Eden Student Guide

The following text is adapted from Eden's Student Guide booklet, last issued in September 2006 and slightly amended for academic year 2007-8:

If you are new to Cambridge, welcome! We are glad you are here. As a fresh undergraduate or postgraduate student, we hope the next few years will be enjoyable and fruitful. We look forward to sharing this with you as God's plan for your life unfolds.

If you are considering which church to belong to then this article is for you!

Who are we?

Eden is a God-centred, Christ-centred, Bible-believing church that has a heart for students. Our desire is to welcome people from all over the world, to help them encounter Christ, and to see them grow into 'good and faithful servants' of Jesus Christ.

As a church, our vision is to be a family, rooted in the Word of God and prayer, whose love for Christ and for one another overflows in joyful sharing of the gospel with all.

Take a look elsewhere on this site for the full version of our vision statement, and also our basis of faith, "A Firm Foundation".

Student ministry vision

Flowing from this, our vision for the student ministry at Eden is threefold:

• To encourage discipleship that focuses on making Jesus the Lord of all of life, not just the 'spiritual' bits.
• To form a community of students who have a desire to love one another and learn from God.
• To promote service by students in the church. We want students to be an integral part of the wider Eden community.

What's happening?

On Sundays we come together to praise God, to learn from His Word and to encourage each other. Our worship services are at 10 am and 6 pm and normally last around 75 minutes.

At Eden, our preaching is expository: that means that the Bible sets the agenda and we enjoy hearing God speak to us from it. We normally work through books of the Bible systematically with occasional sermons looking at contemporary issues or topics. (For current service details, click on "services" on the left-hand menu).

What about the Christian Unions?

At Eden we try not to organize too many meetings for students during the week. That's on purpose! Jesus calls us all to be 'salt and light' (). To be salty, you will need the time and space to be with other students, both Christians and non-Christians. We are fully behind the work of the Christian Unions - whether at Anglia Ruskin University CU, CICCU and the college CUs or international student fellowship groups - and we strongly encourage you to be involved in yours.

International Students

It's a great joy for us to welcome students from all over the world and invite you to all our student activities, including home from home hospitality which we can also offer at Christmas. Manuel and Sian Serrano (contact via the ) are members of Eden and are always enthusiastic to welcome international students and help them settle in to both Eden and Cambridge. Why not get in touch with them or ask a steward to point you in their direction at church?

Postgraduates

Most of our student ministries are focussed on undergrads pursuing their first degrees. We encourage our post-grads to be involved with the Christian Graduate Society, which is is a great opportunity for outreach, fellowship and Bible study. For more information see the CGS website, from which you can contact the president Ethan Sanders.

Postgrads are also very welcome to the 20s-30s group. See their web page on this site for the latest events.

Student Team

Besides those on the church staff, there is also a group of Eden members who are committed to working with students. They'll be the older types at Student Supper, and some meet with students one on one. Many are postgraduates and young professionals who can give you good advice about your courses and student life in general. Get to know them, quiz them and extract all their wisdom; they're here for you!

Come and say hello

The Student and Staff Team would love to get to know you better, so do come and say hello. A good way for us to contact you and for you to get in touch with us is if you fill in the card insert in the printed booklet form of this article, and hand it to one of the student team, or pop it into the Administrator's pigeon-hole in the concourse area. Alternatively, e-mail the .

We will be praying for you. We hope you will have a great year ahead.

Marvin (assistant pastor with responsibility for students)

HOW CAN EDEN SERVE YOU?

One-2-Ones

In the Bible, we see various examples of spiritual friendships - Paul and Timothy, Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Jonathan and David, Mordecai and Esther - taking place. These are examples of how a believer - leader, friend, or relative - can help another become who he or she should be in Christ. We want to do the same for you!

So at Eden we have a discipleship program for students called 'One-2-Ones.' Our aim for the One-2-Ones is 'friendship with a purpose.' So how does it work? We will link you up with someone from the Eden student team who you can meet with informally but regularly. It is informal in the sense that you and your 'mentor' will decide together how your meetings will take shape - you can tailor the meetings to your needs.

Usually this will mean studying the Bible together or working through a Christian book. However, we want it to be more than just another bible study. It's a chance to talk through specific personal or theological issues. It's a chance to be accounatble to an older Christian, And it's a chance to pray regularly with an older friend for God to work in your life. We highly recommend it!

