Faith On Campus Podcast

17/02/2021

New episode hot off the press! 😮

In the next few weeks, thousands of uni students all around Australia will be heading back to university as semester gets under way. In this episode we ask the question: why get connected to the Christian group on your campus? 🤔

This Summer Special episode is a recording of talk given last week at Kickstart, a 3-day orientation camp for incoming first year university students in Western Australia. We had about 150 students with us, and it was a great time to help incoming students get to know what uni will be like, make some friends who will be on their campus, and think about the difference that Jesus makes during uni life.

https://thebensmartblog.com/2021/02/17/why-join-christian-union/

Why Join Christian Union? In this Summer Special episode we look at why a uni student might want to be part of the Christian group on their campus.

07/02/2021

It's that time of year again, Kickstart is starting tomorrow! 😮

Kickstart is an annual orientation camp that helps students make the transition to uni well, and we'd love you to join us in praying that God will be at work in the lives of students.

If you'd like to hear more about Kickstart, you can listen to this interview that was recorded at Kickstart last year 👇

https://thebensmartblog.com/2020/03/06/faith-on-campus-s2e2-kickstart-christian-unions/

In this week's episode of Faith On Campus I interview Sarah Hunter about Kickstart, an orientation camp run by the Christian Unions of WA.

30/10/2020

Ladies and gents, here it is: the final episode of Season 3 👏

In this episode, a uni student responds to the question, "Why am I still a Christian?"

He begins, "That’s a good question. In case you didn’t know, the world is messed up. Global disasters happen, relationships break down, people get sick and die… life often feels like it’s out of control. Another thing that is true is that God is sovereign, which means that God is in control of everything. He moves all the pieces on the board. If there is anyone who can do something about the state of the world, it is God. So when bad things happen, I find myself blaming God.”

For this student, this isn’t just an intellectual question. Two years ago a friend of his died unexpectedly. And then over the next two years, he has faced tragedy after tragedy. At one point he remarks, “It seems not a month has gone by since the death of my friend two years ago that some new drama or calamity befalls me.”

So through all of this, why is he still a Christian? Have a listen and find out.

In this final episode of Season 3, we hear from a student who has faced tragedy after tragedy respond to the question, "Why Am I Still A Christian?"

10/10/2020

Latest episode of Faith On Campus is out! This week we hear from Jeremy Wright on his thoughts as he considers cross-cultural mission work.

How did cross-cultural mission work even get on the radar? What are some of the factors he's weighing up? And what does Chewbacca have to do with following Jesus? 🤔🤔🤔

https://thebensmartblog.com/2020/10/10/s3e9-considering-cross-cultural-mission-jeremy-wright/

In this episode of Faith On Campus we hear from Jeremy Wright, a Maths & Physics student who is considering cross cultural mission work.

25/09/2020

Latest episode just out! 😮

The final instalment our series in Genesis 12-23, looking at the Life of Abraham. In Genesis 23 we see Sarah reach the end of her life, and Abraham does something unexpected. This passage has a lot to teach us about how we live for Jesus today 🙌

https://thebensmartblog.com/2020/09/25/s3e8-homeward-bound-genesis-23/

In this final instalment of our series in Genesis we see Abraham and Sarah facing death, and it has a lot to teach us about living as God's people today.

20/09/2020

Latest episode: would you sacrifice your child? 😮

In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. It’s a pretty well-known passage, but when you stop and think about it, it raises some pretty big questions.

What kind of God would ask someone to do this?
What kind of father would obey?

Christopher Hitchens saw this incident between God and Abraham as one big example of how religion is toxic. On the one hand, it is problematic that God would ask something like this in the first place. But on another level, Hitchens points out how problematic it seems that Abraham was willing to obey. What kind of loving parent would do that?

https://thebensmartblog.com/2020/09/18/s3e7-would-you-sacrifice-your-child-gen-22/

Would you sacrifice your child? In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. It’s a pretty well-known passage, but when you stop and think about it, it raises some pretty big questions. What kind of God would ask someone to do this?What kind of father would obey? Christopher H...

11/09/2020

Latest episode hot off the press - no retirement for this man!

