GBU swaps its arts night for a campus sports day
One hundred students took part in the event the Christian group organized with the campus sports service.
The GBU group in Guadalupe, part of IFES's Cristal Impact movement, lost its permit for its arts night on campus. So it organized a sports day that brought together about 100 students, according to IFES en español.
The arts night was no small event: every year it drew a big crowd, showcased students' talent and served as a bridge for talking about the gospel.
A permit that fell through
GBU has been on campus for 40 years. Over the last five, its activities helped it grow and also put it under the eye of the university administration.
«That is often where the next door is.»
During the past year, the campus tightened its rules on religious activity to comply with laïcité, the French principle of secularism. The change didn't single out one event: it reached all religious activity inside the university. Under that standard, the permit for the arts night was withdrawn, and for the team it was a setback in a ministry that had been gaining momentum.
Lucas, from the local group, doesn't talk about defeat: the team chose not to dwell on the setback and to look for another way to be present.
From the stage to the court
He summed it up himself for IFES en español: "It allowed us to collaborate with another student association to organize a sports day."
The door opened through a relationship that already existed. Several GBU members took part in SUAPS, the university's physical activity and sports service, and some were studying sports science. The head of SUAPS knew the group and got along well with it.
They set up volleyball, indoor soccer, tug of war and other games. Another student association provided the snacks, and about 100 students came to the event. The collaboration was talked about all over campus. Some asked whether there would be another one next year.
The event gave visibility to GBU and to the sports association. It also promoted mutual support and solidarity, and several friendly conversations drew students closer to the group.
What was left over went beyond the campus
The leftover snacks went to nearby student residences. What wasn't eaten traveled with ten students into the city center, where they shared it with people living on the street. Lucas described that closing moment as a beautiful time of sharing.
The canceled arts night could have felt like a loss. The sports alternative, on the other hand, worked and brought new students closer to the group.
"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9, ESV).
If a space, a classroom or a permit was closed to you, first look at the relationships you already have: a coach, a professor, an association that knows you. That is often where the next door is.
IFES en español asks for prayer for the group in the face of campus restrictions and for those who heard about the ministry for the first time. It also invites us to give thanks for how the event benefited the whole university community. What could you organize with someone who doesn't think like you?