So if you're interested, talk to Marvin or one of the student team, fill in the card found in the printed booklet form of this article, tick the One-2-One box and pass it back to us. We will try to pair you up with a 'mentor' that you'll get on with and you can start straight away.

Of course here is an option to change mentors if the chemistry is not right. (We are not perfect matchmakers!) If you decide that Eden will be your church whilst at uni, why not start straightaway?

Student Supper

Student Supper after the evening service: home cooking, good company, good chat and the opportunity to fire questions at the preacher about the sermon.

• Time: 8pm-ish
• Venue: Back Hall - just follow the crowd
• Requested 'donation'- £1.50

A fantastic way to begin/end the week! The preacher for the evening will eat with us and then tackle questions about the sermon. It's a great opportunity to make friends, think through the sermon in a deeper way and pick up practical tips for application. Often entertaining and tremendously beneficial, the Student Supper aims to satisfy both physical and spiritual appetites. Come along!

Houseparties

There are two weekend houseparties that are run for students each year. The first is just for freshers and happens at the end of term - from the afternoon of Friday 1st December to the evening of Saturday 2nd. The second is for all the students at Eden and will be form the 16th to the 18th March 2007.

Our desire on both of these houseparties is to help you grow closer to Jesus through a ficussed time of prayer, worship, Bible study and small group discussion. Look out for information coming up, but get the dates in your diaries now!

Equip (starting again in May)

On seven Tueadays after Easter, between 8:00 and 9:30pm there is a teaching program for the whole church, to which students are warmly welcomed. The aim is to equip Christians for 'whole life discipleship', i.e. living as Jesus' disciple in every sphere of life.

It is a six module programme which includes topics such as a Bible overview, doctrine of God and salvation, everyday spirituality and dynamics of spiritual growth.

This foundational understanding of the Christian life ought to help us to grow into the people that God wants us to be. So do come and join us for this and be equipped for the Christian life!

Home from Home

"It's all too easy to stay within the student ghetto while at university. Home-from-Home helped me to get to know a family well and hence broadened my "church horizons"!
(Helen, graduated 2004)

Adopt a family! Tick the Home-from-Home box on the welcome card and you may find yourself with a Mum, Dad, siblings or maybe even pets right here in Cambridge. Ideal: food, and no nagging about your room! What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than napping on a couch in a nice house after a proper roast lunch with the cat on your lap?

Families, couples and single people in the church have volunteered to host students and open their homes to them. You'll get to know some of the church family, have someone older to turn to for advice and support and will be invited to their home for food and sofas, which, you will soon find, are invaluable to the Cambridge student.

Pastoral Care

We all face times in our lives when we need to talk to someone. You may be depressed or worried; you may have been bereaved; there may be some issue you are struggling with or need help working through. Talking with friends is great but when it doesn't seem quite enough, we want to be there for you. Please feel free to contact Julian, Marvin or Genevieve and we'll arrange to see you as soon as possible.

Baptism

If you have become a Christian recently and would like to be baptised or if your faith is more long-standing but you are thinking about baptism please do see Julian or Marvin to discuss it further. Pick up a Baptism leaflet available at our Welcome Desk or read about it here if you want to know more.

Membership

If you choose Eden to be your church while you're at Cambridge, we'd love you to consider becoming an associate member of Eden. This is a way of formalizing your commitment and responsibility to the church and ours to you. You can still be a member of your home church by becoming an Associate Member of Eden. Contact Julian or Marvin to find out more.

Students make a significant contribution to the body at Eden and Christian service is a great way to grow spiritually. There are many ways you can be an encouragement by taking hold of the opportunities for service here at Eden, such as:

• Music Group
• Sound/PA Team
• Digital Projection
• Children's Ministries
• Youth Groups
• Stewarding
• Catering (coffee/tea after services) etc…

So don't be afraid to get involved! Have a word with Marvin or Genevieve, or contact the church office if you would like more information.

Finally, one of the crucial ways you can serve us is to pray for us and with us. On the second Thursday of every month at 8pm we have a whole church prayer meeting, and our vision is to have everyone who is committed to the church coming together in prayer. It would be great if you could come and join us!