Intervarsity Graduate Student Ministry-Oxford, England

In September 2018 we moved from New York City to Oxford, England to serve as IVCF Missionaries and for me (David) to begin work on a four year masters/PhD program in Christian Ethics at the University of Oxford. IVCF traces its roots to the Oxford and Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Unions (now the UCCF or “Christian Unions”), which began as a student-driven campus renewal movement in the 1870s. IVCF and our local partner in mission (the Oxford Pastorate) have long carried the banner for intellectually engaged, spiritually transformative ministry to the future global leaders.

Our present mission of ministering to graduate students and faculty at the University of Oxford is very much a ministry of developing these future global leaders for service. More than half of all graduate students at the University of Oxford are international students, many of them coming from non-Western nations such as China, Saudi Arabia, and India—some of the world’s best and brightest. Imagine a world in which these future global leaders now studying in Oxford saw their education not as a “passport to privilege” but as equipment for service. These young men and women are often encouraged to pursue credentials without regard for character; to develop skills without a higher purpose, and to promote narrow national or personal interests without regard for God or neighbor. But what if these students instead chose to follow Christ? What if these gifted students—the world’s future doctors, lawyers, artists, scientists, leaders, educators, and innovators—followed Jesus, giving their lives to the resolution of the crises and challenges of our time out of love for God and for our global neighbors?”

We believe that as missionaries, our specific gifts and past work experiences have primed us to help the Oxford Pastorate in significant ways. First, through developing programs and initiatives that help graduate students 1) to discern the ways God is uniquely calling and equipping them to serve, 2) to integrate their faith with their academic and professional disciplines, and 3) to mature as Christian leaders. Second, we feel uniquely positioned to help support the Oxford Pastorate’s development as a local ministry organization 1) to act as bridgebuilders between often segmented or siloed parts of the Christian ecosystem within Oxford as a university city, and 2) to catalyze graduate student ministry in university cities beyond Oxford through strategic partnerships.