The Christian Union on ACC
Franz Tapia Chaca, the events officer for the Christian Union (CU) describes why they hand out biscuits and tea late in the night at ACC on Wednesdays.
Are these biscuits free? May I take some?” – Imperial student at Halloween ACC.
“Yes and yes. They’re not there for you to just look at them!” – Imperial Christian Union.
“Jesus Christ!” – Imperial student.
Did you go to the Halloween ACC bar night on October 31st? If so, you may have seen a bright bunch serving tea, coffee and biscuits just outside the Union building. Though we too are Imperial students, this brightness does not refer to any intelligence, but rather to our neon orange jumpers, a trademark of the Imperial College Christian Union (ICCU).
ICCU goes to ACC bar nights to serve free tea, coffee and biscuits to students, and we invite all students to come and have some! We thank the Union for the space we get to do this, through which we can “love [our] neighbour as [ourselves]” (the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22, verse 39). Students come and may also ask questions about life and the Christian faith: How can a good God allow suffering? How can we know God exists? We welcome such questions, as they are fair and deserving of answers.
However, this short article won’t answer these questions. Rather, we were invited to explain why we spend our funds, generously given to us by members and churches, and our time to serve Imperial students until 3am on ACC nights.
We seek to serve and love Imperial students by giving them an opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus, which bring eternal life.
What is this good news? God loves the people he created so greatly that He sent his son Jesus Christ to bear the punishment that we deserve. What’s this punishment? Because of our disobedience and wrongdoings against God, who created everything, we are subject to his just punishment, which is eternal death. But Jesus willingly takes on this punishment for those who place their faith in Jesus, and by that faith they enter into a personal, everlasting relationship with God.
Therefore, we seek to serve and love our peers primarily by sharing this message, which is realised practically in organising talks, promoting questions and serving food and drink to students on ACC nights.
Does this sound crazy? It may do on the surface, but the evidence behind our faith convicts us of its truth. If you are skeptical, come along to our events and engage in discussion; we provide free food and drink to all. For more info, visit iccu.co.uk. See you at the next ACC on November 28th!
