Student life can be great – though most of us have quite a few ups and downs along the way. Whatever your time in Cambridge is like, we’d love to be a part of it.

Many students come along to St Andrew the Great, so it’s easy to meet people from other colleges. But more than that, we invite you to feel and be a part of our wider church family, so that together we can begin to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.

We know how busy a Cambridge term is, so we run a variety of things geared to you, whether you are already following Jesus or just looking. Have a browse of these pages and see if anything suits.

@StAGstudents

There are lots of ways we might be useful. You might book us up for a one-off coffee to chat about something that’s been troubling you. Many students meet up with us once a week to study the Bible together. Maybe you’d like to invite us round to chat to your friends about the Christian faith. Or use us to organise a Christianity Explored course for your college/sports team. Or perhaps you’d just like some mid-term TLC in a normal home!

You can find us at any of the services on Sundays or get in touch with us by email or phone. Anyway, here’s who we are...

Brian Elfick

Students’ curate

In June Brian married Alice, so this year holds lots of changes for him. At the very least the food at 9 Victoria St has gone up several notches! He's a keen golfer, and his claim to fame is to have captained both sides in a Varsity Match (in a sport no-one has heard of). As well as looking after students, Brian runs groups for: men in the pub to ask the big questions of life; postgrads in the Arts and Humanities to help them integrate their faith; and people who want to learn how to preach. He's been in Cambridge eight years now.

Kath Rothman

Associate pastor (Students)

Kath has been living in Cambridge for four years before which she spent 5 years teaching chemistry at a school just outside Bristol. She loves gardening and cooking and has recently started growing her own vegetables but with a total carrot crop of 8 she’s not going to be self-sufficient any time soon. Kath is always up for playing board games especially if they involve 2 letter Scrabble words and you let her win.

Leon Catallo

Student worker

Since graduating from Downing College in 2006, Leon has put his Natural Sciences degree to good use. He spent a year working for a church in Bromley and two years at an accountancy firm in central London looking after the tax affairs of various rich and famous clients. He has cultured tastes and enjoys the finer things in life: Arsenal, Indian food, rap music, bad jokes and cards.

Catherine Lamb

Student worker

Catherine left Jesus College four years ago to go and teach Maths and play table tennis in boarding schools, including one in Kenya--where she felt very British and made vain attempts to imitate the Kenyans’ rhythm and develop their skin colour. She likes to think she has an innate gift for memorising film scripts and is particularly keen on activities that involve any combination of DVDs, coffee and Ben & Jerry’s.

Rosie Lyus

Student worker

Rosie decided fairly quickly that standing in a Chemistry lab making endless white powders wasn’t for her, so after graduating from Newnham she spent a year travelling around the country persuading chemists to buy lumps of aluminium, followed by two years in Sevenoaks as an Apprentice as St Nicholas church. Having been back in Cambridge for a year now she feels very much at home but is still on the look out for some good views... 

Barnaby Monteiro

Student worker

Barnaby used to think he had the coolest surname but is feeling a bit under threat since joining the staff team. He was brought up in the Chiltern Hills and was a mischievous child (he’d say adventurous), managing to break seven windows in four years. Barnaby studied engineering at Catz, went to Oxford to do some Christian work in schools before being drawn back to Cambridge. He enjoys all racket sports, Gardies, reading, hospitality and action films.

Jonnie Deja

Student worker

Jonnie is returning to Cambridge after a year working in the City as a "Strategy Consultant" (the meaning and usefulness of which remain unclear).  Previously he studied Economics at Clare and then spent a year rearranging furniture at St Andrew the Great.  Jonnie enjoys playing most sports, watching good films and eating remarkably slowly.

If you’d like to be meeting regularly with a Christian at a different stage of life from your own, just email the student staff and we can organise that for you.

A couple of times a year, families open up their homes to students for a special Sunday lunch the next Link-up Lunch will be on 7th November 2010.

If you’d like to be invited to lunch please fill in this form:
(If you'd like to host, please click here.)

But many students also like to meet with someone more regularly, perhaps each week, to read the Bible and pray together. It’s up to you quite how you might use that time, but it’s a great way to grow as a Christian.