Howard Spencer has been serving with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) for 24 years. Now, at the age of 65, he’s at a point in life when many people would be thinking about slowing down and enjoying retirement. But not Howard! Instead, he and his wife are in the midst of preparations to head to Belgium to serve the cause of the gospel there.

When I asked Howard why they’re planning such a big move at this stage of their life, this was his response:

“In our culture there’s this mentality of, ‘You’ve done your bit, it’s time to put your feet up and enjoy your retirement.’ But that is a very materialistic, selfish mindset. Because God’s kingdom is growing, and he needs workers to expand that kingdom, and if people are just gonna sit there with their comfortable evangelical churches and lifestyle, the gospel’s not gonna go out into the world… and there are nations of the world that are struggling.”

“We’ve gotta have that mindset to be seeing God’s kingdom grow…. He’s the one we’re all gonna stand before, and he’s gonna say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” You know, he’s not gonna say, “Did you enjoy your cruise around the Mediterranean in your retirement?” He’s gonna be looking at whether we leave the fruit behind of lives that have grown in Christ.”

Love it!

No retirement for this man! At a stage of life when many settle down to take it easy, Howard Spencer is off to a new country to serve the cause of Jesus.

28/08/2020

"I see God better with one eye than I ever did with two" 😮

In this latest episode of Faith on Campus we hear from Gad Rasmussen about a serious injury he sustained earlier this year, and how it has impacted his faith.

At the start of 2020, Gad was on a mission trip in a remote community when he got injured through a horrible accident. He describes lying on the ground in pain & shock without knowing what had happened, when he suddenly heard some of the girls around him saying, "He's lost his eye! He's lost his eye!" That's when he realised it was bad.

Gad Rasmussen was involved in an accident that left him with permanent damage. But as he says, "I see God better with one eye than I ever did with two."

21/08/2020

Latest episode of Faith On Campus just released: when God's promises seem slow (Genesis 16-17).

What do we do when God's promises seem slow? This week's episode is a Bible talk given on campus at UWA from Genesis 16-17.

14/08/2020

Latest episode of Faith On Campus is out: how can bad people please a good God?

How can bad people please a good God? In this podcast episode we look at how the Bible answers that question from Genesis 15.

07/08/2020

Episode 2 of Season 3 has just dropped! 😮

I chat to a lot of non-religious students on campus who think there probably is some kind of God, but even if there was, it wouldn’t make any difference to this life now. Is that true? If the Christian God is real, does that have an impact on life now? Or is it all just ‘pie in the sky when you die’? 🤔

In this episode of Faith On Campus, we explore how Genesis 13-14 helps us to address this question.

Is Christianity just 'pie in the sky when you die'? Listen in to this episode of Faith On Campus as we explore this question from Genesis 13-14.

02/08/2020

Bit of a milestone 😮

3 days ago the first episode of season 3 came out, and on the same day we surpassed 3,000 total listens!

As they say, good things come in 3s 😜

31/07/2020

Aaaaand here we go! Season 3 of Faith On Campus is officially underway 🎊🎉🥳

Check out episode 1, which just released this morning and is available on all major podcast platforms!

Welcome to Season 3 of Faith on Campus! Now that UWA is back in-person, we've continued our public Bible talks on campus. Listen in!

29/07/2020

Fan submission. Top quality meme Richie Mikhael Suluh 👌😂

In other news, did you hear the rumour that Faith On Campus Season 3 is launching this Friday?! 😱😱😱

15/05/2020

Hot off the press: what does campus ministry look like under Covid-19? 😮🤔

In this episode we hear from Mikey Lynch, who works with the UFC (either the University Fellowship of Christians or Ultimate Fighting Championship, depending on who you ask), about how they have approached ministry in this challenging season.

Mikey points out some dangers to avoid, and helps us think through how we can make the most of the opportunities. We hope you find it helpful!

What does campus ministry look like under Covid-19? In this episode of Faith On Campus we chat to Mikey Lynch about how we can respond strategically.

08/05/2020

Latest episode of Faith On Campus is out! 🎊🎉

In this episode we hear from Andrew, a student who is actively engaged in sharing the gospel with Muslims on campus. Due to the sensitive nature of his ministry we can’t tell you what uni he’s at or talk with too much detail about some of the specifics of what he’s doing, but I was still really encouraged to hear how he’s seen God at work.

