The bible although mostly owned by every student still remains the most unread and misunderstood book in our universities and colleges today; this accounts for higher biblical illiteracy in our time.
Universities and colleges create environments that encourage students to rethink the beliefs of their upbringing, meaning in life, values, and identity. The university/college remains a place of the free market of ideas. The discussions that follow inside and outside the lecture room are not value-neutral exchanges, but rather places of persuasion where students debate and accept differing explanations of the good or the bad, the true and false, and the beautiful and ugly- this definitely forms a pattern of thinking that will inform their lives and shape the societies in which they live.
Students are uniquely open to new ideas and strategically positioned to be shaped for the next course of their lives as they move from home and family to the independence of adulthood, students need models in the church (chaplaincies) to offer biblical guidance and support as they journey through campus and beyond.
It is in this context that, Living Word Uganda promotes faithful bible handling among students.
Why?
Our ministry among students is aimed at;
- Students feed on God’s word in order to be transformed into Christlikeness and challenged to live as faithful and obedient disciples to His glory.
- Develop among students a greater appetite for God’s word.
- Students are equipped with the principles of faithful biblical studies and exposition in order that God may be glorified in their own contexts as they;
- Feed personally from God’s living word.
- Teach and preach the word of God faithfully to others.
- Correct and rebuke errors where necessary.
- Teach others these principles and encourage further understanding and application.
We do this through:
1. Rooted Campus Bible Study
Students gather in small groups with guidance from trained staff or volunteers weekly to dig deeper into the word of God. The Campus Bible Study is aimed at getting student leaders to study through books of the bible and equipping them to be able to do the same to other students, as Paul says in 2 Timothy2:2
And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Rooted offers a real opportunity for growth to leaders as they study and understand their Bibles
These Bible studies are currently taking place at Makerere University and Makerere University Business School. We will soon start one at Mulago School of Nursing.
If you would like to start Rooted on your university campus get in touch with us at rooted@livingworduganda.org
2. Alive & Active National Conference, Area bible seminars, and Regional Conference
With the help of students, Partners, and volunteers, we mobilize students to come together to learn from biblically faithful preachers/teachers, who teach faithfully with clarity and relevance. These demonstrate to students faithful bible handling, they show students how the Bible speaks to current issues in society like politics, social concerns, and much more, they show how the bible answers their questions and challenges in their spiritual walk. This is done through;
a) Alive and Active National Students Conference
This is a 5-day residential university student leaders conference in partnership with FOCUS Uganda, ACFAR, and other like-minded organizations. We gather about 200 university student leaders from around Uganda and beyond every other year for a week of teaching to acquaint them with the Bible and the basics of expository preaching. Reputable and faithful church leaders and student workers serve as facilitators and speakers.
b) Alive and Active Area Bible seminars
In a year when we have the alive and active national conference, we carry out a one-day seminar in different regions of the country. This seminar aims at three things;
- Follow up: We hope to meet up with some of the students from the previous conferences for mutual encouragement in the gospel and fellowship
- Tester seminar: We choose one bible book and model faithful bible handling, preaching, and bible studies. We hope this can whet their appetite for more training. These seminars also serve as refresher training for old-timers.
- Building relationships: We hope to interact more closely with student Leaders, Patrons, and Chaplains of different institutions to strengthen our relationships with them and strike new friendships with others.
c) Alive and Active Regional Conference
Since we have the alive and active national conference every other year, in between we have Regional Conferences. This is 3 days residential student leader’s conference where we gather about 150 student leaders per region. (The same approach used in the Alive and Active National students’ conference is used for the regional conferences)