If you're interested in giving it a try email Brian Elfick or Kath Rothman.

It’s all very informal. There’s home-cooked food, the chance to catch up with friends, chat about the sermon and meet people from other colleges. Then from about 1.15pm there’s the chance to think through a topic to do with Christianity. We invite a guest speaker each week, but it's not just a monologue from the front. You can discuss issues on your table and grill the speaker for a few minutes at the end. We’re all done by 2pm.

You don’t need to believe anything to come, but we really hope these lunches will help you and your friends to get clearer on the Christian faith, to love Jesus more and be equipped to live and speak for him in your daily lives.

Here's what we have planned for Michaelmas term: 

 Previous terms' Student Lunch mp3s may be downloaded here.

We meet on Tuesdays 7-9pm. There’s a meal all together, we listen to a talk, and then we go into groups, led by older members of the church family, to study a passage, pray and encourage each other.  At Focus we aim to handle God’s word carefully, in order to hear the authentic voice of his Spirit.

Focus is a great way to get to know Jesus better, but it’s also the best way to get more connected with other people at St Andrew the Great. You are free to try it just once; and if studying the Bible is new to you, you are very welcome to sit and listen in.

Focus on the powerful gospel

The Christian good news is radical. In Romans, Paul shows how it can transform our status, our hearts, our focus, and our communities. Over the year, we will be studying Romans bit by bit, to understand how the gospel draws us ultimately into confident, united and God-centred partnership. 

Here's what we will be studying each term:

In the past, people's lives have often been changed by studying Romans. Here are some examples:

• ‘It was as if a light of relief from all anxiety flooded into my heart. All the shadows of doubt were dispelled.’ (Augustine of Hippo, 397)
• ‘It became to me a gateway into heaven.’ (Martin Luther, 1545)
• ‘An assurance was given me that [Christ] had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me.’ (John Wesley, 1738)

It’s our prayer that God does a similar work in us over the year. If you want to read ahead, this is how the weeks break down:

We meet on Sundays after the 5pm service at a home near St Andrew the Great, to study the Bible. It ends at 8pm, often with a trip to a local pub or café. To get involved meet us at St Andrew the Great after the evening service.

Summer 2010

Rescued

The first part of Exodus tells the story of how God rescued his people, the Israelites, from slavery in Egypt. It’s an amazing picture of how God has rescued us through Jesus’ death on the cross.

27^th June: Let my people go! (Exodus 1 and 3)

4^th July: A false start? (Exodus 5:1-6:12)

11^th July: The great escape (Exodus 11:1-12:42)

18^th July: Free at last (Exodus 14:1-31)

25^th July: Meet your maker (Exodus 19:1-25)

A king like no other

We’ll have a chilled out time during August, chatting about the sermons from the 5pm service. The sermons will be from Matthew and will help us see what kind of King Jesus is.

1^st August: Unpredictable (Matthew 9:9-17)

8^th August:Merciful (Matthew 9:18-34)

15^th August: Shepherd (Matthew 9:35-38)

22^nd August: Sending (Matthew 10:1-25)

The problem with the world…

The first three chapters of Romans tell us why the world is in such a mess: because of human sin. We need to see what a mess we’re in before we can appreciate how good God has been to us.

29^th August: Not ashamed (Romans 1:1-17)

5^th September: Without excuse (Romans 1:18-32)

12^th September: Not good enough (Romans 2:1-29)

19^th September: A damning conclusion (Romans 3:9-20)

26^th September: An amazing solution (Romans 3:21-31)

If you have any questions please email us.

The first few months of university can be quite daunting with a new city, new friends and a new course to get used to. At St Andrew the Great there are seven Student Staff whose job it is to help you find your feet and look after you – and a whole church family who would love to meet you.

A first step might be to come to one of our services at 10am, 11.30am or 5pm. Good ways to meet other students include Student Lunch on Sundays and Focus on Tuesdays.

If you’ve never really thought about Christianity before, University is a great opportunity to do that. Arena is a five week course that gives you a chance to ask your questions and get to grips with Jesus.

If you’d like us to know about you, or there is anything we can help you with, then please fill out the form below or drop us an email. We're really looking forward to meeting you in person.

