Interview with Matt Moffitt, Senior Staffworker Sydney University Evangelical Union
Who are the EU Staff and Postgraduates? What do they do?
EU Postgrads and Staff (EPS) are the 100 research postgraduates, academics, and general staff connected to the Evangelical Union at Sydney University. We have a great passion to see Jesus honoured within this section of the university (about 12,000) people, and that shapes everything we do: bible studies, book clubs, prayer groups, conferences, seminars, and gospel symposiums.
What is your role with the EU Staff and Postgraduates?
I’ve just started as a senior staffworker with the EU, and working with EPS is my main responsibility. I have the joy of partnering with two fabulous students and a uni staff member in leading the ministry, and in many ways my role is to enable them to lead in a way that is both faithful and fruitful. More generally, my task is to reach out, train and challenge postgraduate students to live, think and labour in a way that is shaped by the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I’m particularly keen to bring people together in a fellowship around the Bible, because there’s a real richness in God’s people gathering together in the power of God’s Spirit to study God’s word. My hope is that this will provide not only a thick fellowship amidst the isolation of the academic life, but will also catalyse postgrads and staff to bring together their own work with their faith, and enable them to be a faithful presence within the university.
Some would argue that fellowship amongst Christian academics isn't a priority, that people should focus their efforts on the local church rather than campus ministry. What are your thoughts?
I think that the local church is at the very centre of what God is doing in the world, the means through which he boasts of his own wisdom. This is why I find it hard to believe that fellowship amongst Christian academics would be a distraction from local church work. I believe that our work here on campus in bringing Christian academics together will be good for the church in at least two ways. Firstly, whilst it is easy to feel isolated in general as an academic, I think that isolation for Christians can be easily accentuated by the plausibility structures of Australia’s universities cannot understand how a reasonable, articulate person can be both an academic and a Christian. Fellowship among Christian academics is vital so that they can continue to survive and thrive as both academics and Christians. Secondly, bringing academics together is only going to be of service to the local church in its faith and witness. The more Christian academics can understand their discipline evangelically, and can learn from Christians in other academic disciplines, the better placed they’ll be to publically commend the gospel apologetically and equip the church to understand the world which God has made.
How do you plan to reach academics and staff with the gospel of Jesus? Are there particular models of evangelism that you think work well in the academic context?
This is one of those questions which keeps me awake at night. In many ways, it relies on Christian academics to be a faithful presence in their work. They need to embody the truths of the gospel in their every deed, looking for ways to love and care for their colleagues. I expect that if they can do this, they’ll look different in surprising ways. One staff member I know brings coffee to work for his colleagues each day. It’s a small thing, but it is his way of showing that he is on for his office. That’s a good start, and I think that at EPS we can go further. Knowing the gospel for yourself and being able to share it from your heart is important. So too is having a conceptual gospel framework so that you’re not just telling the gospel by rote, by able to connect the gospel with different challenges your colleagues will face. One thing we’ve tried at EPS over the last 12 months in connection with Uncover is to learn a few stories from the Gospels to use in our conversations when talking with people. And the hope here is that we’ll be able to use these Gospel stories not only in ‘religious’ conversations, but also in a compelling way as we talk about life with our colleagues.
What this will look like in 2016 for EPS is still up for grabs. But we’re hoping to work alongside the Evangelical Union in building a public Christian presence on campus this year. And our pray is that on the back of this, postgrads and staff will pray for and take opportunities to share the gospel.
What have been some of the encouragements of the staff and postgrad ministry at Sydney Uni?
In my time with EPS, I’ve seen an incredible amount of growth. People have became Christian, and continued on in the faith, stewarding the gifts in Christ’s service. It’s always encouraging when Christian postgrads became more and more confident in their ability to integrate their faith with their work, finding the gospel connections with their discipline. And over the last few years, our graduates have gone throughout Australia and the world, working in universities and being a blessing to the local church and ministry on their campus.
And the struggles?
One of our challenges in the coming years is to build a stronger Christian academic presence in the humanities.
How can we be praying for the EU Staff and Postgraduates this year?
Pray for Jonathan Thambyrajah, Radhika Moore, and Nicholas Proschogo as they lead EPS, that they would be wise in their leadership, and have a heart both for the Christians in the ministry and the many lost people out of the 12,000 research postgraduates, academics, and general staff at university. Also give thanks for their humility and servant-heartedness. Pray for me, that as I meet with many postgrads and staff this year over coffee, that I would be winsome in my speech, and gather more and more people to join this ministry. Pray too for knowledge and wisdom for me as I attempt to help people bring together their faith and work. Finally, pray for a great flood of Sydney University postgraduates and staff to go beyond this campus into all the world, especially those places which are less reached or less resourced with the gospel, so that our work here at Sydney Uni would be a blessing to the church and the university in many other parts of the world, and bear fruit for decades to come.