Zografou, the suburb in which we live, is hemmed in to the east and south by Athens University (where we took our Greek lessons in the early years of being here) and to the north by Athens Polytechnic. To the west lies the city centre, a 10 minute bike ride downhill.
It's always been a puzzle to me why we have never, ever had contact with students and events at the Polytechnic. We have a small group at the University, we've done a couple of evangelistic outreaches there, we run Coffee & Cookies there periodically. But at the Poly - nothing.
Ever.
Until yesterday.
At our October conference I met a 2nd year engineering student and we've kept in touch, trying to find time to meet, encouraging him to come along to stuff. Yesterday after all these months of trying we met for a 1-2-1, starting in our new series in John's gospel. Good little Bible study, relaxed connection.
I've also been trying for a couple of weeks to make contact with a Christian professor, and he messaged before my 1-2-1 saying we could meet at 5. So, from 4-5 I sat in a classroom with the student and then he waited with me to meet the professor - who it turns out teaches him! He didn't know he was a Christian, but told me that he'd noticed there was something different about this professor - happier, kinder, better.
It was a useful conversation (to do with a big project for the autumn - you'll hear about it soon) but it explained a little why perhaps we've never previously had contacts at the Poly. He said that the atmosphere and the mood there is deeply hostile to anything not leftwing politically, and anything religious is excluded and opposed. He also said that the levels of corruption are alarming. The same people who are dishonestly connected to industry for personal gain are the ones who are shouting about speaking against corruption in government and the banks.
It is a godless, perverse place it would seem - as is the whole world, but here perhaps more acutely than in other institutions.
At any rate, it's another institution where we're trying to plant gospel seeds. Three big questions on my mind:
1. What are realistic expectations that we can have for gospel progress when I'm in contact with one student with appetite and one with very little?
2. How do we help our small numbers of believing students to have any confidence that God can save people with no gospel background?
3. With the autumn evangelistic opportunities in mind, is it right to think about trying to do something big and public in such a hostile place?
Pray for Athens Polytechnic!
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| Athens - city centre, Zografou, University and Polytechnic |
It's always been a puzzle to me why we have never, ever had contact with students and events at the Polytechnic. We have a small group at the University, we've done a couple of evangelistic outreaches there, we run Coffee & Cookies there periodically. But at the Poly - nothing.
Ever.
Until yesterday.
 |
| Panorama of the Engineering Faculty at Athens Polytechnic |
At our October conference I met a 2nd year engineering student and we've kept in touch, trying to find time to meet, encouraging him to come along to stuff. Yesterday after all these months of trying we met for a 1-2-1, starting in our new series in John's gospel. Good little Bible study, relaxed connection.
I've also been trying for a couple of weeks to make contact with a Christian professor, and he messaged before my 1-2-1 saying we could meet at 5. So, from 4-5 I sat in a classroom with the student and then he waited with me to meet the professor - who it turns out teaches him! He didn't know he was a Christian, but told me that he'd noticed there was something different about this professor - happier, kinder, better.
It was a useful conversation (to do with a big project for the autumn - you'll hear about it soon) but it explained a little why perhaps we've never previously had contacts at the Poly. He said that the atmosphere and the mood there is deeply hostile to anything not leftwing politically, and anything religious is excluded and opposed. He also said that the levels of corruption are alarming. The same people who are dishonestly connected to industry for personal gain are the ones who are shouting about speaking against corruption in government and the banks.
It is a godless, perverse place it would seem - as is the whole world, but here perhaps more acutely than in other institutions.
At any rate, it's another institution where we're trying to plant gospel seeds. Three big questions on my mind:
1. What are realistic expectations that we can have for gospel progress when I'm in contact with one student with appetite and one with very little?
2. How do we help our small numbers of believing students to have any confidence that God can save people with no gospel background?
3. With the autumn evangelistic opportunities in mind, is it right to think about trying to do something big and public in such a hostile place?
Pray for Athens Polytechnic!
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