Although Andrew was raised in Australia, he was raised speaking Arabic and only learned English as a second language in primary school. His parents are nominal Catholics from Lebanon, but when Andrew came to uni and got connected with the Christian group there, he began to understand the gospel and its implications for the first time.

As his grasp of just how amazing the gospel is grew, so too did his desire to share it with others. Since he knew Arabic, Andrew realised that God had given him gifts and a strategic opportunity to share the gospel with Muslims. In this interview he shares some of the ways they’ve tried to build bridges for sharing the gospel, and some of the key things to keep in mind when seeking to engage lovingly and truthfully with a Muslim friend.

Have a listen and join us in praying that God will continue to be at work!

In this episode of Faith On Campus we hear from Andrew, a student who is actively engaged in sharing the gospel with Muslims on campus.

24/04/2020

Latest episode is out! 😁👍

In this week’s episode we hear from Jacinta Patterson, a 2nd year Ministry Apprentice with the UWA Christian Union in Perth. She shares about how her and a student met someone on campus from a non-Christian background named Marta, and asked her if she’d be interested in reading one of the biographies of Jesus with them (Mark’s Gospel).

“We asked her if she would like to catch up with us and read an account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection for herself as an adult. She responded that she didn’t think the Bible was a reliable document. In God’s sovereign kindness, earlier that morning I had sent my housemates a graphic on the reliability of the New Testament, which I quickly pulled out and showed Marta. After looking at it she said, “Okay, I’ll have look at that with you!”

In this episode of Faith on Campus Jacinta, one of our 2nd year Ministry Apprentices, shares about her and a student investigating Jesus with a stranger.

17/04/2020

Hope y'all had a good Good Friday last week. Today's another good Friday, because the latest episode of Faith On Campus is out! 🎉🎊

In this episode we hear from Lucy McLennan about how God has been at work in her life, and some of the great things that He is doing at James Cook University in Queensland. Thanks for joining us on the podcast Lucy!

In this episode I interview Lucy, a student at James Cook University who has seen God powerfully at work in her own life and in those around her.

03/04/2020

Aaaaand here it is! Season 2 Episode 6 is out now 🎉🎊

This week we hear from Shaun Liew Wei Jie, a psychology student who became interested in Christianity when a friend share 'Two Ways To Live' with him (we're looking at you Sarah Berhanu 😁).

In Shaun’s experience, after he became a Christian, his new relationship with Jesus gave him a perspective and stability that made a huge difference in dealing with the challenges of being in a new country. But he’s adamant that Christianity is not just some emotional crutch. In his own words,

“I’ve realised that a lot of people think Christianity is just an emotional crutch. But it’s so much more than that. I believe that it’s the truth, the purpose of our existence, and the very reason God made us to live under his rule… People need to know more about it. I guess that’s partly why I’m so keen to share my story with people, and to tell my non-Christian friends about who Jesus actually is.”

Is Christianity just an emotional crutch? In this episode I interview Shaun Liew, a student who recently came to know Jesus, to see what he thinks!

02/04/2020

Putting the final touches on today's episode to get it ready for release 😮😁

27/03/2020

This week we’ve got a special episode on facing Coronavirus as a Christian 😷

We’ve got a bunch of interviews lined up for the coming weeks, but given how quickly things are developing with Covid-19, I thought it’d be worth having a special episode to think through how we respond to this crisis as followers of Jesus ✝

This week we've got a special episode on facing Coronavirus as a Christian. Given how quickly things are developing, how do we respond as Christians?

24/03/2020

Okay, it's come to this. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and universities around the country shutting down, we've finally had to bite the bullet. We will now be known as "Faith Off Campus" 😢

You may also refer to us as "The Podcast In Which Faith Was Formerly Related To Campus By The Preposition On" 😭

20/03/2020

In this week’s episode of Faith On Campus I interview Steve, a staffworker who works full-time on campus helping students “get the gospel right, and get the gospel out.”