Each year students from St Andrew the Great go away for four days to a country house in Norfolk. We call it 'The Great Escape'. In 2011 Graham Daniels (General Director of Christians in Sport and Associate Evangelist at St Andrew the Great) and Mark Simpson (Assistant Minister at St Andrew's Church, Leyland) will be giving the talks. We hope you can join us!

Great Escapes 2010

At the Great Escapes in 2010 we had talks on 'Walking by faith' from Hebrews 11 from William Taylor. William is minister of St Helen's, Bishopsgate, in the City of London. There were also talks on the incarnation from Brian Elfick. 

'Faith and foundations', William Taylor (audio) (handout)
'Faith and the future', William Taylor (audio) (handout)
'Faith and values', William Taylor (audio) (handout)
'Faith and risk-taking', William Taylor (audio) (handout)
'What is the incarnation?', Brian Elfick (audio) (handout)
'What does the incarnation teach us about God?', Brian Elfick (audio) (handout)
'What does the incarnation teach us about ourselves?', Brian Elfick (audio) (handout)

More details will be posted here in due course.

Summer ventures are an opportunity for young people to spend time away from home learning about the Christian faith and enjoying an action-packed holiday. A typical venture goes like this: a team of 40 leaders, helped by 30 undergraduates, take over a school in a pretty location and transform it into a holiday destination. Next, 70 or so kids arrive, and morning and evening they hear talks from the Bible explaining the gospel. In between, the day is filled with games, crazy activities, food, entertainment and chilling.

What would I do?

As a volunteer, your job is to make all this happen by doing the practical tasks. Volunteers also receive great Bible teaching. If you return in later years, you may serve in other ways: maybe leading studies or giving talks.

Ventures are a great way to serve others by helping them to hear about Jesus and to grow in their trust of him. There are 90 days in the summer vac. Why not commit 10 of these to serving Jesus in this way?

Interested?

Below are some ventures that we go on and can recommend. Use the form to let us know if you'd like to receive more information.

• Lymington Rushmore (Hampshire), 12^th July-7^th August
• Casterton 1 (Cumbria), 24^th-31^st July
• Quantock 1 (Somerset),  25^th July-3^rd August
• Iwerne  (Norfolk), 16^th July-16^th August
• Bredon 2 (Gloucestershire), 6^th-13^th August
• Sparkford 3 (Somerset), 13^th-21^st August
• Barnstaple 3 (Devon), 13^th-22^nd August
• Bredon 3 (Gloucestershire), 14^th-21^st August

Quick, get me signed up!

To sign up or to receive more information, please fill in the form below:

Also, Hitchhikers is runnning for those of undergraduate age in Cambridge for the university holidays.

The team’s projects focused on supporting Bible teachers in the context of engaging with some acute social problems. Port Elizabeth has a mixed population and high rates of AIDS and crime. The team is served the community in the following ways:

• Supporting the teaching staff practically and teaching the students English and IT skills at Bible Institute Eastern Cape, a local theological college which equips local pastors to teach the Bible faithfully and clearly, working across cultural and language barriers.

• Bible-teaching and pastoral work on the local university campuses, under the supervision of a long-term worker.

• Helping with children’s and youth work in Emmanuel, one of the local churches, and in schools.

If you’re interested in being part of a similar team, please contact Brian Elfick.

• We always need people willing to welcome at the three services. So many people who are new to the church and Christianity walk through the doors on a Sunday, and we want them to feel welcome.
• During the 10.00am service we run two supervised crèches, for babies and toddlers. If volunteers can entertain the children, their parents can be in the service and hear the teaching without distraction.
• The lunches and dinners we have at St Andrew the Great throughout the year could not happen were it not for the tireless help of congregation members preparing the food, setting up, serving and washing up.
• Or maybe you can help out with the music? We always need people to sing, play instruments and run the sound desk.

If you’d like to get involved in any of these ways, then become a StAG Link. The only commitment is one training session at the beginning of each term (two in the first term). If you want to find out more, email Kath Rothman.

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16th May 2010

Fill in this form if you would like to host students for lunch.  If you are an undergraduate and want to sign up for lunch use the form here.