FRESHER?
We can't wait to meet you!
If you're coming to Exeter in September, congrats! We can't wait to welcome you and encourage you, both if you are thinking about faith for the first time, or are super keen to get stuck into sharing the good news of Jesus - or anywhere in between!
Freshers' Week
We love welcoming new freshers into the ECU! We understand what a scary but exciting time it can be as a fresher moving away from home to university, learning to live on your own and adapt to a new place and find friends.
Throughout Freshers' Week, we run a whole range of events designed to welcome first-years into our community. There are so many fun things happening, from the buzzing atmosphere at an open mic night, to a chilled picnic on campus, we’ve got something for everyone! Have a look at the screen edges for some of the photos taken last year during Freshers' Week!
Come along, we would absolutely love to meet you!
Our Freshers' week events are scattered around Campus and Exeter. To find out more about them head over to our Instagram page.
View our 2024 Freshers' Week timetable below!
We cannot wait to see you there!
Hall Groups
One of the best opportunities for you guys to meet other freshers in the CU is through Hall Groups!
Hall groups are weekly meetings with other Christians in your halls. They're led by CU members in 2nd Year, and are a great way to get to know each other and spend time in the Bible, as well as reach out to non-Christians in your halls!
Click on the button below or scan the QR code to join the ECU WhatsApp community:
Then join the correct hall group chat based on your accommodation
Buddy System
We love to support new freshers joining us in Exeter, and understand it can be a stressful and nerve-wracking time. Our buddy system allows a point of contact for each fresher, where an older ECU member (in year 2 and above) becomes their ‘buddy’, who can be contacted as little or as much as they want.
There will be an opportunity to sign up to this early in Term 1, but message the Instagram if you’re keen to be involved.
FAQs
‘I’m quite a new Christian and am worried about fitting in with the CU’
You’re welcome to join the CU wherever you are with your faith! Our weekly Central meetings aim to encourage and build us up as Christians and if you are a first year, hall groups are a great chance to grow in your faith, ask any questions you have and begin to share the Gospel with those around you in halls (don’t worry - this isn’t as scary as it sounds!)
‘What’s the difference between CU and Church?'
Church is the place that you can really grow spiritually, where you are supported by a community of all different ages, backgrounds and experiences. Although the CU offers some of this, its main focus is being a mission team to non-Christians on campus - we can’t offer the same chance to grow in your faith as Church does. If you’re choosing between the two, definitely get stuck into a church! But we’d love to see you at CU too.
‘I’m not a Christian, can I still come along?’
Please do! You’re welcome at any of our events and meetings. If you want to learn more about Jesus, our outreach events and ministries like TBQ are a great place to start. Also, if you’re keen, a member of CU would definitely be able to read the Bible with you and chat through any questions you have! Don’t be afraid to ask.
‘What does ‘evangelistic’ mean?’
‘Evangelistic’ basically means that we aim to share the Gospel with non-christians. We are an evangelical CU as we want to share the good news with the non-Christians on campus! This is what most of our events are based around, as we believe that sharing the Gospel is urgent and so important.
‘My weeks are really busy - what is the one thing that CU does that I should go to?’
If you’re a fresher, we really encourage you to get involved with hall groups! If you aren’t a first year or can’t make hall groups, Central (our main weekly meeting) is great to come to as we spend time in God’s word, encouraging each other and praying as a CU.
'I'm anxious about standing out as a Christian amongst uni pressures'
This is something that all Christians will struggle with, so you're definitely not alone! The easiest thing you can do is be bold and confident from the start with your friends/flatmates and you'll come to realise that most people are very respectful. They might even be keen to know why you're living so distinctively! You'll also have loads of support from other members of CU/ your Church, so don't worry.
‘I’m not confident in sharing my faith’
You’re not alone! Lots of members of CU hadn’t even thought about evangelism until coming to uni. We hope that being stuck into a mission community will encourage you to start thinking about sharing the good news of Jesus, and to help, we have access to great resources like Uncover Mark, and events like Barn Party that make sharing the gospel a little less scary.
‘Is it a good idea to go to everything?’
You are so welcome to come to everything if you want!! It’s great to get really stuck in. But make sure you aren’t burning yourself out in being too busy or stressed - it’s just as OK to only come every so often.