I can’t tell you Steve’s last name or where he works (🙉) due the sensitive nature of his ministry context and the content of this interview, but I hope you’ll be encouraged nonetheless by hearing how God has been at work in his life 🙌

Steve describes the younger version of himself as “a fairly cosmic guy” who spent years of his life trying to find the meaning of life through drugs. As he puts it,
“The other thing about drug taking is that it all gets a bit cosmic. And as I said about the gateway thing, it opens up for you taking more and different sorts of drugs, different combinations of drugs, greater quantities of drugs… And I was doing it on the one hand just because everyone else was doing it, but on the other hand, the main thing I was – and this will sound very hippie – I was actually trying to find the meaning of life. And I thought I could find it within.“ 🧘‍♂️

But then through some pretty amazing circumstances, God brought about a radical change in Steve’s life. Have a listen to find out more about it! 😮

In this week's episode I interview Steve, who describes a younger version of himself as "a fairly cosmic guy" looking for God through drugs.

13/03/2020

Hot off the press 🎉🎊

In this week’s episode of Faith On Campus I interview Lachlan Batley, a Sport & Exercise Science student at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst, NSW. He shares with us about how he’s seen at God at work on campus, with gospel opportunities coming up through conversations about death and suffering on the one hand, and through pancakes on the other!

In this episode of Faith On Campus, Lachlan Batley shares about gospel opportunities that came through conversations about death, suffering, and pancakes.

06/03/2020

Another Friday, another episode of Faith on Campus 😁

In this episode we hear from Sarah Hunter, a second year student at Curtin University. Sarah shares with us how a year ago, when she first came on Kickstart (a 3-day camp for incoming first year uni students), she wasn’t interested in Christianity. She came to the camp to meet people and make friends before uni started, but came away from it deciding that she didn’t want to be a Christian.

In fact, when she got onto campus, she actively avoided the Christian Union.

One year later, however, a lot has changed! Sarah is back at Kickstart volunteering as an upper year student, giving up her time to invest in first years and help them know more about Jesus. She shared the story of her experience as a first year student and how she became a Christian in front of more than a hundred other students, and I was so encouraged that I wanted to share her story with you too. Have a listen! 🎶

In this week's episode of Faith On Campus I interview Sarah Hunter about Kickstart, an orientation camp run by the Christian Unions of WA.

01/03/2020

Did you know that Faith On Campus is now on Patreon? 😮

For as little as the price of one coffee a month you can help us reach more people with encouraging stories of how God is at work transforming lives through Jesus ✝

Patron perks include treasure in heaven & the joy of giving 💰😍

If you'd like to get behind what the Faith On Campus podcast is doing, you can now become a Patreon supporter to help us reach more people.

28/02/2020

Hot off the press - Season 2 is officially underway! 🎉🎊

In this episode I speak with Michelle, a student who got freaked out the first time she went to a Christian Union event on campus. In her words:

"I got freaked out: I was there with all these strangers, and it was very different to what I was used to... So the alarm bells were going off. And I was thinking, "Maybe I'm getting dragged into a cult and this is just their nice exterior to draw people in..."

After that she avoided CU for months. Have a listen and find out how things went from there!

In this episode of Faith On Campus I interview Michelle McLeod about her experience of the Christian Union - initially, she thought it was a cult!

22/02/2020

Just 6 days til the first episode of Season 2 launches! Spread the word. Have you subscribed on your favourite podcast app yet?

Links in the comment section below 👇

15/02/2020

Uni semester approaches, which means the first episode of Season 2 is coming out soon! Get all the deets here so you won't miss a thing.

I'm excited to announce that Season 2 of Faith On Campus is coming out soon! Get all the details here so you won't miss a thing.

14/02/2020

Did you know that you can listen to Faith On Campus on Spotify?

https://open.spotify.com/show/2rjAvgaz1b2B5OpXDKhTLN

13/02/2020

13/02/2020

Faith On Campus is a podcast that gives you a window into some of the great things that God is doing on uni campuses around Australia. To find out more (and for links to subscribe on your favourite podcast app), you can check out this page:

https://thebensmartblog.com/faith-on-campus-podcast/

My name is Ben Smart and I'm the host of 'Faith On Campus', a podcast that gives you a window into what God is doing on uni campuses around Australia.