this week and term to the Lord, but the glory must go to Him and please pray that we wouldn't be tempted to think that this has anything to do with us! I would value your prayers for the new reps, as they lead their CUs for the first time this week - for faithful bible study leading, and a clear vision for the year ahead.

Word Alive

I've just returned from Spring Harvest Word Alive in Skegness. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a 5-day Christian festival, bringing together God's people from all kinds of different churches. Kent Hughes (author of Disclipines of a Godly Man) did the main Bible readings, and evening speakers included Richard Cunningham, Vaughan Roberts, Roger Carswell and Nigel Benyon. There was a student programme and it was wonderfully encouraging to look around and see 2000+ students praising God and listening to his Word!

I would ask you to pray for a similar scene in Oxford this year; students gathering in their masses and standing together in the gospel, encouraging each other, supporting each other in prayer and a "we're all in it together" feeling. We are united as brothers and sisters in Christ, but pray that this unity would work itself out in reality.

Please also pray for practicalities: we are currently seeking venues for our central meetings and houseparty and are receiving some "No" answers. Pray that we would trust in God's provision for these, and that He would make somewhere available.