Training
a New Generation of Student
Volunteer Leaders in Europe
  .
A
Report and Reflection
by
Sarah Bick
This past August,
around 60 student volunteers
from across Europe arrived in
Belfast, Northern Ireland for
the Kairos Student
Volunteers Leadership Training
(SVLT) conference, a week to
be equipped for our mission in
university outreach.
The week
was all about vision and
leadership, and arriving
at the conference we
heard about how one of
the fundamental
qualities of a leader
was “teachability,” a
willingness to be taught
and changed. We kicked
off the week with the
desire to be exactly
that – a teachable
people, set on fire for
service!
One of the
first things that struck me
was how international the
group was: We came from
Krakow, Bielsko-Biała, Leuven,
London, Dublin, Belfast &
Glasgow, creating a rich
atmosphere of different
languages and cultures. We got
the chance to hear about each
other’s home culture in
presentations every day, and
bonded both in our
“networking” times over crisps
and drinks in the evenings,
and on the volleyball courts.
Another highlight for me was
receiving daily reflections
from Don Schwager in the
mornings, which gave insights
on different character traits
and how they are modelled in
biblical characters (and in
scenes from Lord of the
Rings!) I was inspired to have
courage in leadership and in
speaking the truth about
Christ to my peers. We then
received practical wisdom in
building teams and being
effective in talks later in
the day, like handling
conflict and planning events.
A
teachable
people, set on
fire for
service!
|
The
main message was about our
calling as student leaders. On
entering the barn we used for
prayer meetings, the walls
were covered in posters with
God’s call to the Sword of the
Spirit and Kairos over
generations, from the 70s to
last summer. But these weren’t
just nice reminders – this is
our call also, as leaders in
Kairos. It was incredible to
see so many people take up
that vision of what the Lord
has called us to be in the
past and also to hear his
voice calling us as a people
now.
The Holy Spirit was really
present and many members got
to exercise new spiritual
gifts and prophesy over our
outreaches, which was
incredibly powerful.
Every time I’ve been to an
outreach training week, it’s
been with a different mix of
people. This year, God called
new student leaders who had
just recently joined a local
University Christian Outreach
(UCO) as well as those who
have been around for a while,
and it was exciting to see
people take up their place in
leadership of our university
outreaches and really engage
with the vision and call that
the Lord has for our
generation. I’m eager to see
how the Lord will use that in
the coming year.
Personal Reflection by
Michael Potter
Koinonia Lonon
I had a very positive
experience at the Student
Volunteer Leadership
Training (SVLT)
week this past August. It was
held in the Mullartown House
retreat center on the Northern
Irish coast a short drive from
Belfast, which was both
peaceful and picturesque. God
was very definitely present
during this training week - a week
I will well remember.
The social
and networking
opportunities were real
positives for me. The
sheer diversity of people
and nationalities led to
great conversations that
could never have happened
anywhere else. It was
especially good to have a
large Polish contingent
with us who made a real
effort to cross
geographical and
linguistic barriers to
bring their own brand of
joy and energy, as well as
novel ideas on evangelism.
We also
received some great
teaching during the week
from a number of speakers.
Talks on Conflict
Resolution and Structure
& Team Building
particularly stood out for
me, as these gave good
practical advice on how to
work with people to build
a strong outreach and to
keep it going and
expanding. Another great
strength of this week was
that it made plenty of
time for prayer, with
daily times for worship
and meditation as well as
larger prayer meetings
where the Holy Spirit was
working powerfully.
I very much
feel equipped after this
week, both personally and
as part of an outreach. I
am sure that we will
benefit a lot from the
wisdom we have received,
and I myself will take
away lots of the practical
lessons on running events
and planning as well as
all the things we heard
from the Lord about the
coming year. I am
convinced that this week
will directly impact the
work of Kairos outreaches
across Europe.
Personal Reflection
by Cathy Holmes
UCO Glasgow
This year I
attended my first Student
Volunteer Leadership
Training week and I
absolutely loved it! I
have been a member of UCO
Glasgow for a year now and
was excited to find out
new ways to improve our
mission. Throughout the
week we were given a lot
of time to build
relationships with other
outreaches which really
helped me to feel unified
and part of one movement,
God’s movement. It’s very
easy to focus solely on
your own local group so
being given time to mix
gave me a glimpse into how
other outreaches work and
allowed me to steal a few
ideas as well! Fellowship
was a really key aspect of
the week with relay races,
volleyball tournaments and
card games being some of
the (interesting) ways we
got to know each other a
bit better. These bonds
were especially helpful
for discussing our various
outreaches during
discussion times because
we were able to be open
and honest with each other
when trying to find
solutions to our different
issues.
One thing I
didn’t expect of the
conference was a lot of
prayer time. I have
realised that in order to
be a good missionary,
prayer has to become a
normal part of life. God
is truly present in our
lives and will reveal
himself if we ask. I got
to witness this first hand
when our injured star
volleyball player was
healed by the side of the
court after some brief
prayer! It doesn’t matter
how ready we feel to take
on this mission because
God equips, guides and
leads us. That is the main
thing I am taking forward
from this training week –
this is God’s mission, ask
and receive.
Personal Reflection by
Paul Fletcher
UCO Dublin
Taking part
in SVLT this year was an
amazing experience all
together. From the range
of speakers to the range
of different personalities
to the range of
nationalities, it was a
blast and very helpful for
all involved. Even from
the get go it was evident
that we would actively
train and improve the
people there to better
serve their University
Christian Outreach (UCO)
and God.
One of my
favorite parts of the week
was certainly the talk on
practically organising an
event and how to do it
well, given by Dom Perrem.
The practical information
we received was excellent
and useful and he had us
all giggling in our seats
entertaining the thought
of having a UCO meeting in
the wackiest location we
could think of.
Naturally it
wasn’t all work and no
play and we had a whole
host of activities each
day from Frisbee to cards
to a stroll on the beach
and more. Playing soccer
with guys from all over
Europe in the beaming sun
was definitely an amazing
moment for me.
From the time
I spent at SVLT I hope to
better serve my UCO in the
coming year and beyond and
we certainly have the
tools to have an excellent
and successful year in our
UCO in Dublin.
Next > More
Reflections by Kairos
Student Volunteer Leaders
in Europe
>
See related articles and
reflections on Kairos in this
issue:
You
can also get in touch
with the Kairos regions:
|
