THE UNIVERSITY AND THE CLAIMS OF CHRIST
T O the university student, the pur suit o f true knowledge is a serious task. He considers no price paid too great in order to gain it. Faithfully he seeks for truth in the classroom; wearily he searches for it in hours of independent research; painstakingly he experiments for it in the scientific laboratory. Despite these efforts, how ever, he finds himself without vital per sonal truth or an adequate philosophy of life. Neither his professors, nor his apparatus, nor his textbooks can give him this. He must turn from them to another source of truth. That source is Jesus Christ. Only in Him is found the summation of truth, the adequacy for every personality. He said of Himself, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, 'but by me.” At the University of California at Los Angeles, in the midst of an atmosphere where old ideas are constantly chal lenged and discarded, new facts and ideas are accepted, where many of the “ sacred cows” of the past years of education are slaughtered, the Bruin Christian Fellowship provides that which is desperately needed by Christian stu dents—a circle o f friends in which a student finds faith and loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. BCF recognizes that “ there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Its main objective is to present the gospel to the campus in a winsome manner. It stands irrevocably on the authority of God’s Word. BCF, a chapter of the international Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, spon sors weekly Bible study groups. At pres ent, George Cowan, a graduate student at the university who is on furlough from Wycliffe Bible Translators, is lead ing the study. The group of about twenty meet on a lawn on campus. Daily prayer meetings are held in the morning at 7 :30. Throughout the day, groups of two or three students will meet for an hour to pray and peruse God’s Word.
Fellowship Around the Word
semesters ago. She was saved, but the greatest part of her spiritual experience was merely mouthed expressions. Several members of the group began earnestly praying for her. The next semester the Lord began working to draw her to Himself. She roomed with a more mature Christian. Through the advice of a couple of the fellows in the group, she began to be very much concerned with her own personal holiness. She set aside time each day for devotions; she grew in her knowledge of the Word; her in terest in missions was developed through the weekly meeting of the Foreign Mis sions Fellowship. Today she is a real blessing to other students. She is pre paring for medical school, and, ulti mately, for China. She holds an office in the Fellowship, and is one of the real boosters o f holy living. A fellow, taking a pre-med course, was invited to the Bible League (the Inter-Varsity chapter at Berkeley). He was saved there. He had two more years at the University of California. The group sent him to Campus-in-the-Woods one summer. Campus-in-the-Woods is a month-long summer training school for Christians. Doctrine, Bible study, and practical application of Christianity to everyday experiences are stressed at the conference. This young man developed in his Christian stature during that summer. The next year he transferred to UCLA for some graduate work. Within a year he held a responsible position in BCF. During that year, the Lord led him to consider full-time service on the mission field. Today he is studying at one o f the leading fundamental seminaries, pre paring for service in China. On over 250 campuses in the United States and Canada, there are groups similar to the Bruin Christian Fellow ship. They all encourage their members to rely upon God and His Word, and to seek, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s purpose for their lives. The Inter-Varsity work the world over seeks an interest in the prayers of God’s people. Page Nine
The weekly group meeting, on Tuesday afternoon, is designed primarily for the unsaved student. Of course, the program is uftiversity level. A few of the old hymns of the church are sung, a couple of vital testimonies given, and a message challenging the unbelief and skepticism that are in the foreground today. Com petent men who are thoroughly familiar with their field are chosen to speak. The
Josiah Royce Hall
Lord Jesus and His offer of salvation is clearly and logically presented at this meeting. Beach parties, picnics, banquets, snow parties, and other social functions pro vide a means of meeting both saved and unsaved students. University life is full, but to the Christian student a “ bull ses sion” or party with Christian frinds is a must. The Lord always works through and with men, not merely by good methods and programs. The stories of two people on campus will illustrate how the Lord has blessed BCF. A freshjnan, with a modernistic back ground, started coming to BCF two
The Library
* Junior at UCLA and president of Bruin Christian Fellowship. M A R C H , 1 9 4 9
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