What is a Politics Network Hub?
The UCCF Politics Network exists to train and equip Christian students to live and speak for Jesus in the public square.
There are many ways to get involved, sign-up for our monthly newsletter, check out the resources on the rest of this website, come to Forum and Word Alive where we run seminar series just for you, and get involved in our monthly discipleship group, Civitas.
The pandemic has shown us the importance of local community and strong relationships. With this in mind, we encourage you to set up a local Politics Network group to take this central content further.
The Politics Network Hubs, or local groups, meet regularly to pray, study the Bible and support one another in the political contexts we inhabit. But they also exist to take the good news of the gospel to our politically engaged friends. They come in all shapes and sizes from a big group with lots of members who run lots of events, to a tiny gathering of just one or two members of the CU, and everything in-between.
How do I get started?
Hubs exist to help resource politically-minded students within CU’s with Biblical foundations, strong relationships, and time to pray. They are not a rival to the CU or Impact Groups, but an additional resource to support Christian students engaged in politics and help the CU reach politics or politically active students.
If you are part of the Politics Network and know of others within your CU who are also keen and politically engaged then why not begin by creating a group chat and finding a time to have a prayer meeting. Here you can sell the vision of the Hub and find out what times and formats might work for your group. Even if it is just two or three of you, think how encouraging it might be to have a friend to think Biblically about political things with!
If you’re interested in setting up a Hub, no matter how small, contact the Politics Network Coordinator to get started.
What should we do?
With the launch of Awaiting the King, our new ten-part Bible study series which works through the political narrative at the heart of the Bible, we now have the perfect resource around which to structure your Hub meetings. Check out Study or contact politics@uccf.org.uk to grab yourself a physical copy. Although there are other resources you could make use of from book discussions to lectures. If you'd like some other options just get in touch.
We recommend trying to cover the ten sessions across a year in a '123 GO' format, perhaps with an extra session in the first term given it is usually the longest. The benefits of the '123 GO' format is it builds evangelism into the very fabric of your Hub.
The vision of '123 GO' is to run three discipling/training sessions that exist to encourage and equip you to better understand the political narrative of the gospel and therefore be better placed to share this good news with others. Which is exactly what you then do on a 'GO' week... Could you invite a Christian involved in politics to come and share a testimony or be interviewed? Could you make use of the 'Meals With a Message' resources found on our 'Speak' section of the website? Could you run a lunchbar on a political topic? There are so many possibilities!
There are other options too and you might well have your own ideas so chat to your Staff Worker and CU Presidents and see what will work best in your context with the resources you have. As long as you're praying, gathering around the word, and seeking to share the good news that Jesus is Lord you won't go far wrong.