I have only been a Christian for four years and I have been involved with ICY-UK for two of those years. Therefore, ICY-UK has had a big part in shaping my growth as a Christian. ICY-UK is a non-denominational Christian organisation. This simple fact has been a blessing to me. I have rubbed shoulders with Christians from different church backgrounds in ICY-UK and that has helped me grow the box I have for God. As a result I have not been limited to the views of one church or any denomination, but have been able to learn from Christians with many different theological backgrounds.
I am currently working on the Bachelors degree in theology offered by ICY-UK. I have learned a lot about God, the Church, and the Bible as I have studied and all have helped to shape my faith. This has not only affected how I do ministry but also has translated into my personal life and how I relate to God. One thing in particular which stands out is learning about Bible interpretation, which has opened up new ways in which I can study the Bible. This gives me the ability to grow even deeper in my relationship with God as I study scripture.
The ICY-UK degree has also affected how I do evangelism and training in my own personal life. In particular, the modules which focus on Church history have challenged my practices in these areas. What has struck me is the courage and boldness of early Christians. It seems there was a certainty to the early Christians’ faith that is not present today. The biggest growth of the Church happened during these first few centuries when Christians were at their boldest. This encourages me to step out of my comfort zone and bring God more into what I do day-to-day.
Another step out of my comfort zone is being in a ministry placement. A big part of ICY-UK’s training is doing practical ministry. This has been particularly shaping for my faith as my placement specifically involved starting a ministry from absolutely nothing. This is significant because I am a strongly introverted person and also struggle with self esteem. Being put in this position forced me to push past these barriers to get involved in educational ministry by approaching a local secondary school. This has helped me grow in my faith as I had to trust God to move the ministry forward. I knew when I decided to pursue ministry training that if it was to be successful it would have to be God doing it because of these barriers.
ICY-UK has also shaped greatly my view of God and his love. A thread which is common to conferences is the way the fatherhood of God is communicated. I remember one conference that included teaching of the parable of the lost son. Coming out of that conference (along with discussion with Christian friends), I explored what it meant that God is my father. Over the past two years in ICY-UK, my understanding of that love has deepened. I have learned that God loves me not because he is obligated to, but he chooses to love me. The phrase that has stuck in my head is “the one who knows me best, loves me most.” I am astounded as God knows all the dark areas of my life but loves me more than any other being. I may not have considered this for a long time if I was not a part of ICY-UK.
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