It’s the middle of the semester, but many students in Chile are not in class. They’re on strike.
The protests are being led by female students who have had enough of sexual violence on campus. They don’t want to hear any more sexist comments from their teachers. They don’t want any more perpetrators to ‘get away with it’. So the students are braving the winter weather and putting their grades at risk, for the sake of seeing change.
Daniela, a student of GBU Chile, is one of those who cares deeply about this issue:
“About a month ago two of my friends revealed they’d been sexually abused in the past. I felt angry and outraged and hurt. But I knew I couldn’t just mourn forever. I had to do something. So that’s why I’m doing what I can now to raise awareness.”
At the end of this month, a group of GBU students will be inviting students to a gathering to talk about the issue of sexual violence on campus. They want to show that social matters matter to Christians. Daniela said:
“If we keep quiet and are indifferent to the situation, our friends are not going to listen to us when we try to share the gospel. They’ll think: ‘These Christians don’t know anything about the world we live in.’ We need to learn to weep with those who are weeping. To listen. To show empathy. And to present the truth that the gospel is good news for everyone, men and women.”
Please pray for students in Chile:
Pray for an end to sexual violence and sexist systems in universities in Chile; and pray that justice, equality and security would prevail.
Pray for Christian students to have wisdom in responding to the issue, and genuine love for those who are suffering.
Pray that this dialogue event would be effective in increasing awareness, encouraging open discussion and building friendships.
There is hope for the world today There is hope for the world today It is a light that can shine today In the midst of any darkness
The voices rang out around the classroom. Some thought they were crazy. Others were intrigued: who were these Christian students? And what gave them hope in a world of darkness?
These Christian students were a mix. Some were from their own university. Some were from other AGEUP Peru groups across the country. They had travelled a long way to be there that day. 15 hours on a bus to reach Chachapoyas, this small, remote city in the mountains of northern Peru.
They were spending a week helping their Christian brothers and sisters in Chachapoyas to start reaching out on campus.
The new group in Chachapoyas is small. They don’t have much experience. They don’t have many resources. But they’ve started meeting up each week to read the Bible together. Anywhere. Even outside if they can’t find an empty classroom.
They’re being supported and trained by volunteer staff who make the long bus journey once a month. The IFES Breaking New Ground project is paying for their travel and some basic resources.
Please pray with us for this new student group:
Pray that this group would grow in numbers and in maturity as they read the Bible together each week.
Pray that God would provide what’s needed in terms of finances, training and staff support.
Pray that many students in this university would hear about the hope of Jesus.
Balancing time. Managing tensions. Making decisions. Keeping going.
Leadership is hard. Especially when it’s all new.
At IFES we believe in investing in our young leaders. We want them to be empowered to exercise their leaderships gifts with boldness, integrity and godliness. We want them to love and lead their teams well. We want them to have wisdom as they navigate the complexities of cross-cultural campus ministry in a fast-changing world.
That’s why the Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) exists. 26 March 2018 marked the end of the first GLI program. 18 young IFES leaders had been selected from each of the regions across the world to participate. The group met together three times over the course of 18 months. It has been a formative experience for all of them. One reflected:
“This has been a life-changing experience for me. I have grown so much not only as a leader but as a believer in Christ.”
Three of the participants shared what impact the GLI program had had on them and on their ministry.
Mary Olguin — Compa Mexico, Head of the national office & regional staff worker
I’ve always enjoyed working with IFES, but a few years ago I was ready to quit. I just felt that I had finished what I needed to do; and there were already new leaders who could take on my role. I wanted to do something new. But then I joined the GLI program. During our first meeting together we spent some time considering what our strengths were, what gifts God had given us. I realised that God has made me a pioneer; it’s what I love to do and what I’m good at doing. Maybe that’s why I often get the urge to move on and do something new! Soon after that an opportunity opened up for me to stay with IFES but to focus on pioneering within the national office. And I knew it was the right thing for me.
I also oversee some of the field staff of the movement. After learning about teamwork strategies at the GLI program, I met with my field staff in one city and shared with them what I’d learned. They were excited and decided to try out the new strategies together as a team.
So when they met six months ago they agreed on some changes. They agreed that they’d hold each other accountable. They agreed they’d make plans and help each other to keep to them; that they’d turn up on time. They agreed to give feedback to each other after every event. They agreed not to talk behind others’ backs but have those difficult conversations openly.
The change has been huge. Not just for team morale, but also for the students. The team being more committed has made the students more committed. The students know the events planned are going to happen; it will start on time and finish on time. That makes a difference.
Team relationships have improved significantly too. They used to struggle with the same issues many teams face: team members not pulling their weight; people turning up late; people feeling annoyed with each other but not saying anything; making plans that never materialise. One of them was so unhappy she wanted to leave the team.
They are a much healthier team now. They communicate; they support each other; they really enjoy working together. New staff want to join and old staff want to stay. They’ve realised how much they need each other if they are to do the best they can for God’s kingdom on campus.
Lawrence Gomez — FES Gambia, General Secretary
At the start of this year, I became the General Secretary for FES. GLI has been hugely formative for me as a leader. Taking the time to work out what my gifts are and what they’re not was such a helpful exercise, and one that I’ve brought back to the office. We’ve since moved people around a bit so that they’re in roles where they can play to their strengths. Discovering your strengths at an early stage of life saves you from a life of mediocrity.
GLI has helped me to be a better leader. In the past if someone wasn’t doing their assignment, I would just do it. But now I try to encourage and empower them to do it. We check in every day. How’s that project going? What’s holding you back? How can we help?
If you do it alone you might do it fast; but if you do it together you will go far.
Christian Pichler — ÖSM Austria, General Secretary
As a new General Secretary, one of the big challenges is discerning priorities. There are many good things to do, but which one is the best? Which one should you start with? It really needs wisdom and patience to lead a national movement in the right direction, one step at a time.
And that’s particularly true given that we live in such a global world. The teams we lead are often cross-cultural; the students we try to reach are both local and international. We need to deal with global issues. We need to learn to be leaders in a global context.
That’s why GLI is such a strategic and unique program: the participants are from all over the world, from different cultures and backgrounds. We all do leadership differently.
Learning in community with the other young IFES leaders really was the highlight for me. I learned so much just through conversations with them over coffee or lunch. Hearing about the challenges they face and the way they address those challenges made me reconsider my approach to leadership in my own cultural context.
GLI helped me to have a global vision. That’s so important for leaders today.
